Lyric Diary

Unexpected events have led him to gain far-reaching insights. An experience on an airplane, for example, revealed one of the fundamental themes of the entire lied tradition to him – the motif of the message of love. By intensively examining these works, Christian Gerhaher explains what makes great lied composers, artists, and famous lied cycles so special, and gives us an understanding of less famous works that have amazed and moved him again and again. He directs his sensitive perspective at both music and poems set to music, and the tension-filled entity that they form together. He talks about the demands of certain lieder for their singers, about success and failure, about the technical side of singing, and about the special relationship between singers and their audiences. His book opens our ears and allows us to make marvelous discoveries in the rich world of lieder.