Who we are
Founded in 2001, Florestan Recital Project is a dynamic organization that promotes song repertoire in concerts, masterclasses, and educational residencies. By combining a roster of world-class artists with outstanding research and programming, Florestan has delighted audiences with a wide range of both established and unfamiliar repertoire. Our artists are singers and pianists who regularly perform with leading opera companies, orchestras, and festivals around the world. Now in its seventh season, Florestan Recital Project has emerged as a premier presenter of song recitals in North America.
Florestan Recital Project is named after the fiery character of Florestan, one of the creative alter egos of composer Robert Schumann (1810-1856). In addition to composing approximately 150 songs that are cornerstones of the song repertoire, Schumann left a legacy of an immense amount of music and writings, and he invented the revolutionary character of Florestan as a voice for many of his impetuous and passionate works. Florestan Recital Project displays that fiery passion in its devotion to exploring and presenting the full spectrum of song repertoire, drawing from a wealth of old and new music to create fresh and exciting programs for audiences.
Highlights of Florestan’s seasons include:
A coveted 3-year appointment as “Musical Artists in Residence” at Dickinson College. Located in Carlisle, Pennsylvania, Dickinson College is a vibrant liberal arts institution with a strong emphasis on interdisciplinary approaches. Working with faculty, Florestan brings unique performance and teaching projects to the college community.
The yearly commissions and world premieres of new song sets as part of Florestan’s mission to enhance the canon of song. The 2007-8 season featured commissions by Ned Rorem and Libby Larsen; future commissions include a 2009 premiere by Thea Musgrave.
Two upcoming festival events: Florestan will present a week-long celebration of the complete songs of Samuel Barber in Boston, MA in September 2009. In March 2010, Florestan hosts a Vanguard Festival celebrating a century of American song, with guest composers to include Libby Larsen and Jake Heggie.
Acclaimed performances of Ned Rorem’s evening-length song cycle, Evidence of Things Not Seen. Mr. Rorem directly assisted in the preparation of the Boston premiere, praising Florestan’s performance as ‘exemplary and definitive.’
Co-presentations with the San Francisco Song Festival, Emmanuel Music, ETHOS New Music, and the 2004 Nadia Boulanger conference at the American Music Research Center in Boulder, CO.
The initiation of classes at Songfest 2007 and the State University of New York at Fredonia, focusing on the study of repertoire and performance techniques specific to the song recital.
FrancisFest! A three-day, four-concert presentation of the complete songs for voice and piano by Francis Poulenc, performed by 26 artists. An unprecedented Boston event.
Florestan Recital Project is rapidly becoming an important resource and touchstone for song in today’s music scene. As the expressive power of words and music is explored across the globe, Florestan will continue to foster collaborations that strengthen and support those explorations.