Bass-baritone Christian Immler and pianist Helmut Deutsch have teamed up once again to shine a light on the little known and intriguing. Following their 2021 recording dedicated to Austrian composer Hans Gál (Hidden Treasure on BIS), the classy pair have this time tackled the songs of two century-spanning Viennese composers, Robert Gund (1865–1927) and Wilhelm Grosz (1894–1939).
Gund, a close friend of Brahms and Mahler’s, established a sterling reputation for his Lieder and work as a singing teacher by the time he reached his 30s. Best known for his published collection of Swiss folksongs, he brought to the musical idiom of the day imagination and style, though was not at the forefront of the great change brought about by Expressionism and 12-tone writing. 

At 29 years his junior, Grosz’s output is naturally much more representative of the rapid evolution of Viennese music in the early 1900s. A student of Franz Schreker’s, he was a prolific writer of songs for the German cinema before Nazi persecution saw him flee to Austria in 1934. After a brief period working in the UK...