Albertus Engelbrecht (tenor) joins Yolanda in the OFM Art Beat to provide more details and to share some insight as to being accompanied by renowned pianist Albie van Schalkwyk during this performance.

The Romantic Soul is a programme of German Lied consisting of two sets of art songs by some of the most significant Lied composers of the Romantic era. Robert Schumann’s Liederkreis Op. 39 typically depicts the sympathy and interrelatedness of nature with the human soul, whereas the subjective intimacy of Gustav Mahler’s Rückert–Lieder Op. 44 addresses the familiar Romantic theme of withdrawal into a secluded world of love, art, and nature.

Dr Albertus Engelbrecht was appointed in opera houses of Nürnberg and Passau (Germany) for 17 years where he sang a diversity of leading roles such as Orfeo in Monteverdi's L'Orfeo, Ulisse in Monteverdi’s Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria, Nerone in Monteverdi’s L’incorronazione di Poppea, Ramiro in Rossini's La Cenerentola, Duca in Verdi's Rigoletto, and Belmonte in Mozart's Die Entführung aus dem Serail. 

Albertus Engelbrecht

Guest contracts have taken him to Luzern (Switzerland) and Los Angeles (USA). As a concert singer, he performed regularly in Berlin, Frankfurt, Mainz, and Vienna. A highlight of his career was concerts of Medelssohn's Walpurgisnacht in the Teatro San Carlo (Naples, Italy). Albertus has been a lecturer in singing at the OSM since 2016 and obtained his PhD at the OSM in 2023.

Albie van Schalkwyk has established himself as a performer in several fields over the past 30 years. One of the leading chamber musicians and vocal accompanists in South Africa, he has also performed as a soloist with SA orchestras performed solo recitals, given masterclasses, worked as a music producer for the SABC, and arranged music, including Broadway musicals and operas for two pianos and orchestral pieces for three to eight pianos. 

He completed his PhD at the UFS in 2012. His interest in vocal music, particularly the art of song, has led to many partnerships with singers, culminating in the formation in 1994 of The Songmakers’ Guild. This Cape Town-based organisation has been providing a regular platform to performers in the field of art songs for 25 years. 

Albie van Schalkwyk

He has presented workshops and classes for singers and accompanists at several SA universities and spent his 2002/3 sabbatical working as a coach in the Vocal Department of the Mozarteum Music University in Salzburg (Austria). Albie retired from his post as Associate Professor in Piano and Chamber Music at the SA College of Music, University of Cape Town, at the end of 2017 to his private studio, the Music Umbrella Piano Studio. 

Apart from continuing his performance career as a collaborative pianist, he plans a wide range of activities including individual piano teaching, masterclasses in piano, chamber music and art songs, vocal coaching, and arrangements for multiple pianos.

Programme:

Robert Schumann (1810 – 1856): Liederkreis Op. 39

Gustav Mahler (1860 – 1911): Rückert Lieder Op. 44

OFM