Pianist and wacky song enthusiast Mandee Madrid-Sikich talks all things Lieder related (and not related!). Composers, poets, cultural contexts, piano settings, German romanticism - if it has to do with song, you better believe it's included in this podcast! Each episode covers a different song and is complete with special guest appearances and performances of the chosen songs. You can find Mandee on Instagram @liedernerd and on You Tube as Mandee Madrid-Sikich.
Fritz Wunderlich's voice captivated audiences for barely a decade before a tragic accident cut his life short at age thirty-five. In this episode, we explore the remarkable (though short) career and enduring legacy of one of the greatest lyric tenors of the twentieth century through performances of Beethoven's Adelaide and Schubert's Der Musensohn with Hubert Giesen at the piano. Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
On a chilly February night in 1913, the Viennese audience arrived expecting to despise Arnold Schönberg's Gurre-Lieder , but left on their feet in thunderous applause. Yet the composer snubbed them all, refusing to acknowledge their praise. Find out why in today’s episode covering Arnold Schönberg’s Gurre-Lieder. Featuring tenor James McCracken and the Boston Symphony Orchestra conducted by Seiji Ozawa. To watch a full performance of this monumental work, check out this recording out on YouTube Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Journey with Schubert and Mayrhofer to the gloomy shore of Hades and meditate on the simple things that make our pale blue dot such a beautiful place to call home. Special thanks to bass Daniel Noyola for his gorgeous live performance of Fahrt zum Hades with pianist Martin Dubé. Find out more about Daniel here Follow Daniel on Instagram Sing Fahrt zum Hades with me Drawing of Mayrhofer Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Written for amateur SATB ensemble and piano four hands, the opus 52 Liebeslieder Waltzer were the original Hausmusik and so popular with the people that sales of the waltzes were the source of much of Brahms' wealth. Live performance by soprano Murrella Parton, mezzo-soprano Kathryn Leemhuis, tenor Dominic Armstrong, baritone Jorell Williams, and pianists Marie-France Lefebvre and Allen Perriello. Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
In this episode we discuss the character of Mignon (from Goethe’s Wilhelm Meister’s Apprenticeship), the mysterious child performer whose longing, music, and devotion make her a most unforgettable figure. Featuring Hugo Wolf's Kennst du das Land? performed by soprano Siân Dicker and pianist Krystal Tunnicliffe. Watch the performance on YouTube More about Siân Dicker More about Krystal Tunnicliffe Find me on YouTube! Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
We're wrapping up 2025 by bringing Cincinnati Song Initiative's podcast hosts together for our annual Holiday Party! Join us in looking back on a wonderful year with peaks and pits from all of our hosts, then test your knowledge with games like "Guess that Song" and "Two Truths and a Lie: Composer Edition." Which composer walked the streets of Paris with a hammer in his suit pocket? Which composers did - and didn't - study with Nadia Boulanger? (Spoiler: even our hosts get stumped plenty of times!) Thanks for a great year of song, and here's to a musically rewarding 2026! Follow Song Cycle with Sam Martin and Laura Strickling here. Follow So Lit Song Lit with Ellen Rissinger and Toni Marie Palmertree here. Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Rebecca Clarke was many things (violist, composer, chamber musician, lecturer, prankster(!), fashionista) and it's not hard to see why she has earned her place as one of the most important composers of the 20th century. In this episode we discuss Clarke's life from birth up though 1913 and we are joined by her great-nephew Christopher Johnson to discuss Clarke's legacy and her song The Seal Man with guest artists Joanna Harries and Natalie Burch. All quotes from today's episode are taken from Christopher's not yet published book on Rebecca Clarke. The other source I consulted for this episode was the book Quartet by Dr. Leah Broad. For more information please see Christopher's website rebeccaclarkecomposer.com Click here to watch Joanna and Natalie perform on YouTube Click here to read John Masefield's short story The Seal Man from his collection A Mainsail Haul. Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Part 2 of our exploration of Gustav Mahler's transcendental work Kindertotenlieder. With baritone Samuel Kidd and Christina Lalog Seal . Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What happens when poetry born of unbearable grief meets a composer haunted by death? In this episode, we cover the first two songs of Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder , uncovering how Rückert’s words and Mahler’s music fuse into an unflinching meditation on loss, memory, grief, and love. With baritone Samuel Kidd and pianist Christina Lalog Seal . Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
From her electrifying performances on the world’s great stages to her influential years as a teacher in the United States, Lotte Lehmann’s legacy shines through in equal parts passion, vulnerability, and uncompromising musical truth. Featuring archival recordings of Schubert's Erlkönig and An die Musik with Lehmann's long-time pianist Paul Ulanowsky. Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Today we cover Five Songs of Laurence Hope by H.T. Burleigh with tenor Matthew Corcoran. Recorded live at the Fellowship of the Song 2025 Fellows Closing Concert with pianist Barbie Noyes. Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Today we cover not one, not two, but THREE Swedish songs with special guest co-host Michael Sikich . Guest vocalists include soprano Sofie Asplund , mezzo-soprano Ann-Kristin Jones , and baritone Luthando Qave . Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
What makes a home? Is it a person, a feeling, a place? The lonely voice of Schubert’s wanderer, wondering at the moon where his place in the world might be, resonates with the voices of today as we hear from friends of the podcast. Ways to help the refugee crisis: https://www.unrefugees.org/ https://humanrightsfirst.org/ https://www.globalrefuge.org/news/5-ways-to-help-refugees-immigrants-in-2025/ https://www.rescue.org https://refugeerights.org/ Letters from refugee children https://www.unicef.org/eca/stories/letters-from-syrian-refugee-children Letter by Andrew Lam https://www.huffpost.com/entry/refugee-american-experience_b_2295293 Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts. ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Before there was Felix, there was Fanny! Fanny Mendelssohn Hensel was a supremely talented and intelligent pianist and composer, but societal norms of the time kept her locked in a patriarchal prison. Join us as we hear three of her songs: Nach süden, Vorwurf, and Nachtwanderer. With soprano Isabelle Peters and mezzo-soprano Ema Nikolovska. Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative . You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
The worlds of Hollywood and Lieder collide in this episode about Erich Wolfgang Korngold and his Sechs einfache Lieder. Including a very special live performance of the cycle by guest vocalist Claire McCahan and guest pianist Tzu Kuang Tan recorded during the Opening Fellows Concert at CSI's Fellowship of the Song program in May of 2024. Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative . You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Follow the Lieder is doing its best Voldemort impression.... WE'RE BACK BABY! Join us as we do a long-awaited deep dive into the life of Johannes Brahms, followed by a performance of Botschaft by tenor Logan Wagner and pianist Kirill Kuzmin . With co-host Brian Sikich. Raisin Brahms Commercial Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative . You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
In our final episode of our compare and contrast season we discuss Liebst du um Schönheit by Gustav Mahler and Clara Wieck Schumann. With guest performers mezzo-soprano Kayleigh Decker and pianist Samuel Martin. Song Cycle is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative . You can learn more about its network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
Today we have not one, not two, but THREE settings of the text Waldseligkeit by Richard Dehmel. See if you can guess the mystery composers before their names are reveled after receiving the clues and live performances of their settings by Erin Keesey and Samuel Martin! Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatsonginitiative.org/podcasts ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
A lively discussion with guest co-host Ben Offringa covering Heine's text Allnächtlich im Traume in settings by Felix Mendelssohn and Robert Schumann. With guest performers Tristan Tournaud, Parker Konkle, Ethan Neal, and Sihan Zhang. Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts . ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
The ASMR Lieder podcast you didn't know you needed! If you can make it past Brian's dubious soundscaping in today's episode then you're in for a treat as we discuss Goethe and his(?) text Rastlose Liebe in settings by Zelter and Schubert. Special thanks to guest performers Erin Keesy, Olivia Knutsen, and Samuel Martin ! Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatsonginitiative.org/podcasts ★ Support this podcast on Patreon ★
