The Musical World of Thomas Mann (1997)

World premiere: April 4, 1997
Cullen Theater, Wortham Theater Center

New York premiere: April 7, 1997
Great Performers at Lincoln Center

Conceived and directed by Sarah Rothenberg

Original performers: Katherine Ciesinski, mezzo-soprano; Sarah Rothenberg, piano; Rolf Schulte, violin; Toby Appel, viola; Fred Sherry, cello; Fritz Weaver, reader

Ludwig van Beethoven: Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111
Arnold Schoenberg: String Trio
Selected songs by Wolf, Schubert, Schumann, Wagner, Mahler and Pfitzner

Recognized as one of the literary geniuses of the century, no writer has informed his fiction with references to great musical works more than Thomas Mann (The Magic Mountain, Doctor Faustus, Death in Venice). Selected readings introduce the musical masterpieces that inspired the author.

Press:

“At this scrupulously orchestrated event, as pools of light alternated between narrator and musicians, Mann and the music he loved talked back and forth…These events by Da Camera of Houston begin with good ideas, but more impressive is the thoroughness with which they are worked out.” – The New York Times

“Rothenberg was virtuosic in her nimble execution at the piano of the devilishly difficult and dramatic Sonata No. 32 in C Minor, Op. 111 – so much a feature of Mann’s Doctor Faustus.” – Houston Chronicle

Venues: Wortham Theater Center, Houston; Great Performers at Lincoln Center; University of Texas at Austin; De Ijsbreker Festival, Amsterdam