Song Recital Project: Fictional Lieder

Join us for a lunchtime concert as Song Recital Project presents a new program, “Fictional Lieder,” featuring baritone Jason Fuh and pianist Betty Meyers. 

“Fictional Lieder” explores the rich world of storytelling in the songs and ballades of Franz Schubert (1797–1828) and Robert Schumann (1810–1856). Inspired by Romantic poetry and folklore, these works bring fictional characters and dramatic narratives vividly to life: supernatural spirits emerge from the shadows, tragic lovers confront despair, and wandering heroes grapple with fate and memory. 

In these lieder, voice and piano act as equal partners in storytelling. The piano evokes landscapes, storms, galloping horses, and psychological tension, while the singer inhabits multiple characters and shifting perspectives. Through this intimate fusion of poetry and music, Schubert and Schumann transformed the art song into a powerful dramatic medium.

This program highlights the composers’ fascination with imagination, emotion, and the blurred boundary between reality and fantasy, inviting listeners into the haunting and deeply human worlds at the heart of German Romanticism.

The views expressed by performers during this event are their own and do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Cleveland Museum of Art.