Die 2 – 15. Mai 2021

Beyond the Music is a special 15-CD edition celebrating contralto Marian Anderson, the first Black singer at the Met. On April 9, 1939, a cold Easter Sunday, a woman in a fur coat walked down the steps of Lincoln Memorial, ready to perform open-air after being refused the largest hall in Washington because she was Black. As contralto Marian Anderson raised her voice to sing the words of My Country, ’Tis of Thee to the 75,000 who gathered to listen to her, an unforgettable historic moment unfolded. The great voice of “The Lady from Philadelphia,” first discovered by her local neighborhood, took her to global fame on the stages of Europe, Asia, and America. She became the first Black woman to perform at the Met in New York, she sang for presidents and kings, was honored with the Presidential Medal of Freedom, and with her dignity, courage, and unwavering belief in equal rights she became an icon in her supportive role for the civil rights movement.

A voyage of discovery through a lesser-known area of Schubert’s rich and prolific output, this collection comprises seven themed CDs: Transience; Love; Eternity; Heroism; Nature; Celebrations, and Circle of Friends. “Each disc has its share of the treasures,” wrote Gramophone, “The Arnold Schoenberg Choir is a fine body of musicians … they show a virtually unflawed beauty and opulence of tone.” Vocal soloists include Ruth Ziesak, Angelika Kirchschlager, Christoph Prégardien and Robert Holl, and among the featured pianists are András Schiff and Andreas Staier. This complete edition of Schubert’s secular choral works won major prizes in Germany, France, Belgium and Japan on its first release in 1997.