‘The songs of Erich Jacques Wolff are immensely moving, the composer's unique musical language readily standing comparison with other song composers of his time, such as Gustav Mahler, Richard Strauss, Max Reger and Hugo Wolf. Erich Jacques Wolff fills a gap in late-Romantic song, with both singer and pianist facing high demands to do justice to the expansive, tension-filled arcs and virtuosic passages.’
– Hans Christoph Begemann, Baritone
Erich J. WOLFF (1874–1913)
Complete Songs, Vol. 3
Hans Christoph Begemann, BaritoneKlaus Simon, Piano
Regarded as a first-rate but tragically neglected composer of Lieder, Erich J. Wolff has, until recently, only been familiar to a small number of music enthusiasts. The beautiful 1909 song cycle Neun Gedichte, set to texts by the composer’s close friend Cäsar Flaischlen, is notable for its juxtaposition of rapture, joy and fear. Amongst the numerous profound, dignified and sublime settings on this album the Hafis Lieder represent a multi-faceted and oriental flavoured sequence, ranging from calm sadness and defiant heroism to a rapturous conclusion.
No. 3. Ewig (Eternal)
German baritone Hans Christoph Begemann is one of today’s most versatile and adventurous singers of Lieder. A Mozart specialist, he was an ensemble member at the opera houses of Wuppertal and Darmstadt, and appeared in Saariaho’s L’Amour de Loin in Helsinki. He has had songs written for him by numerous composers including Detlev Glanert, Manfred Trojahn, Wilhelm Killmayer and Moritz Eggert. Alongside pianist Klaus Simon, Begemann premiered the Lieder of Erwin Schulhoff at the Konzerthaus Berlin and the Laeiszhalle, Hamburg.
German pianist, conductor and arranger Klaus Simon is the founder and artistic director of the Holst-Sinfonietta and the Opera Factory Freiburg. A particular focus as a pianist has been on song, and at the heart of his work as a Lieder accompanist are the German late-Romantic and early-modern composers. For Naxos he has recorded the complete songs of Pfitzner and Korngold. His recording of Schulhoff’s complete Lieder won the German Record Critics’ Award in 2021.
Complete Songs, Vol. 1
Johannsen • Gaul • Simon
– American Record Guide
Complete Songs, Vol. 2
Aldrian • Simon
– Pizzicato ★★★★★
Songs, Vol. 1
Stallmeister • Schenker-Primus • Simon
– MusicWeb International
Songs, Vol. 6
Tarrant Moss • They are There!
Thoreau • To Edith • Walt Whitman
West London • Yellow Leaves
Various Artists
– BBC Music Magazine ★★★★★
Complete Songs, Vol. 4
Opp. 6, 14, 19 and 48
Wunderlin • Carrel • Eisenlohr
– American Record Guide
Poets of Sensibility, Vol. 6
Kobow • Eisenlohr
– American Record Guide