When Hans Gál’s Das Lied der Nacht [The Song of the Night] was premièred in 1926 at the Stadttheater Breslau it received rave reviews. However, after the Nazis prohibited his works, Gál’s dramatic ballad disappeared from stages completely.
On 4 June the piece will receive its UK première in a concert performance at The Queen’s Hall in Edinburgh. Robert Dick conducts the Chorus and Orchestra of the Canongait.
This short montage from the recent fully-staged production at the Theater Osnabrück in Germany gives a taste of the music:
Hans Gál is the BBC Radio 3’s composer of the week. In five 60-minute episodes, Donald Macleod and conductor/cellist Kenneth Woods explore the life and work of the composer. In the first three episodes, they focused on the topics Teacher, Scholar, Composer, The Early Years and The 1930s. The final two episodes, Exile in Britain and Post-War Edinburgh, will be first broadcast on 8 and 9 May, respectively.
Find out more, listen to previous episodes and view an episode overview on BBC Radio 3.
Hans Gál is the BBC Radio 3’s composer of the week. Donald Macleod and conductor/cellist Kenneth Woods will introduce listeners to Gál next Monday at 13:00 CET/CEST (i.e. Berlin, Paris, Vienna).
Find out more on and listen to the programme on BBC Radio 3.