Hanns Eisler: Hollywood Songbook

The composer Hanns Eisler can with some justification be described as a tragic figure in the history of music.

Ostracized and persecuted because of his origins and his political convictions, limited in his actual significance ultimately by the political circumstances of divided Germany, he is initially remembered primarily as the composer of the music for the national anthem of the former German Democratic Republic. The true significance of his multifaceted oeuvre has only been recognized and duly appreciated in more recent times.

He is now considered one of the most influential German composers of the 20th century. In contrast to his teacher Arnold Schoenberg, he understood music above all as a tool for the political and public development of influence.

On this new recording, Valerie Eickhoff (soprano) and Eric Schneider (piano) present the Hollywood Songbook by Hanns Eisler.

After the traumatic experience of World War I, Eisler became a private pupil of Arnold Schonberg in Vienna from 1919-1923, and it was during this period that Eisler's extremely fruitful friendship with Bert Brecht began, a friendship that would last a lifetime and produce several fruitful collaborations. Hanns Eisler had to flee Germany from the Nazis in 1933 but eventually found permanent refuge in the United States from 1938 onwards, where he worked closely with Bertolt Brecht again - although not until 1942, after the latter's arrival in the USA.

Winner of the 2022 Sudwestrundfunk Junge Opernstars competition, mezzo soprano Valerie Eickhoff is quickly establishing herself as an artist of intense musicality and brilliant vocalism. The 2023 - 2024 season sees several important house and role debuts for Ms. Eickhoff including as Ramiro in La finta giardiniera with Theater an der Wien and as Driade in Ariadne auf Naxos with the Bayerische Staatsoper on tour in Hong Kong. The 2022 - 2023 season saw Ms. Eickhoff's house debut with Royal Danish Opera as Mercedes in Barrie Kosky's production of Carmen. She also returned to Deutsche Oper am Rhein to sing Cherubino in Le nozze Figaro, Hansel in Hansel und Gretel, Uli in the world premiere of Das fliegende Klassenszimmer, and Lucienne in Die tote Stadt.

Eric Schneider, piano. His playing is poetry - nuanced in tone, many facetted in gesture, clear in expression. Eric Schneider enjoys a firstclass reputation as a lied pianist and performs world wide with the renowned singers of his generation. The fusion of music and text fascinated him early on, as the added, concrete dimension of content expanded his skill at the piano.

1: Der Sohn: Wenn Sie Nachts Lag Und Dachte
2: Der Sohn: Mein Junger Sohn Fragt Mich
3: An Den Kleinen Radioapparat
4: In Den Weiden
5: Frühling
6: Speisekammer 1942
7: Auf Der Flucht
8: Über Den Selbstmord
9: Die Flucht
10: Gedenktafel Für 4000 Soldaten, Die Im Krieg Gegen Norwegen Versenkt Wurden
11: Epitaph Auf Einen in Der Flandernschlacht Gefallenen
12: Spruch
13: Ostersonntag
14: Der Kirschdieb
15: Hotelzimmer 1942
16: Die Maske Des Bösen
17: Zwei Lieder Nach Worten Von Pascal: Despite These Miseries
18: Zwei Lieder Nach Worten Von Pascal: This Only Thing
19: Die Letzte Elegie
20: Winterspruch
21: Fünf Elegien: Unter Den Grünen Pfefferbäumen
22: Fünf Elegien: Die Stadt Ist Nach Den Engeln Genannt
23: Fünf Elegien: Jeden Morgen, Mein Brot Zu Verdienen
24: Fünf Elegien: Diese Stadt Hat Mich Belehrt
25: Fünf Elegien: In Den Hügeln Wird Gold Gefunden
26: Nightmare
27: Hollywood-Elegie No. 7
28: Der Schatzgräber
29: Panzerschlacht
30: L'automne Californien
31: Anakreontische Fragmente: Geselligkeit Betreffend
32: Anakreontische Fragmente: Dir Auch Wurde Sehnsucht Nach Der Heimat Tödlich
33: Anakreontische Fragmente: Die Unwürde Des Alterns
34: Anakreontische Fragmente: Später Triumph
35: Anakreontische Fragmente: In Der Frühe
36: Erinnerung an Eichendorff Und Schumann
37: Hölderlin-Fragmente: An Die Hoffnung
38: Hölderlin-Fragmente: Andenken
39: Hölderlin-Fragmente: Elegie 1943
40: Hölderlin-Fragmente: Die Heimat
41: Hölderlin-Fragmente: An Eine Stadt
42: Hölderlin-Fragmente: Erinnerung
43: Der Mensch
44: Vom Sprengen Des Gartens
45: Die Heimkehr
46: Die Landschaft Des Exils
47: Rimbaud-Gedicht
48: In Sturmesnacht

Composer: Hanns Eisler

Number of Discs: 1

UK Delivery:

• Free delivery on all orders of £10 or more.
• £1.49 delivery fee on orders below £10.
• UK orders are shipped via Royal Mail 2nd Class.

International Delivery:

• Flat rate delivery charges vary by country.

Dispatch and Delivery Times:

• All orders are shipped from our warehouse in Northampton, UK within 48 hours of receipt during working hours.
• UK mainland orders typically arrive within 3-5 working days via Royal Mail 2nd Class.
• International estimated delivery times:
• Europe & Channel Islands: 7 to 10 working days
• USA: 7 to 15 working days
• Rest of the World: 9 to 21 working days

View our full delivery infomation here.