Silenced - Unsung Voices of the 20th Century, featuring tenor Ian Koziara and pianist Bradley Moore, shines a light on art songs by composers Franz Schreker, Vitezslava Kapralova, Viktor Ullmann, and Alexander von Zemlinsky, whose musical achievements were overshadowed by the oppression of the Third Reich. This recording marks the first time many of these art songs, traditionally performed by sopranos, are being recorded in the tenor voice.
Described as "an exciting Wagner tenor" (New York Times) and "a wonderful artist" (Washington Post), Chicago native Ian Koziara has performed at leading venues worldwide, including the Metropolitan Opera, Carnegie Hall, Glimmerglass, Teatro La Fenice, and Opera National du Capitole, among others. He sings regularly at Oper Frankfurt, where he recently starred in Franz Schreker's Der ferne Klang.
Bradley Moore has served as associate Music Director at the Houston Grand Opera and assistant conductor at the Metropolitan Opera and Salzburg Festival. He has performed as a piano soloist with orchestras including the National Symphony Orchestra and Buffalo Philharmonic, and has collaborated in recital with artists such as Renée Fleming and Susan Graham.
This recording explores the operatic and chromatically rich German harmonies of early 20th-century composers Franz Schreker (1878-1934) and Alexander von Zemlinsky (1871-1942), alongside the esoteric textures of Viktor Ullmann (1898-1944), who wrote his Holderlin-Lieder and Drei Lieder, Op. 37 during his internment at the Terezin concentration camp. Vitezslava Kapralova (1915-1940), the least known and shortest-lived composer on the program, was a trailblazer as the first Czech woman to become a professional conductor and the first woman ever to conduct the Czech Philharmonic. Kapralova possessed extraordinary talent and technical virtuosity, and her passion for song and poetry are reflected on this program in sets such as Dve pisne, Op. 4 and Jablko s klina, Op. 10. Tragically, Kapralova's career was cut short by her untimely death at age 25.
