LL Painting
LL’s Tiles
Lehmann was fascinated with painting on tiles. She painted opera scenes, abstracts, and portraits. Two of her abstract tiles were recently offered on eBay.
LL Painting
Kathy Walsh send a photo of one of Lehmann’s paintings. She writes: “The painting is signed, but you can’t see it now that we had it framed. Also, there is a note on the old mat that says ‘The Cliffs at Hope Ranch’. The woman who gave it to us was Barbara Holden. She was married to Francis’s brother Raymond Holden. Lotte gave the painting to her personally. We were very close friends with Barbara. My husband is from that area in California so he especially loves the painting and that is one of the reasons Barbara gave it to him before she died.”
Lehmann Cartoons
Laura Mullen sent these Lehmann cartoons drawn about her very active grandmother Esther Bear. She was married to Donald Bear, the founding director of the Santa Barbara Museum of Art; after his death in 1952 she built a house in Montecito and opened a gallery there in 1965. She ran the gallery for a decade. Here’s a link to information about Esther Bear’s gallery.
Letter to Alma
Here we have the transcription of a letter that Lehmann wrote to Alma Mahler-Werfel. In 1902 Alma married Mahler who died in 1911; in 1915 she married architecht Walter Gropius from whom she divorced in 1920; in 1929 she married author/novelist Franz Werfel, who died in 1945. Lehmann sang at the funeral of Franz Werfel at Pierce Brothers Mortuary, Hollywood, with Bruno Walter, piano; they performed Schubert Lieder. (Werfel died on 26 August 1945; we don’t know if the funeral was held in August or September. The letter below doesn’t seem to be dated.)
Dear Ms. Alma –
blessed with beauty and spirit, they made these gifts the servants of a selfless ambition: to give inspiration to the two great men, who linked their lives to yours and to whom you were a beloved companion until the end. May the memory of this close yesterday ring back to you as a warm melody for many years to come – and may it transfigure and make today and tomorrow happy for you.
Lotte Lehmann
Santa Barbara
The Music Academy of the West
Her Poems as Song
We have long known that many composers set Lehmann’s poems as Lieder, but the set written by conductor/composer Robert Heger for voice and orchestra was unknown to us. Here’s the first and last page of the score and you’ll notice the date: 1944. Here’s more information about this work:
“Fünf Gesänge nach Versen von Lotte Lehmann, für mittlere Stimme und Orchester op.24?. The work was first composed in a version for medium voice and piano in 1933. This version was immediately published by Universial Edition. The orchestral version was created in 1944 and according to the autograph, finished on 31 December 1944. The work consists of five poems by Lotte Lehmann: 1. Ihr meine lieben sonnenhellen Träume, 2. Du den ich wachend nie gesehen, 3. Ich gehe mit geschlossnen Augen, 4. Die wilden Vögel meiner Sehnsucht and 5. So wie ein Schwan. The orchestral version calls for a large orchestra with harp and the work last around 18 minutes.
The world premiere of the orchestral version took place on 9 December 1951 with the Studio-Orchester Beromünster under Robert Heger and the soloist Ria Ginster (soprano). Subsequent performances followed nearly each year with the Radio Philharmonic Orchestra in Munich in the 1950s and 1960s. It is unknown when and by whom the world premiere of the original piano version was given.
A fan has recently written to ask about the other composers who were inspired by Lehmann’s poems. Here’s the list: Wilhelm Kienzl, Paul Redl, W.G. James, Mario Castelnuovo-Tedesco, Léo Sachs, Felix Weingartner (An den Schmerz) (a song cycle dedicated to Lehmann), and Otto Klemperer: “Gebet für eine Singstimme und Klavier” September 20, 1946. In celebration of the Lehmann Centennial, Thomas Pasatieri wrote a piece for voice and piano to eight of Lehmann’s poems. He later orchestrated the work.
Poetry in Translation
In the February 2024 edition of The Offing magazine you can read an English translation of Lehmann’s poems from her 1923 book called Verse in Prosa. The complete poems in that book (in the original German) can be found here.
Newly Unearthed Poem
•We’ve found a Lehmann poem new to our eyes; the translation is mine.
December 3, 1932
Es klingt ein starker Klang in mir,
ein süsses, wundersames Lied.
Das mich mit weicher linder Hand
In weite, weite Ferne zieht.
Durch meiner Nächte Träume schwebt
der mir ein hohes Ziel verheisst,
der meine Tage jauchzend macht
und sonnenwärts mich siegend reisst.
********************************
There is a strong sound within me,
a sweet, wondrous song.
That pulls me with a soft, gentle hand
Far, far away.
Floating through my night’s dreams
promising me a lofty goal,
which makes my days rejoice
and victoriously pulls me towards the sun.
Poem Discovered
The following is Lehmann’s typewritten version of her “Dreiklang” followed by Judy Sutcliffe’s English translation.
Unpublished Poem
Here’s a Lehmann poem that hasn’t been published. An English translation by Beaumont Glass follows.
Vergessen gibt,
Ich glaube, eines Engels Hand,
Denn abgewandt
Sind wir von dem was einst gewesen.
Genesen von vielen Menschenleben
Müssen, im Aufwärtsstreben,
Auf’s Neu’ und Aberneue wir ersteh’n,
Bis wir verweh’n
In jenem Morgenrot,
Das golden in mein Fenster loht —
Im Wind — in Meereswogen —
Im Sternenstrahl — im Regenbogen —
Im Lächeln Gottes, das du leuchten siehst,
Wenn Abendgold im Meer zerfliesst.
****************************
Perhaps it is an angel’s hand
That grants oblivion;
For we are turned aside
From what has been before.
Though healed from many human lives,
We must be born, and ever born again,
Until we fade away
Into that golden dawn
That now is glowing through my window,
One with the wind — the waves —
The starlight — and the rainbow —
One with the smile of God,
That lights the sky
When golden sunsets melt into the sea.
Hand-written Notes on Die schöne Müllerin
Though missing its first page and the ending, here’s an historic document, in Lehmann’s handwriting, of her thoughts on Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin.
One Page Auto-Bio
Silly Poem
The typed-manuscript (on Lehmann’s own stationery) of her silly poem about presenting her trained dog to sing at the Met is now available, with my somewhat questionable English translation.
Meeting Goering
You can read the typed-manuscript of Lehmann’s recounting of her meeting with Goering. You can find Dr. Kater’s response there as well.
Report on South American Tour 1922
Peter Clausen, my research connection in Vienna, has sent a wonderful report that Lehmann wrote about her important opera tour in South America in 1922. It appears in the Neue Freie Presse of 3 November 1922.
Versa in Prosa
For those of you interested in reading Lehmann’s earliest book of poetry, I’ve uploaded that. It’s called Versa in Prosa.