Daniel Harding - Schumann: Scenes from Goethe's Faust

The British Master Daniel Harding conducts the Choir, the Children's Voices and the Orchestra of the Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia at the Auditorium Parco della Musica, presenting the Scenes from Goethe's Faust by Robert Schumann. The great German composer, in fact, deeply inspired by the reading of the second part of Faust, in which occurs the transfiguration of the protagonist's soul, gave the most intense musical reading of Goethe's famous work; for this reason it is still considered a masterpiece of Schumann and of all Romantic music in general.

The Profane Oratorio, originally titled in German Szenen aus Goethes Faust (Scenes from Goethe's Faust), composed by Schumann between 1844 and 1853 on a text taken from the Faust by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, is considered one of the composer's greatest achievements in the genre of dramatic music.

The vocal cast includes among the protagonists the German baritone Christian Gerhaher (who returns to Santa Cecilia after eight years) in the role of Faust, the soprano Christiane Karg in the role of Gretchen and the tenor Andrew Staples in the roles of Ariel, Pater Ecstaticus, Pater Profundus; choirmaster Andrea Secchi, choirmaster Claudia Morelli.

Photo credits: courtesy of the  the Auditorium Parco della Musica official site