Saturday 19 July. Emeritus Professor Peter Roennfeldt on THE WAGNER-SCHUMANN CONNECTION.
The careers of Richard Wagner and Robert Schumann were remarkably interlinked during the 1840s, which was a crucial decade for both composers. Due to Schumann’s relatively early death and Wagner’s later reticence to acknowledge their prior relationship, this connection has not been fully understood or examined until quite recently. But there were strong mutual influences during the genesis of Schumann’s only opera Genoveva and Wagner’s Lohengrin, both of which were completed in 1848 and premiered in 1850. It is possible to also trace an afterglow of Schumann’s influence in Tristan, and perhaps a Wagnerian tinge in selected passages of Schumann’s late works. Peter Roennfeldt’s illustrated talk will discuss the many crossover points and coincidences in the careers of Schumann and Wagner, their observations of each other’s personality and musical output, and the ways in which their works from the mid-1840s onwards share similarities of style.
Professor Roennfeldt is a former Director of the Queensland Conservatorium (2002-09) where he lectured from the mid-1980s until 2017. At Radio 4MBS Classic FM, 384 Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo, Brisbane. 3:00pm to 5:00pm. $15 for members and $20 for guests. Please transfer payment to Bank of Queensland BSB 124 021; Account No. 2261 2919. Ref. (surname) July. And please email the Secretary, Alpha Yap, at alphayap60@gmail.com to advise of your attendance and provide the names of your guests.
Saturday 16 August. RECITAL by baritone Dallas Tippet with accompanist Mark Connors. Featuring some beautiful early songs by Wagner together with some of his later pieces: Mignonne (1839); Lied des Mephistopheles from Pieces for Goethe’s Faust (1831); Mein Herr und Gott from Lohengrin (1845-48), and Träume from the Wesendonck Lieder (1857-58). At Radio 4MBS Classic FM, 384 Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo, Brisbane. 3:00pm to 5:00pm. $15 for members and $20 for guests. Please transfer payment to Bank of Queensland BSB 124 021; Account No. 2261 2919. Ref. (surname) August. And please email the Secretary, Alpha Yap, at alphayap60@gmail.com to advise of your attendance and provide the names of your guests.
Saturday 20 September. CINEMA EVENT AND RECEPTION to be held in the Elizabeth Picture Theatre, 175 Elizabeth St. Brisbane City, commencing at 3pm. LOHENGRIN ACT I will be shown in a private screening, preceded by an introductory talk by Peter Bassett. Afterwards, a ‘Prosecco and Cake’ reception in the adjoining lounge. Further details to follow.
Lohengrin, sculpture by Caspar David Zumbusch. Bayreuth, Richard-Wagner-Museum
Saturday 18 October. Professor Alpha Yap on LEITMOTIV IN WAGNER. At Radio 4MBS Classic FM, 384 Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo, Brisbane. 3:00pm to 5:00pm.
Saturday 8 November. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING plus presentation (TBA). At Radio 4MBS Classic FM, 384 Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo, Brisbane. 3:00pm to 5:00pm.
Saturday 29 November CHRISTMAS LUNCH. Details to follow.
The Performance Studio of 4MBS Classic FM, 384 Old Cleveland Road, Coorparoo.
Radio 4MBS Classic FM offers free parking, accessible via a driveway on the left side of the premises (look for the sign) and, with limited spaces, via the main driveway to the right. There are ample free parking spaces available in the neighbouring streets, within easy walking distance.