Music on Main celebrates #Beethoven250 with special release of the master's ground-breaking song cycle

The powerful virtual tribute features baritone Tyler Duncan and pianist Erika Switzer performing An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98

SPONSORED POST BY MUSIC ON MAIN

Pianist Erika Switzer and baritone Tyler David first discovered Beethoven’s song cycle while studying at UBC in the 1990s.

As the world celebrates Ludwig van Beethoven’s 250th birthday, Music on Main is honouring the master with its own tribute for #Beethoven250, a special YouTube and social release of An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98 performed by baritone Tyler Duncan and pianist Erika Switzer.

The release also features an exclusive interview with Duncan and Switzer about Beethoven’s remarkable song cycle and the impact it has had on their work and lives.

Beethoven was 45 when he completed An die ferne Geliebte in 1816. The title translates as To the Distant Beloved. It’s believed that the musical love letters of longing and desire were intended for the same recipient of his famous unaddressed letter from 1812 (Immortal Beloved) and that he was still in despair over the impossibility of the relationship he so desperately wanted.

Considered the first song cycle by a major composer, An die ferne Geliebte was a ground-breaking work. It’s set to poems by German physician Alois Isidor Jeitteles, a through-composed cycle of six songs with beautiful transitions but no stops in between.

Duncan and Switzer learned the piece together when they were studying at UBC in the 1990s. They fell in love with the story-telling and with each other. The two have gone on to perform at major concert halls and festivals around the world, earning the highest of accolades.

See Music on Main’s YouTube channel to catch the performance and the interview or visit Music on Main’s website or Facebook page. The special release is presented by in partnership with the Chan Centre for the Performing Arts.