KATEŘINA KNĚŽÍKOVÁ AND JAKUB HRŮŠA

Kateřina Kněžíková and the Bamberg Symphony led by the conductor Jakub Hrůša have recorded an album with a sensitive selection spanning Richard Strauss’s entire song oeuvre. The songs reflect major events from the composer’s entire life and the atmosphere of his times, culminating with the themes of parting and death he expressed in one of his last works, the orchestral songs Vier letzte Lieder. Every song is a perfectly polished gem, the beauty of which is enhanced by the extraordinary creative collaboration between Kateřina Kněžíková and Jakub Hrůša, with the latter unusually also playing the piano accompaniments.

Tell us what was the hardest thing for you about recording Strauss’s songs, and what on the other hand brought you the greatest joy?

Kateřina Kněžíková: For me, making the recording was just a joy and an amazing creative process. The hardest thing was finding a place to make the recording and synchronising my schedule with those of Jakub and the recording team. Then it was just a matter of endurance and enjoying our time together as much as possible.

Jakub Hrůša: I threw myself into the whole project with very heartfelt eagerness, but also with an extreme burden of responsibility, of course. I am not trained as a professional pianist (although I had a passion for playing the piano in my youth), and I could feel that fact weighing greatly within me. But the orchestral songs, which were recorded first, simply cried out for more, and besides that, Kateřina was so satisfied with collaborating with me as her pianist that she ultimately persuaded me as well to go into it with full determination and commitment. These songs are beautiful, and it was a pleasure to work on them. Really, the main problem for me was finding the time to seat myself at the piano for serious work, given my conducting schedule and how I am going from place to place with rehearsals or concerts nearly every day. Nobody gets anywhere without practising. And then setting a date that works for the whole team—and holding up mentally in these extraordinary circumstances while making the recording. But the result and the feeling that goes with it have made it worthwhile. I’m enormously pleased with the album, and I’m glad I persevered.

What has working together meant to you?

Kateřina Kněžíková: A rare encounter with Jakub, and not “just” as a conductor, but especially as a pianist. I greatly admire how he threw himself into it with his typical energy and enthusiasm. It’s a miracle that we have carried this multi-year project through to a successful conclusion. We’re both proud of the result, and we hope our enthusiasm for Richard Strauss’s works will also carry over to listeners.

Jakub Hrůša: It really was a rare departure from my routine, and it also taught me a great deal. I had already conducted plenty of Richard Strauss’s music. Getting such an intimate glimpse into that genius’s most deeply personal repertoire in such a hands-on manner was a great challenge and a great gift. I feel like Strauss’s songs are some of the most genuine music that he wrote. And if I may say something even more personal, from preparing for this project and seeing it through conscientiously, I have felt a gigantic surge of respect for the instrumentalists I have the honour of working with on a daily basis or of observing as a listener. I have become accustomed to the relative comfort of thinking as a conductor about big musical concepts and dreaming about grand interpretive visions (which requires huge effort of a different kind), constantly working like a coach. That feeling has really reawakened in me an awareness of what a challenge it is to play absolutely everything with one’s own fingers (to stay with a sports analogy, it’s like running around the pitch for a whole match). I now feel even greater respect when collaborating with first-rate pianists and other elite musicians. And of course, in a more fundamental way, I got a taste of what it really means to be able to sing with true mastery. And the lieder repertoire is a real touchstone in this sense.

Is there anything you want to tell listeners that they should not overlook?

Kateřina Kněžíková: I would be pleased if listeners will want to hear Richard Strauss’s ingenious music and the beautiful texts he set to music over and over again.

Jakub Hrůša: I don’t like to urge listeners to do anything specific. I would just suggest that they listen very attentively (with the texts if possible), and I hope that the beauty and quality of the music will come across to them just as it came across to Kateřina and me in a truly enchanting way while recording it. And my wish would be that our album touches them—not in some sentimental way, but really deeply. When we were listening to ourselves afterwards with some detachment with the whole recording team (including the amazing gentlemen directing the recording, Mr. Gemrot and Mr. Hadraba, who were wonderfully inspiring and supportive), there were some moments that brought tears to our eyes. Maybe that will happen to the listeners, too. That would be nice.