Under the title of ‘Dedication’, the Austrian Kammersängerin Ildiko Raimondi and the Junge Philharmonie Wien conducted by Michael Lessky present selected songs by Richard Strauss and Franz Schubert.

Whereas the orchestrations of the Strauss songs were written directly in the temporal context of the composer’s working life, the majority of Schubert’s works were only later arranged for larger ensembles in the course of the emerging great popularity of the orchestral song at the beginning of the 20th century – frequently by arrangers whose names are hardly known today.

The more multi-layered sound and wealth of timbres of the orchestral version in comparison with the accustomed piano score cast a new light on songs such as ‘Ständchen’, ‘Heimliche Aufforderung’, ‘Freundliche Vision’, ‘Winterweihe’ (Strauss) or ‘An die Musik’, ‘Du bist die Ruh’, ‘An den Mond’ or ‘Wiegenlied’ (Schubert).

Ildiko Raimondi was born in Arad, Rumania, where she began her music education. She completed her vocal studies in Italy with Flaviano Labo and Carlo Bergonzi. She has performed in Dresden, Munich, Berlin, Valencia, Zurich and Helsinki as well as at Festivals in Salzburg, Edinburgh, Ludwigsburg, Bregenz and the Wiener Festwochen. Since 1991 she has been a member of the ensemble of the Wiener Staatsoper.

Michael Lessky hails from a highly musical Viennese family. He primarily gained his training as a conductor with Karl Österreicher at the Vienna Music Academy, acquiring additional important stimulus by frequently assisting Claudio Abbado at the Vienna State Opera as well as working with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra. In addition, he studied law, piano, organ, church music and the theory of jazz in Vienna.