The program featured songs about love by Felix & Fanny Mendelssohn, Robert & Clara Schumann, Gustav & Alma Mahler, Manuel de Falla, Amy Beach, and Vincenzo Bellini.
Sarah Fleiss wrote:
When one hears the word “love”, what often comes to mind is romantic love. But love is everywhere and inhabits all aspects of life: familial love, love of your country, love of nature, brotherly love, and the purist love of a child. This recital explores these sentiments, with a focus on the compositional parallels and differences between the various songs on the program.
The artists are presented by special arrangement with Curtis on Tour, the Nina von Maltzahn global touring initiative of the Curtis Institute of Music.
Program
| Composer | Work | Year |
|---|---|---|
| Roger Quilter | “Love’s Philosophy”, Op. 3 No. 1 | 1905 |
| Amy Beach | Three Shakespeare Songs, Op. 37 | 1897 |
| Clara Schumann | “Lorelei” | 1843 |
| Robert Schumann | “An meinem Herzen, an meiner Brust”, Op. 42 No. 7 | 1840 |
| Clara Schumann | “Ich stand in dunkeln Träumen”, Op. 13 No. 1 | 1844 |
| Alma Mahler | “Die stille Stadt” | 1910 |
| Gustav Mahler | “Ich atmet’ einen linden Duft!” | 1901 |
| Alma Mahler | “Laue Sommernacht” | 1910 |
| Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel | “Schwanenlied”, Op. 1 No. 1 | 1846 |
| Felix Mendelssohn | “Romanze”, Op. 8 No. 10 | 1827 |
| Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel | “Warum sind denn die Rosen so blass?”, Op. 1 No. 3 | 1846 |
| Intermission | ||
| Ottorino Respighi | Sei pezzi per pianoforte, P. 44: 1. “Valse Caressante” | 1905 |
| Vincenzo Bellini | Tre Ariette | ? |
| “Torna, vezzosa Fillide” | ? | |
| Manuel de Falla | Siete Canciones populares Españolas (“Seven Spanish Folksongs”) | 1914 |
About the Artists
Sarah Fleiss
Described as “bright” and “stylish” by Opera News, American soprano Sarah Fleiss is currently pursuing her Master’s degree at the Curtis Institute of Music. This season, she sings the Vixen in Janáček’s The Cunning Little Vixen and in Handel’s L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato with the Curtis Opera Theater, and in the final trio of Der Rosenkavalier under the baton of Yannick Nézet-Séguin with the Curtis Symphony Orchestra.
She makes exciting debuts as the soprano soloist in the Fauré Requiem with the Cleveland Orchestra Youth Orchestra as well as in Poulenc’s Gloria and Dvořák’s Te Deum with the Wichita Symphony Orchestra. She also sings in the Pergolesi Stabat Mater and in the Ned Rorem Memorial Concert at Curtis. This summer, she travels to the Aspen Music Festivalas a Renee Fleming Artist, covering Susanna in Le Nozze di Figaro and singing in a baroque concert with conductor Nicholas McGegan.
Prior to Curtis, Sarah attended Columbia University and the Juilliard Exchange program. At Columbia, she sang Pamina in Mozart’s Die Zauberflöte with the Columbia New Opera Workshop, and narrated Stravinsky’s L’Histoire du soldat. She also performed around New York in musical theater and cabaret-style performances.
Ting Ting Wong
Collaborative pianist Ting Ting Wong is a vocal coach and accompanist in the Philadelphia area. She made her debut as a collaborative pianist at the Kennedy Center in 2016 and performed with IlluminArts in Miami in April 2019.
Ms. Wong is currently a staff accompanist for the Academy of Vocal Arts; accompanist for the Mendelssohn Club of Philadelphia, the Jefferson University Singers (East Falls Campus), and the Philadelphia Voices of Pride; and director of music at Newtown Square Presbyterian Church and the Union League Voices. She joined the adjunct faculty at the Curtis Institute of Music in 2019.
Born and raised in Hong Kong, Ms. Wong holds a master’s degree in piano performance from Carnegie Mellon University, where she also earned a piano pedagogy certificate; and a master’s degree in piano accompanying and coaching from Temple University, where she studied with Lambert Orkis and Charles Abramovic.