Harbingers of Exile: Songs from the In-Between

Florian and Alek’s debut album, Harbingers of Exile: Songs from the In-Between, supported by City Music Foundation.

‘Honeyed intensity’, ‘emotional engagement’, ‘total vividness’, ‘passion and expressivity’: these are the qualities that have won trophies for the bass-baritone Florian Störtz, not least the 2023 International Handel Singing Competition. Now he and pianist Aleksandra Myslek introduce the rich, colourful late-Romantic sound world of Robert Kahn – their own debut album, and the first substantial Kahn recording by the voice for which he predominantly wrote, including fifteen premieres. Hugely admired in his time but forgotten since his crude and senseless vilification by the Nazis, Kahn becomes here the focus of a narrative that presages his exile from his native Germany, given context with songs by Schumann, Korngold – another Jewish émigré – and Hindemith.

“Certainly Kahn couldn’t wish for better advocacy than he gets here. Störtz sings with a natural intelligence, secure and persuasive throughout, and Myslek brings out the impressive variety and imagination in the piano-writing (Kahn initially trained as a pianist). Delphian’s engineering is impeccable. Whether this album inspires a Kahn revival we’ll have to see, but it’s a fine achievement and well worth exploring.” – Gramophone