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SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 2, 2025 AT 4 PM

“FOR DIETER: THE PAST AND THE FUTURE”
A CENTENNIAL CELEBRATION OF DIETRICH FISCHER-DIESKAU

BENJAMIN APPL, BARITONE     
JAMES BAILLIEU, PIANO

PETER FRANCIS JAMES, NARRATOR

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BENJAMIN APPL, BARITONE

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JAMES BAILLIEU, PIANO

PETER FRANCIS JAMES, NARRATOR

“Benjamin Appl sounds as if singing is his most natural mode of expression; and since he has an extraordinarily beautiful voice, there should be decades of happiness as he continues to expand his repertoire.”

— BBC Music Magazine

 

“Appl’s voice has a burnished, oaky beauty as well as considerable sweetness, while the interpretations are suffused with a gentle intelligence, an instinct for unforced but direct communication and what feels like a real love for the repertoire.”

— Gramophone

 

“James Baillieu is in a class of his own, he is in the Gerald Moore/Graham Johnson bracket, a remarkable pianist.” — The Daily Telegraph

ABOUT THE PERFORMANCE

2025-2026

SEASON
 

September 14, 2025
“Singers” from the Met Orchestra

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October 12, 2025
Lawrence Brownlee, tenor
 

November 2, 2025
Benjamin Appl, baritone; 
James Baillieu, piano

December 7, 2025
The Tallis Scholars

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January 18, 2026
Benjamin Beilman, violin; Jonathan Swenson, cello; 
Orion Weiss, piano

February 22, 2026
Radu Ratoi, accordion

March 8, 2026
Jonathan Biss, piano

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April 26, 2026
Jerusalem String Quartet 
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May 17, 2026
Chee-Yun, violin; Sterling Elliott, cello; Henry Kramer, piano

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​Artist Roster
 

Parlance Program Notes
 

LOCATION

At West Side Presbyterian Church
6 South Monroe Street
Ridgewood, NJ 07450
For map and directions, click here.
 

CONCERT AMENITIES

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Wheelchair Accessible
 

Free Parking for all concerts

FEATURING

BBC Music Magazine  has called baritone Benjamin Appl “not only a singer of boundless promise, but already a great artist.” Appl will bring his warmly expressive voice and deeply personal artistry to a heartfelt tribute honoring his mentor, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, in the year of the legendary baritone’s centennial. 

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Entitled “To Dieter: The Past and The Future,” this richly varied program will feature songs by Schubert, Brahms, Clara Schumann, Wolf, Tchaikovsky, Britten, Barber, and others — composers who shaped Fischer-Dieskau’s legacy and continue to inspire Appl’s own musical journey. He will be joined by his superb recital partner, pianist James Baillieu.

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This event will include narration by acclaimed actor Peter Francis James.

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Dietrich Fischer‑Dieskau was a renowned German Lieder baritone, widely regarded as one of the greatest interpreters of art song in the 20th century. His expressive depth, intellectual rigor, and unmatched command of text and nuance elevated the Lied to new artistic heights, influencing generations of singers and reshaping standards for vocal recital performance.

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Benjamin Appl was Fischer‑Dieskau’s final protégé. On May 28, 2025, in honor of the 100th anniversary of Fischer‑Dieskau’s birth, Appl penned the following appreciation for The New York Times: “What I Learned From Dietrich Fischer‑Dieskau, a Sublime Voice”

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Read program description by Benjamin Appl For Dieter: the past and the future

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PROGRAM
FOR DIETER: THE PAST AND THE FUTURE

FIRST ENCOUNTER

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Liebesbotschaft (Rellstab) D957/1   3‘00"

Am Bach im Frühling (Schober) D361   3‘40"

Der Musensohn (Goethe) D764   time 2’10"

 

CHILDHOOD IN BERLIN 

Albert Fischer-Dieskau (1865-1937) 

Heidenröslein (Goethe) from his Singspiel Sesenheim   1’30”

  

Klaus Fischer-Dieskau (1921-1994) 

Nocturne I (excerpt) (Der Mutter gewidmet) op. 1/1 (1935)       1’00”

Wehmut (Goethe) (1936) op. 3/2                                                      1‘30” 
 

 

YOUTH AND FIRST STEPS AS A SINGER

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897)

Wie bist du meine Königin (Daumer) op. 32/9                             4’30”

 

WAR TIMES AND BEING A SOLDIER 1944/45

Hugo Wolf (1860-1903)

Andenken (Matthison) 2’20”

 

Aribert Reimann (1936-2024) 

Tenebrae (Celan) (UA 1962, Berlin) 3’00” 

 

PRISONER OF WAR 1945-1947

Christian Sinding (1856-1941)

Sylvelin (Vislie) op. 55/1      2’10”

 

Pyotr Ilyich Tchaikovsky (1840-1893)

Nur wer die Sehnsucht kennt (Goethe) op. 6/6      3’10”

 

Eduard Künneke (1885-1953)

Ich bin nur ein armer Wandergesell (Haller/Rideamus) 1’30”

 

RETURN TO BERLIN 1947

Hanns Eisler (1898-1962)

Die Heimkehr (Brecht) 2’00”

 

Edvard Grieg (1843-1907) 

Der Traum (Bodenstedt)  3’30

 

INTERMISSION 

 

FIRST STEPS OF A WORLD CAREER

Johannes Brahms (1833-1897) Vier ernste Gesänge op. 121  18‘00"

Denn es gehet dem Menschen wie dem Vieh (Ecclesiastes)

Ich wandte mich, und sahe an (Ecclesiastes)

O Tod, wie bitter bist du (Ecclesiastes)

Wenn ich mit Menschen (Corinthians)

 

SONG ACCOMPANISTS AND FRIENDS

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

An mein Klavier (Schubart) D342 3’20”

 

Samuel Barber (1910-1981)

A Green Lowland of Pianos (Harsymowicz/MiÅ‚osz) op. 45/2   2’10

 

Benjamin Britten (1913-1976) 

Proverb III (Blake) op. 74                       0’50"

 

LOSS OF HIS FIRST WIFE IRMEL 1963

Carl Loewe (1796-1869)

Süßes Begräbnis (Rückert) op. 62/4 3‘10” 

 

DEATH OF MOTHER THEODORA 1966

Hanns Eisler (1898-1962)

Mutterns Hände (Tucholsky) 2’15”

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MARITAL LIFE (Ruth Leuwerik 1965-1967//Kristina Pugell 1968-1975 //Julia Varady 1977-2012)

 

Franz Grothe (1908-1982) 

Excerpt from film music of ‘Vater braucht eine Frau‘ (1952)             0’20"

 

Franz Schubert (1797-1828)

Liebhaber in allen Gestalten (Goethe) D558 2’00”

 

Clara Schumann (1819-1896)

Liebst du um Schönheit (Rückert) op. 12/2     2‘30”

 

 

EPILOGUE

Carl Maria von Weber (1786-1826) 

Meine Lieder, meine Sänger (Löwenstein-Werthheim) op. 15/1    2’30"

 

Franz Schubert (1797-1828) 

Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen (Jacobi) D343                                    2’00"

An die Musik (Schober) D547                                                             2’40"

Watch Benjamin Appl and James Baillieu perform Schubert’s Erlkönig:

Watch Benjamin Appl perform Bach’s “Jesus remains my joy” from Cantata BWV 147:

PARLANCE CHAMBER CONCERTS

Performances held at West Side Presbyterian Church • 6 South Monroe Street, Ridgewood, NJ

 Wheelchair Accessible

Free Parking for all concerts

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Partial funding is provided by the New Jersey State Council on the Arts through Grant Funds administered by the Bergen County Department of Parks, Division of Cultural and Historic Affairs.

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