Piesňový večer II – Slávka Zámečníková / Matthias SamuilVocal Evening II – Slávka Zámečníková / Matthias Samuil

Song and song cycles were a symptomatic phenomenon of 19th century music. After Franz Schubert, perhaps all composers were concerned with song. Gabriel Fauré was particularly productive and also progressive in this field. His approach to harmony strongly inspired both Maurice Ravel and Claude Debussy in the realisation of their reform. Another source of inspiration in the field of musical drama and song was the literary work of William Shakespeare. The American composer Amy Beach and Erich Maria Korngold, whose fortunes are also linked to the United States and Hollywood, have paid tribute to the Elizabethan playwright. Francis Poulenc created a fusion of the “romantic” song model with the famous French chanson. Catalans Enrique Granados, Eduard Toldrà and Fernando Obradors drew on local musical colour. The song also strongly influenced other genres, as evidenced by the collection Consolations by Franz Liszt.