The Lieder were all recorded in the beautiful rural venue of Venturing Hills Concert Studio, north of Ottawa. They are some of Strauss earliest mature songs, written between 1885 and 1887, when in his early 20s - his Opus 10, 15 and 17. They include all-time favourites 'Zueignung' and 'Allerseelen', both from Opus 10, amongst a treasury of impassioned songs.
Lyric mezzo Wallis Giunta is a company soloist at Oper Leipzig, singing roles including Cenerentola, Cherubino and Siébel. In 2016/17, she will debut with Opera North, performing the title role in Rossini’s La Cenerentola, concerts with Munich Radio Orchestra, Symphony Nova Scotia and the Real Orquesta Sinfónica de Sevilla, and will make her recital debut in Vancouver. Wallis will also return to Toronto’s Opera Atelier to debut the title role in Purcell’s Dido and Aeneas and to the Toronto Symphony for a new production of Weill’s The Seven Deadly Sins.
Pianist Carson Becke performs as a soloist and chamber musicians, including in Canada, where he is Artistic Director of the Festival Pontiac Enchanté, the UK, Ireland, Germany, Switzerland (Verbier Festival), Poland, Latvia, Malta and the Caribbean. He has lived in the UK since 2005, studying at The Purcell School, Royal Academy of Music (Tatiana Sarkissova) and Oxford University, writing a D.Phil on the music of Richard Strauss. This recording is the first of a multi-album project to record Strauss's early piano, chamber and vocal music, including some works for the first time.