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Leonard Bernstein's Songfest Receives Performance in Germany
Posted September 9, 2020
Songfest was originally commissioned in 1976 for the celebrations of the 200th anniversary of the USA, but it also speaks directly to today's audience with its timeless message. Bernstein's setting of the inspired words of thirteen American poets, including Gertrude Stein, Edgar Allan Poe and Walt Whitman, comes together to create a masterly score that explores racial injustice, women's rights, gay rights and many other topics. The fascinating work is highly topical, especially in view of the corona pandemic and the Black Lives Matter movement in America.
SEPTEMBER 21, 2020
BERNSTEIN: Songfest
(in concert, two piano version)
Berlin, Theater im Delphi
Garrett Keast, Conductor & Artistic Director
Meechot Marrero, Soprano
Sidney Walker, Mezzo Soprano
Edith Dowd, Alto
Michael Weinius, Tenor
Daniel Keeling, Baritone
Andrew Munn, Bass
Tim Ribchester & Chelsey Padilla, Piano
Further Reading:
"I, Too, Sing America" How the Coronavirus lockdown and Black Lives Matter protests led to Bernstein’s “Songfest” in Berlin
by Garrett Keast
(originally published on 8 Sept 2020 on Medium.com)
https://link.medium.com/mBSGVwns29