Johannes Brahms' Liebeslieder Waltzes (1868), or "love-song waltzes" are 18 short songs, each one a study of the emotions surrounding romantic love, using texts from the folk poetry of Hungary, Poland, and Russia. Long confined to wealthy aristocratic settings, music like this became common for listening and dancing in the drawing rooms of the emerging middle class. The wxuberant four-hand piano accompaniment you will hear in this concert is the original version by Brahms for just such a setting.
Following the success of his Liebeslieder, in 1888 Brahms composed his Zigeunerlieder (literally 'gypsy songs'), combining these Romani-inspired compositions with Hungarian folk song texts in German translation. Both works explore the many-faceted joys of love with playfulness and passion.
The San Francisco City Chorus is delighted to present these perennially popular and lively Lieder.