Thomas Mann described the German art song as its own “world of emotions and affections.” Already in his childhood, he admired the songs of Schubert, Schumann, Franz, Brahms, Liszt and the “first post-Wagnerian enunciations.” Due to his friendship with the conductor and pianist Bruno Walter, musical evenings became an integral part of the life in the Mann family. Mann had a passion for especially Schumann. “There is nothing more beautiful to listen to,” he said about Schumann’s song Zwielicht, which he admires as the “lyrical amalgamation of word and sound in a song.”

In the spirit of the Mann’s musical salons, the acclaimed baritone Michael Volle will visit San Remo Drive for an evening of music. Volle will be accompanied by pianist William Kinderman, Professor at the Herb Alpert School of Music (UCLA).

Michael Volle is one of the most sought-after singers of our time. The baritone is a mainstay at opera houses like the Metropolitan Opera New York, the State Operas in Munich and Vienna, the Teatro alla Scala Milan and the Royal Opera House. He is one of the leading interpreters of German repertoire. This includes the title roles in Wagner‘s Der fliegende Holländer, Wotan/Wanderer in the Ring des Nibelungen as well as roles by Richard Strauss such as Barak (Die Frau ohne Schatten). Volle is also a dedicated Lied singer and frequent guest at prestigious festivals and the world’s most renowned concert halls and orchestras.

William Kinderman was born in 1952 in Philadelphia, USA. He studied philosophy at the University of Vienna and music at Yale and the University of California, Berkeley, where he received his PhD in 1980. The most notable of his piano teachers was Dieter Weber at the Hochschule für Musik in Vienna. Kinderman has received awards from the Alexander von Humboldt Foundation and the Social Sciences and Humanities Research Council of Canada. He is holder of the Leo M. Klein and Elaine Krown Klein Chair in Performance Studies and professor of music at the UCLA Herb Alpert School of Music.

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