Peter Mazalán /

Ten, čo prežil / Survivor 

(october 2018)
George Tabori _ Mother´s Courage
Arnold Schoenberg _ A survivor from Warsaw

Art song is for me the most profound form of expression. Intense, autonomous, and unassuming.
My choice of songs reflects my experience and understanding of a particular stage in my life.

Vier ernste Gesänge (Four Serious Songs) by Johannes Brahms, full of deep spiritual insight, raise the serious question of the human condition, of life’s meaning until its very end. Contemplation of our existence continues in the analysis of the parent-child relationship in its reverse stage, the subject of Cikker’s song cycle O mamičke (About My Dear Mother). With Cikker’s dramatic pieces I propose the lyrical, peaceful moments of near slumber with Zwei Gesänge (Two Songs) for alto and viola again by Brahms. Strauss’ op. 26 (Zwei Lieder) and op. 27 (Vier Lieder) present a little lighter side of the lieder repertoire, although not without its contemplative moments. A fleeting distraction.

There is a geographical, relevant relationship between the German and Slovak song. I see it precisely in their physical separation, and surprisingly, their bonds, in the idea of separation and the resulting transformation of a relationship, conditioned by the wisdom of life.