Hear the Dance: Liebeslieder Walzer City Ballet The Podcast

Silas Farley is back with another deep dive into the Company's repertory in this week's Hear the Dance episode, devoted to George Balanchine's Liebeslieder Walzer. Farley is joined by former Principal Dancers Bart Cook and Maria Calegari, who share their memories of watching the ballet's iconic interpreters in its initial incarnations; learning individual parts within the challenging but "sublime" work; and coaching Liebeslieder in its entirety. As they describe, the ballet was like a "gift from Europe," for which many dancers have needed to learn the waltz anew—in the countless three-quarter versions Balanchine devised. (57:03)
Written by Silas Farley
Edited by Emilie Silvestri
Music:
Concerto for Violin and Orchestra in D major (1931) by Igor Stravinsky
Liebeslieder, Op. 52 (1869) by Johannes Brahms
Neue Liebeslieder, Op. 65 (1874) by Johannes Brahms
Waltzes for piano duet and vocal quartet, all set to poems by Friedrich Daumer, except last, by Goethe
All music performed by the New York City Ballet Orchestra
Reading List:
Balanchine Then and Now Edited by Anne Hogan
Mr. B: George Balanchine’s 20th Century by Jennifer Homans
Balanchine: A Biography by Bernard Taper
George Balanchine: Ballet Master by Richard Buckle in Collaboration with John Taras
Following Balanchine by Robert Garis
More Balanchine Variations by Nancy Goldner
Johannes Brahms: A Biography by Jan Swafford
Brahms and His Poets: A Handbook by Natasha Loges
Ballerina: A Biography of Violette Verdy by Victoria Huckenpahler
Balanchine’s Ballerinas: Conversations with the Muses by Robert Tracy and Sharon DeLano
Goethe: Life as a Work of Art by Rüdiger Safranski, Translated by David Dollenmayer
Costumes by Karinska by Toni Bentley