Autumn Gold 2026: Word and Music

Ian Bostridge, Tenor
Julius Drake, Piano
Victoria Trauttmansdorff, Recitation

Friedrich Rückert: Selected Poems (Reading in German)
Songs by Clara and Robert Schumann

When the celebrated tenor Ian Bostridge and his fabulous song partner Julius Drake join forces with the actress Victoria Trauttmansdorff, known from theater, film, and television, something truly special is to be expected – in this case, the poet and translator Friedrich Rückert, in whose life and work the world and solitude are reflected in a unique way. The German writer wrote under a pseudonym against the Napoleonic occupation, traveled to Italy, learned Persian in Vienna, and engaged literarily with no less than 44 languages! After the scarlet fever death of his "two dearest and most beautiful children," Ernst and Luise, in the winter of 1833/34, Rückert poured his pain and despair into 428 poems ("Kindertodtenlieder"). This wondrous program allows the audience to immerse themselves in Rückert's poetry, which encompasses all human emotions – whether purely in the poet's words or in connection with the music of Franz Schubert, Robert and Clara Schumann, Gustav Mahler, and Hans Werner Henze.