Daniel Johannsen and Dror Semmel perform Schubert's "Winterreise" at the Eden-Tamir Music Center, Jerusalem

 

Daniel Johannsen (Anette Friedel)

Dror Semmel (Alex Kaplan)

The stormy, blustery weather leading up to January 10th 2026 had given way to a hazy, pallid Jerusalem sky. The ground was damp underfoot. Nature had provided the ideal setting for a performance of Franz Schubert's "Winterreise" (Winter's Journey) to take place at the Eden-Tamir Music Center. In collaboration with the Israeli Schubertiade, we heard the song cycle performed by tenor Daniel Johannsen (Austria) with Eden-Tamir Music Center artistic director Dror Semmel playing the center's recently-acquired Graf fortepiano.

 

Dr. Semmel opened the festive event with a few words about the fortepiano as being the instrument Schubert would have heard, the fortepiano symbolizing the Romantic Lied genre, its timbre and scope creating an intimate connection between music and text. Builder of historic pianos Paul McNulty (US) modelled this Graf fortepiano (the only one in Israel) after instruments played by Beethoven, Schubert and Chopin.

 

Confronting his own approaching death, Schubert found appropriate content for the "Winterreise" song cycle in the dark, melancholic poems of a Prussian contemporary - Wilhelm Müller (1794-1827) - a lyric poet who was known to openly invite collaborations with musicians. Unjustly referred to in his day as second rate, Müller had, in fact, given new expression to the literary ideals of his time. "Winterreise" presents only one speaking character and no narrator, leaving the listener unaware of the protagonist's name, his appearance (except that he has black hair), his birthplace, occupation or personal history. Of his inner life, we learn more as the cycle progresses. From the first chords of the opening song, "Gute Nacht" (Good Night), as we join the protagonist stepping away from the town, rejected by the lady he loves, the piece's fleeting recollection of better times is replaced by the piano re-establishing the bleak mood and weary pace (a feature recurring in several of the songs.) Johannsen and Semmel's deep, rigorous inquiry into the wealth of fine details and the many layers of "Winterreise" summons the audience at the Eden-Tamir Center to be more than attentive!

 

In addition to some vivid story-telling, the artists' production displayed the cycle's succession of psychological states - the protagonist's emotions and moods, those ranging from sadness, anger, despair, nostalgia, illusion and hope to resignation - the different states of mind often shifting from one to another within the blink of an eye. With the fortepiano's timbre direct and transparent, we hear the occasional divergence between the character of the words and the keyboard score, an interesting element, at times intimating that the piano is more aware of certain issues than is the traveller, at others, perhaps more distanced. And the contrasts, so many contrasts - songs of intensive, explosive energy, songs of wispy textures and eerie stillness, references to the icy European winter, to the comfort of warmth, moments of gorgeous, idyllic Viennese melodiousness and then of despair, contrasts of texture, of tempo, of gesture, and more. They were all present, not only via the contours of the singer’s melody, but also in the pictorial vividness of the piano score, set within Müller and Schubert's immense, palpably existent nature canvas.  

 

I choose to mention "Die Krähe" (The Crow), a song unique in Lied literature and one of my favourites. Imaginatively evoking the crow's call (via the word “Krähe") Johannsen portrays the wanderer speaking fondly of- and to the crow that has accompanied him from the outset of his journey, asking if it will stay with him till he dies. However, presenting the song's austere duality, the wanderer also asks whether the crow is waiting to feast on his carcass. Taking leave of gravity, Semmel's playing elevates the listener way up into the tranquillity of the sky to join the bird soaring in its airy expanses, then to finally descend smoothly into the piano's lower register to deliver Schubert's grim answer. 

 

As to "Der Leiermann" (The Hurdy-Gurdy Man), the cycle's horrific final song, announced by a drone on the piano (a feature of the hurdy-gurdy, an early instrument having several drone strings), Johannsen and Semmel's careful, deliberate pacing of its bleak, haunted content creates a sense of staticity. The artists' melancholic, intense reading of one of the most enigmatic songs in Lied repertoire was heightened by an otherworldly effect Semmel created by combining use of the Graf's double moderator with the sustaining pedal.

 

Thirty years after Schubert’s death, Joseph von Spaun wrote of attending the first performance of "Winterreise" - a private affair, in which the composer performed the song cycle for his friends. Schubert referred to the work as " a cycle of horrifying songs", adding that they had cost him "more effort than any of my other songs.” With "Winterreise" originally composed for the tenor voice (possibly to give a sense of implied youthfulness) Daniel Johannsen is utterly convincing as he narrates and emotes, enlisting his large range of dynamics and engaging in word painting, his vocal timbre warm yet variously coloured, his diction inviting the audience to savour every word, every gesture. These qualities, together with Dror Semmel's outstanding and committed reading of the richly allusive and occasionally austere piano part, made for a vital, moving and altogether engrossing musical experience. 

Graf fortepiano (Courtesy Eden-Tamir Music Center)

 

 

Jochewed Schwarz (spinet) and Ashley Solomon (traverso) perform Baroque music on period instruments at a house concert in Jerusalem

Ashley Solomon (J.A.)

Jochewed Schwarz (Lauren Pressler)

 

In 18th-century Europe, salon concerts (some held in private homes, some within royal courts) were the main source of musical life for the aristocracy and wealthy elite. These exclusive events (coexisting with the emerging public concert scene) catered to the desire for intimate performance and social distinction, the invitees being eminent artists, writers, diplomats and other intellectuals. Gathered at a private home in Jerusalem on December 28th 2025, our gracious hostess offered us such an experience, with Jochewed Schwarz and Ashley Solomon performing on spinet and traverso (Baroque transverse flute). Taking the audience on "The Grand Tour - Baroque music from across Europe" the artists presented works of prominent composers from four European countries.

 

Starting the journey in England, Jochewed Schwarz invited the audience to experience some fine early keyboard playing with three lively, archetypal English pieces - corantos (short, dance-type pieces, characterized by short running passages) from the Fitzwilliam Virginal Book. (This pivotal historic tome includes keyboard pieces from 25 named- and anonymous composers from the late Renaissance and very early Baroque). Of George Frideric Handel, who settled in London in 1712, where he spent most of his career (becoming a naturalised British subject) the artists performed Flute Sonata in E minor (HWV 359b). Originally written for the violin, London music publisher John Walsh transposed it (and others) into suitable keys for the flute, presumably in order to improve their sales potential. Solomon reminded us that the flute was an instrument played by kings; this score was in King George II's library. Schwarz's elegant exploration of the original figured bass practice moved hand-in-glove with Solomon's melodiously lush, buoyant, expressive and tastefully ornamented playing.

 

Crossing the Channel to France, to where the transverse flute was one of the most popular instruments in the first half of the 18th century, we heard two works of Jacques-Martin Hotteterre. Of the Hotteterre family, important in the musical life of France under the "ancien régime", we know of thirteen members who were woodwind instrument makers, players and composers. Court musician Jacques-Martin was the most famous of them for his treatises, his teaching, as a composer of works for flute and recorder and as a brilliant player. Hotteterre's instruction was that his Suite No.1 be played on the transverse flute. Solomon and Schwarz gave subtle meaning to each of its different moods, with melodic lines abounding in "notes inégales" and displaying French techniques of ornamentation. Also, by Hotteterre, the artists gave wistful, embellished delivery of Hotteterre's setting of the song "Pourquoy doux rossignol" (Why, sweet nightingale.)  Exactly what François Couperin le Grand was referring to in his keyboard piece "Les Barricades Mystérieuses" (The Mysterious Barricades) remains obscure. Navigating the rondeau's course of skilfully dovetailed motifs written in the arpeggiated "style brisé" (broken style) with its driving, teasing rhythmic schemes and “unexpected” harmonies, Schwarz's playing of this small gem was captivating. French composer and renowned court flautist Michel de la Barre is recognized as being the first person to publish solo flute music. The Chaconne from his Suite "l`Inconnue" for flute and basso continuo in G major ("The Unknown Lady," the specific lady remaining unnamed, ties in with Baroque musical traditions of evocative titles rather than direct portraiture) made for a delightful concert piece. Zesty yet courtly, refined yet effervescent, rhythmically decisive and presenting a variety of different instrumental flute techniques, it was beautifully handled by both artists, with Schwarz effectuating the skeleton figured bass harmonic guidelines.

 

The artists performed works by two giants of the German Baroque. Ashley Solomon spoke of Georg Philipp Telemann as writing idiomatically for the flute. Whether the Twelve Fantasies for flute (solo) without bass were written for didactic purposes or to accommodate the virtuoso performers of his day is unclear. What is clear is that, groundbreaking as they were when written, they remain some of the most original and inventive pieces in the entire flute repertoire. Solomon chose to play Fantasie No.12 in G minor, his spontaneity calling attention to the piece's formal freedom, to the contrasting moods of its miniature movements and to the composer’s ingenuity in creating "false" polyphony and interior dialogues. Sharing the same tonality, we heard what has been known as Johann Sebastian Bach's Sonata in G minor BWV 1020. (Current scholarship now names the author as Johann Sebastian’s son C.P.E. Bach.) The artists underscored the charm and beauty of the work, presenting the depth and equal interest written into both instrumental roles, their dialogue real, subtle and engaging, with a lovely sense of balance between the parts. Their sparing use of flexing and rubato added to the sense of spontaneity.

 

And to Italy, known as the "land of the violin." The bulk of Pietro Antonio Locatelli's oeuvre consists of sonatas and concertos for his own instrument, the violin. Of  Locatelli's virtuosity on the instrument, a contemporary of his, Charles Henri de Blainville, remarked that he "was able… to make a caged song bird fall from its perch in a swoon of pleasure." Like those he wrote for the violin, Locatelli's Flute Sonatas Op 2 (published in Amsterdam, where the music publishing industry was lucrative) make considerable demands on the soloist's technique. Boding the emerging “style galant”, they contributed much to the genre of the solo sonata, which was now gaining prominence over the trio sonata. There was much to enjoy in the artists' performance of Sonata in C major - fine teamwork, virtuosic playing, the music's variety of expression, its rhythmic manoeuvres and the small surprises it (and the artists) had in store, these including, for example, just a few small, suspenseful halts in the 3rd movement. Many of us have played Francesco Barsanti's Recorder Sonatas Op 1. In 1735, the Italian composer and wind player left Italy in 1714 for London, where he played in Handel’s opera orchestra. In 1735, he moved to Edinburgh for eight years. There, he produced "A Collection of Old Scots Tunes", settings he dedicated to a certain young Lady Charlotte Erskine. The evening's program ended with Jochewed Schwarz and Ashley Solomon performing three pieces from the collection, their delivery appealing, charmingly sentimental and songful, the pieces indeed stylistically very Scottish coming from the pen of an Italian composer! 

 

It was an evening of warm hospitality, interesting explanations and fine music. For many in the audience, it was their first encounter with this repertoire and with period instruments. The artists very much enjoyed the audience’s curiosity, their attentive listening, the questions they asked and the genuine dialogue with them. Jochewed Schwarz (Israel) played an exquisitely beautiful spinettino built by William Horn, inspired by a 16th-century Italian trapezoidal spinet in the Kunsthistorisches Museum (Vienna).  Ashley Solomon (UK) brought with him two flutes - a boxwood flute by Rod Cameron after J.Denner (Germany, 1720) and an ebony flute by Martin Wenner after C.Palanca (Italy, 1750).

 

The Italian trapezoidal spinet (William Horn)