Concert-presentation of the book "Liederatur" - Essays on the German Lied and Other Writings, by Erik Battaglia and Milena Dolcetto. With Judith Maria Duerr, soprano.

The German Lied is the untranslatable song form that, from Goethe onward, combines great poetry and great music in a formidable unity, giving us masterpieces from Mozart to Webern, from Schubert to Strauss, from Wolf to Reimann. The kaleidoscopic beauty of the Lied is recounted here, sometimes from the poetic side, sometimes from the musical side, as befits a play of light, shadow, and infinite nuances. The author spent a lifetime, from childhood, playing with the words and notes of the Lied. His mentors were the great singer and Lieder performer Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Eric Sams (who coined the term Liederatur), his playgrounds were concert stages and classrooms, in Italy and abroad. And Fischer-Dieskau himself described him as writing about the Lied as a “proof of love.” Here is the fruit of decades of these experiments, free from jealousy between the sister arts. Here, words and music retrace the golden formula of their union, what Carlo Rovelli, with whom the author has corresponded for years, would call entanglement, outside of time and space yet suited to filling time and space with artistic enjoyment for the reader and for those who enjoy the products of an indissoluble elective affinity. The book, with a preface by Guido Salvetti, is enriched by an insert of reproductions of paintings by Fischer-Dieskau.

Programme:

ERMANNO WOLF-FERRARI

Quattro Rispetti op. 12

Quando ti vidi a quel canto apparire

O guarda, guarda quel nobile augello

Angiolo delicato, fresco e bello

Sia benedetto chi fece lo mondo

HUGO WOLF

Wer rief dich denn?

Nun lass uns Frieden schliessen

Nein, junger Herr

Mein Liebster singt am Haus

JOHANNES BRAHMS

Dai Liebeslieder-Walzer Op. 52

Wohl schön bewandt war es

Judith Maria Duerr soprano, Milena Dolcetto piano

Erik Battaglia pianist, teacher of vocal chamber music at the Turin Conservatory, scholar of the German Lied

Erik Battaglia began his concert career in 1986, entirely dedicated to German Lied and vocal chamber music. He has been a guest of Italy’s leading concert societies (Turin: Unione Musicale, Settembre Musica, Teatro Regio, Festival Sintonie, Piccolo Regio; Perugia: Amici della Musica, Sagra Musicale Umbra 1989, 1990, 1991; Spoleto: Festival dei due Mondi 1988, 2003; Florence, Musicus Concentus; Teatro Valli of Reggio Emilia, Lanciano Festival, Settimana Senese, Ravenna Festival, Ferrara Musica; L’Aquila: Società Barattelli; Rome: Istituzione Universitaria Concerti; Palermo: Amici della Musica; Carpi: International Festival of Vocal Music; Città di Castello: Festival delle Nazioni, etc.) with programs dedicated to various aspects of German, Italian, French, and Russian chamber vocalism. As Nicolai Gedda’s Italian accompanist on several occasions, he has performed lieder and melodies from the Russian and French repertoire with the great tenor. His Variations on a Theme by Webern were performed by the Turin Quartet for the Unione Musicale di Torino. Erik Battaglia has performed at prestigious venues in Europe and beyond (Teatro Coliseum in Buenos Aires, Staatsoper in Hamburg, Teatro La Monnaie in Brussels, Radio France in Paris, etc.). He made his debut in November 1996 in two Liederabende at the Brahms-Saal of the Musikverein in Vienna with Lucio Gallo. Erik Battaglia and Lucio Gallo were the first Italian artists to perform a Liederabende at the Theater Unter den Linden in Berlin in November 2001. In August 2003, he conducted and performed Hugo Wolf’s unfinished opera, Manuel Venegas, in the Wiener Saal in Salzburg. With Valentina Valente, he was the first Italian interpreter of many works by Aribert Reimann (including Sonata No. 1, performed for MITO-Settembre Musica in 2006). In 1999, he organized the complete performance of Richard Strauss’s Lieder, with the patronage and support of Dr. Christian Strauss, heir and curator of the Maestro’s works. From 2013 to 2021, he supervised the performance of Franz Schubert’s complete Lieder works (600 Lieder), entirely performed for the Unione Musicale di Torino by students of his school and dedicated to the memory of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Erik Battaglia also combines his concert and teaching activities with that of a musicologist: in 2009, his book Gioia e dolore diventa canto – 1000 Lieder su poesie di Goethe was published by the Accademia di Santa Cecilia with a preface by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; In 2011, he published a monograph on Hugo Wolf’s early Lieder (with a preface by Claus-Christian Schuster), on the Lieder of Strauss (with a preface by Michael Kennedy), and on Gustav Mahler (with a preface by Graham Johnson). He edited the Italian edition of Gerald Moore’s book The unashamed accompanist (Il pianista accompagnatore, Curci editions, preface and translation by E. B.), and has published numerous articles on the history and performance practice of the German Lied (e.g., 2012, contribution to the volume Franz Liszt: A Chorus of Voices published by Amadeus Press; 2023, essay on Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder in Tutto Mahler, Zecchini editore). His books include: The Book of Lieder (1111 translations of poetic texts, intransito Milan, 2024), as well as dozens of translations of musicological, poetic, and theatrical texts (e.g., Frank Walker: Hugo Wolf, Hermann Bahr: The Poor Madman, The Concert). He translated the biography of Raoul Wallenberg, Bahr’s Antisemitism (Giuntina edition), and edited the volume Musica per la Shoah with Claudio Voghera (Giuntina edition, 2025). In 2025, the volume Liederatur (LIM) was published, which collects his essays and writings on the Lied. He edited the introductory notes and translations of the German poems for all his CD recordings (Ricordi, Fonit-Cetra, Warner, with chamber vocal works by Wolf-Ferrari, Respighi, Tosti, Schumann, and Martucci). In 2006, Erik Battaglia founded the Eric Sams Study Center for research on the German Lied, which promotes the work of the great English musicologist, his mentor. He has translated Eric Sams’s complete works (on music and Shakespeare, 11 volumes already published), as well as curating an online edition of his estate in the original language (www.ericsams.org). Erik Battaglia is a member of the Honorary Advisory Board of the Lyrica Society for Word-Music Relations at Harvard. Ricordi/Berlin has published his Anthology of Lieder from Zelter to Strauss with a preface by Thomas Hampson. A conversation about music with Carlo Rovelli appeared in the book Lo conoscevo, qui, sopra il fiume Tao (Solferino) by the great theoretical physicist. Erik Battaglia has been Professor of Vocal Chamber Music (Lied and Oratorio) since 1993, and has held this chair at the “G. Verdi” Conservatory in Turin since 2001. As a teacher, he continues the work of popularizing the German Lied in Italy begun by his father, the baritone and teacher Elio Battaglia. He taught for over 15 years at the Hugo Wolf Academy in Acquasparta, and has held numerous Master Classes (among others) at the Milan Conservatory, the Duo Course at the Pinerolo Academy of Music, and the Advanced Course at the Fiesole School of Music. He has taught at the Akademie der Künste in Berlin and has been a guest lecturer several times at the Vilnius Academy. He taught courses on Hugo Wolf at the Hamburg Academy of Music and from 2013 to 2022 taught at the Deutsche Liedakademie in Trossingen. He served as a juror at the Paula Solomon International Lieder Competition in Berlin and as president of the jury at the Elsa Respighi Competition in Verona.

Milena Dolcetto, pianist

Milena Dolcetto graduated from the “Francesco Venezze” State Conservatory of Music in Rovigo under the guidance of Gianna Giorgetti, one of Maria Tipo’s favorite students. She attended master classes with Maestro Alexander Lonquich and the two-year advanced course in piano and chamber music with Maestro Marian Mika. Erik Battaglia’s first student when the Chamber Vocal Music class opened at the Rovigo Conservatory in 1993 (where she graduated with honors in 1997), she continued to deepen her knowledge of this repertoire under the guidance of her teacher and mentor, and her father, Elio Battaglia, at the “Hugo Wolf” School for Singers and Collaborating Pianist in Acquasparta, where she was assistant pianist from 1998 to 2003. She has attended vocal interpretation courses with Steve Woodbury and Giovanni Acciai, deepening her knowledge of the Monteverdi madrigal repertoire, and courses in French vocal music with Maestro Dalton Baldwin. She currently serves as Maestro Erik Battaglia’s assistant in the German Lied master classes at the Fiesole School of Music. She has collaborated with ensembles and chamber orchestras (Elemiah Ensemble, Filarmonici Veneti, Offerta Musicale di Venezia, etc.). She participated in the activities of the Fabula Saltica Ballet Company and was a pianist of the ballet company, as well as a teacher of music education at the advanced courses for dancers of the Veneto Region. Pianist at the Accademia Danzarteatro of Padua (International Cecchetti Society), pianist at the advanced courses of the London Royal Academy of Dance. She has worked as a répétiteur and pianist of the ballet company for numerous theatres and institutions: Rai Italian Radio and Television, Teatro alla Scala in Milan, Teatro Sociale in Rovigo, Teatro Comunale in Bologna, Comunale in Treviso, Gran Teatro La Fenice in Venice, Teatro Comunale in Ferrara. She carries out concert activity, dedicating herself to the German Lied and chamber music repertoire (her latest engagements at the Cello Competition – Prague, Maggio Musicale Fiorentino, Conservatorio Cherubini in Florence, Mulino del Ronzone, recording studio – Vinci, Sala del Trono, Castello di Miramare – Trieste). She has been the curator and director of the European Music Day since the first edition in Rovigo (2009). Together with Erik Battaglia, she created the project “PROSPERO’S VOICE, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau on the centenary of his birth,” which will conclude on October 26, 2025, with a performance honoring the great baritone, premiering at the Teatro Sociale in Rovigo (where she is responsible for communications and educational projects) and a live-streamed symposium in partnership with Rai Cultura. A freelance journalist, she collaborates with specialized music magazines, newspapers, and theater organizations, publishing essays, articles, and giving lectures on musicology. She has been a music critic for the national newspaper Il Gazzettino since 1996. Among the books she has edited is “The German Lied in Italy” (Analogon editions).

Judith Maria Duerr

Swiss soprano Judith Maria Duerr graduated with honors from the Lucerne Music School and the Bern University of the Arts. She subsequently participated in several masterclasses with leading names in the opera scene. In 2025, she was admitted to the Accademia Verdiana at the Teatro Regio di Parma. She furthered her studies at the Mascagni Academy of the Mascagni Festival in Livorno and at the Accademia del Teatro Coccia in Novara. She studied German Lied with Erik Battaglia at the Scuola di Musica di Fiesole. In 2025, she sang the Frauenliebe und -leben cycle with pianist Milena Dolcetto at the Teatro del Maggio Fiorentino. She sang a recital at the Opéra Nice Côte d’Azur. She made her role debut as Giannetta at the Teatro Mario del Monaco in Treviso under the direction of Tiziano Severini and Bepi Morassi. She made her role debut as La Ciesca (Gianni Schicchi) at the San Gimignano International Festival and at the Teatro Carlo Goldoni in Livorno (directed by Giandomenico Vaccari). She also performed as a soloist in a concert dedicated to Puccini at the San Gimignano International Festival. At the Teatro Coccia in Novara, she played Luisa in La Zia di Carlo and took part in the performances Omaggio a Giacomo Puccini and Omaggio a Carlo Cocca. At the TAK Theater Liechtenstein, she performed Haydn’s Scena di Berenice with the Montfort Chamber Orchestra under the direction of Christoph Eberle. Other debuts include Frasquita (Carmen), Idamante (Idomeneo), Zweite Dame (Die Zauberflöte), Ciboletta (Eine Nacht in Venedig), Kathi (Im Weissen Rössl), and Ida (Die Fledermaus). She appeared as a princess and lady-in-waiting in the contemporary opera Lady Sarashina at the Teatro Sociale in Bellinzona. At the Biel-Solothurn Theater, she performed in the children’s opera “Le noel de Zell.” As a concert performer, she has performed Schubert’s Mass in G major, the Vesperae solennes de Confessore KV 339 and the Coronation Mass KV 317, Mendelssohn’s Psalm 42, and Mozart’s Requiem. The soprano performed Robert Schumann’s “Liederkreis op. 39” and lieder by Richard Strauss at the “Festival 3 M” in Arquà Polesine together with pianist Milena Dolcetto. She also gave a concert featuring lieder from Hugo Wolf’s “Italienisches Liederbuch” at the “Luigi Cherubini” Conservatory of Music in Florence and in Vinci. Among her chamber music repertoire, she has also performed: Liederkreis op. 39 and Dichterliebe op. 48 by Schumann, the Twelve Romances op. 14 by S. Rachmaninoff, the Cinq poèmes de Baudelaire and the Ariettes oubliées by C. Debussy. She is a winner of the Elvira Lüthi-Wegmann Foundation competition, the recognition prize of the Alte Mühle Gams and the Podiumkonzerte Liechtenstein. She is also a recipient of the Covid-19 work grant from the City of Zurich and the Thyll Foundation.