Based on a series of poems by his sister Zofia, Karol Szymanowski composed the colourful and glittering 6 Songs of the Fairy Princess in 1915. The princess of the six songs remains mysteriously undefined; Love is her only, recurrent theme.

By withdrawing into internal phantasy during a time of war, Szymanowski found an opportunity to retreat into a dream-world, and composing songs remained an important part of his lifelong work; in 1933 he arranged three of the six princess songs for voice and orchestra. However, it took nearly 80 years until the Finnish conductor Sakari Oramo arranged the other three songs, so that now, for the first time, all of the Songs of the Fairy Princess Songs for voice and orchestra can be heard.

Sakari Oramo conducted the first complete performance of the six songs in April 2012; from 31 October until 1 November they will be performed at the Alte Oper in Frankfurt am Main by Anu Komsi and the hr-sinfonieorchester under Sakari Oramo.

6 Songs of the Fairy Princess
for high voice and orchestra | 15’
31/10/2012 – 1/11/2012, Frankfurt am Main; Anu Komsi, s; hr-sinfonieorchester, cond. Sakari Oramo