Reflections: Dame Myra Hess Recital
This summer, I was asked to present a short program in partnership with Michael Banwarth for the Dame Myra Hess Recital Concert series produced by Classical Music Chicago. I was so excited to take on the project, and it was truly a dream for me from start to finish. First, the recital format is one of my favorite ways to showcase my craft. I love how straightforward and direct it all is - uninterrupted access to poetry, music, and its pairing and interpretation. It's a powerful tool for taking an audience on a journey and is limitless in its potential for artistic vulnerability.
The last time I did a solo recital was at the end of my graduate studies in 2021, in a largely empty room post-COVID, with dearest Eileen Downey. While I have been lucky to perform a ton since then, I hadn't had the opportunity to do a professional recital. After a transformative four years (and a summer at Britten Pears Young Artist Programme focused on art song recitals), I am grateful to have shared a taste of my growth, style, and confidence with this audience. Even watching the clips back, I am so proud of how far I have come until the recital and since.
It also means so much to me to have done this recital with Michael. A donor asked me recently whether the collaborative relationship between the singer and the pianist is unique at the Ryan Opera Center, and I said without hesitation: "Absolutely." After five programs, I can easily say that ROC creates a distinctive opportunity for partnership - countless classes, lessons, coachings, performances, and all kinds of gigs. We get to support each other under pressure and reflect and reconstruct when the pressure is off; we learn each other's strengths, weaknesses, passions, and stories organically. ROC has the resources to provide us with consistency: rehearsal time, workspace, and two to three years of praxis. Within that, we have all the power in the world to explore new skills together, mirroring our progress to each other, and driving us all forward. In the uncertainty of today's industry, it's a gift that I do not for one second take for granted. Beyond that, there is no one more willing to be in the problem-solving trenches alongside you, no one more thoughtful, and no one more artistically generous than Michael. I was and remain inspired to do my best work because I know he will be wholly committed to telling the story and making the magic right alongside me. I couldn't be happier to have done this together.
SO, I'm leaving the program notes and the recital here. I hope, if you have made it this far, that you watch and enjoy it as much as I enjoyed being a part of it.
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PROGRAM NOTE:
Thank you so much for spending your lunch hour with us! We extend our gratitude to the Dame Myra Hess Memorial Concert series for having us. In today’s program, we present a selection of beloved art song staples, alongside rarely performed gems we discovered in preparation for this project.
One major revelation on our programming journey was Canti della lontananza. Italian composer Gian Carlo Menotti (1911-2007) is well-known for his operatic works (notably, Amahl and the Night Visitors, The Medium, etc), but he also wrote a select few song cycles. Premiered in 1967, three years before his separation from Samuel Barber, this work muses on loneliness and heartbreak; we have chosen four of the seven to share with you today. In our search for Italianate opulence, lyricism, and an intriguing dramatic nuance, this set checked all the boxes.
While we are both fans of Richard Strauss, here we explore the works of his slightly lesser-known contemporary Joseph Marx (1882–1964), who was also a master of Lied, characterized by colorful orchestration, generous melody, and expressive musical texture. Nocturne paints wistful nostalgia as the singer smells a blooming linden flower in the summer air. “Hat dich die Liebe berührt” illustrates the transformative power of love.
It is always thrilling to perform pieces in the vernacular of your audience. We have curated a diverse selection of pieces from larger cycles by American composers and poets that are powerful, sensual, and exciting. H.T. Burleigh (1866-1949) was a Black composer and arranger known for his classical arrangements of traditional spirituals. He is credited with introducing many composers, most notably Dvořák, to his settings, thereby memorializing black music in history as an integral part of American music. Although he frequently worked with religious texts, he also composed secular poems, including "Among the Fuchsias," which chronicles the pain of resistance in the face of temptation and is part of Burleigh’s song cycle, The Five Songs of Laurence Hope. Described by Fanfare Magazine as “one of the most talented and intriguing of living composers,” Lori Laitman has composed operas, choral works, and over 350 songs, setting texts by classical and contemporary poets. ‘Tableau” is the last song in her song cycle, Sable Pride, and tells the beautiful love story of two boys, one white and one black, walking arm in arm, which is mirrored by the use of the piano. Lastly, H. Leslie Adams (1932-2024) was an influential Black composer whose works are marked by jazz and African American folk song. He brilliantly paints the image of a girl and the many dimensions of her Creole heritage in this piece from his song cycle, Nightsongs.
Finally, we bookend our program with classic, fan favorites that interpret the joy of both night and day: Chère Nuit by Alfred Bachelet and Joy by Ricky Ian Gordon. We sincerely hope that you find something new to love in this recital, and thank you again for being with us.
— Adia and Michael
