Goethe’s drama of Faust is a gift to the composers.
Examples range from Gounod’s operatic version of Faust Part One to Mahler’s quite extraordinary symphonic interpretation of Faust Part Two, in which the composer manages to incorporate the Veni Creator Spiritus of the Church’s liturgy, with the pagan Goethe’s hope that the Eternal Feminine will lead us upward-
Das Ewigweibliche zieht uns hinan!
And there is the whole Lieder tradition which saw not only Schubert’s wonderful settings, but Modest Musorgsky rendering the Flea Song in Auerbach’s Cellar, Wagner’s rendition of the Soldier’s Song, etc etc
.
One of the greatest performers of the song repertoire is the pianist Graham Johnson,
whom I have been following for decades. (I first became hooked, listening to him accompany Felicity Lott singing French songs).
About a year ago, at the house of some Norfolk friends, I met the pianist Stephen Hough - another legend! We hit it off, and a conversation began
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