Z...little bits about the composers......

Alexander Zemlinsky was born in Vienna in 1871 and died in New York in 1942, having had to flee his native land. By 1893 he had written some chamber pieces which Brahms liked so much he wanted his publisher to publish them. He later wrote a few operas which have not stayed in the usual repertoire, though they are occasionally revived, and then forgotten again. He became friends with Schoenberg and taught him counterpoint. And though they were close friends, in fact Schoenberg married Zemlinsky's sister, Zemlinsky stayed with a tonal style of writing while Schoenberg moved on to the new 12 tone style.

Manuel de Zumaya (1678-1756) also wrote operas which are no longer performed. He was a priest and composer in Mexico, and in fact wrote the first full opera to be performed in North America: La Partenope. ( a topic Handel handled perhaps more successfully) This concert includes his interesting cantata "Si ya a aquella nave", with Lynda Higson, mezzo-soprano.

Juan Garcia de Zespedes (1619-1678) is another Mexican composer. (but he wrote no operas) He was also a singer and viol player and teacher. His "Convidando esta la noche" is a lively, fun piece that we will end the program with....with possibly some new lyrics!