15th Season 2024-2025

Sunday, May 25th at 3pm

Van Buren Hall, 6 Chatham Street (US Route 9) Kinderhook, NY

Masters of Song

Beethoven, Britten, Schubert

Eric Finbarr Carey, tenor

Erika Switzer, piano

Beethoven’s “An die ferne Geliebte” (“To a distant beloved”) is the composer’s only cycle of songs for voice, and in fact one of the earliest in the history of music. It consists of six songs the inspiration of which has long been debated, especially as to whether it reflects Beethoven’s desire to be himself “beloved” or his longing for a specific individual for some reason unavailable to him. A collection of lieder by Schubert, in many respects music’s most revered and prolific song composer, follows.

Following intermission, the recital continues with two aspects of the song writing of Benjamin Britten, one of Britain’s most significant composers of works for voice, including opera. The first group consists of four original songs, including the well-known “O Waly, Waly” and “The foggy, foggy dew”. The second group of four offers Britten’s brilliant arrangements of traditional English songs, including “Sally in our Alley” and “Oliver Cromwell”.

Noted for his “silken tenor” (Opera News), Eric Finbarr Carey’s season is highlighted by a series of significant debuts and return engagements. Most recently he sang the title role in Albert Herring, reprised his portrayal of Tom Rakewell in The Rake’s Progress, and performed as the Evangelist in Bach’s St. John Passion. This month Carey was tenor soloist in CITV’s presentation of Rossini’s Stabat Mater. Recently returned from France, he is the winner of the Clermont-Auvergne Opera Competition. Other awards include second place in the Gerda Lissner Song Competition, an Encouragement Award in the Metropolitan Opera Competition, and the Bard Concerto Competition. Carey has held residencies at the Renée Fleming Song Studio at Carnegie Hall, the Britten-Pears Festival, and the Tanglewood Music Center. Carey is an alumnus of Bard College, Boston University, Peabody Conservatory and The Johns Hopkins University. This summer he joins the Marlboro Music Festival as tenor in residence.

Erika Switzer is an accomplished collaborative pianist performing regularly in major concert settings around the world, including New York’s Weill Hall (Carnegie), Geffen Hall, Frick Collection and Bargemusic; the Kennedy Center in Washington; and the Spoleto Festival in South Carolina. Her performances have been called “precise and lucid” by the New York Times, and Renaud Machart of Le Monde described her as “one of the best collaborative pianists I have ever heard; her sound is deep, her interpretation intelligent, refined, and captivating.” From 2000-2007, Switzer performed and studied in Germany. Switzer has long been a leader in envisioning and promoting the future of art song performance. A frequent collaborator is baritone Tyler Duncan, with whom she has performed throughout the world. She is also an active teacher, serving on the music faculty at Bard College and Conservatory of Music. Switzer holds a doctorate from The Juilliard School and lives in New York’s Hudson Valley.