What happens when poetry born of unbearable grief meets a composer haunted by death? In this episode, we cover the first two songs of Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder, uncovering how Rückert’s words and Mahler’s music fuse into an unflinching meditation on loss, memory, grief, and love. With baritone Samuel Kidd and pianist Christina Lalog Seal.

Follow the Lieder is a production of Cincinnati Song Initiative. You can learn more about their network of podcasts at cincinnatisonginitiative.org/podcasts.