This October, Christopher Maltman appears with the Teatro alla Scala Orchestra and Chorus, performing a stirring program of repertoire by German and Austrian composers. Originally scheduled solely for Schönberg’s A Survivor from Warsaw, Maltman will also perform Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder in the baritone version, stepping in for Christiane Karg due to a sudden illness. 

A Survivor from Warsaw is a dramatic cantata, scored for narrator, men’s chorus, and orchestra. While the piece only lasts seven minutes, it leaves an immense emotional impact. The piece was Schönberg’s response to the Holocaust, written after he had fled Europe for the United States. Schönberg wrote the text himself, informed by reports of atrocities in the Warsaw Ghetto. The narrator, speaking mostly in English, tells the story of a Jewish man who witnesses a group of prisoners being counted and beaten by Nazi guards. 

Mahler’s Rückert-Lieder is a familiar piece for Maltman, who has performed the song cycle several times, to great acclaim. The Rückert-Lieder is a departure from Mahler’s earlier, more dramatic songs, showing the composer’s introspective side and foreshadowing the spirituality that would inhabit his later symphonies. Rückert’s meditative poetry gave Mahler the perfect vehicle for exploring the themes of love, solitude, nature, and transcendence. 

Riccardo Chailly conducts, and the orchestra will also perform Johann Sebastian Bach / Anton Webern’s Fugue (Ricercar) a 6 and Schönberg’s Variations, Op. 31. Performances will take place October 18, 21, and 23. The concert on October 23 will be live-streamed on LaScalaTv, and will be available on demand until October 30.