Lehmann's Accompanists

Balogh on Lehmann

In the Summer Newsletter of 1989 we reported the death of Erno Balogh, one of Lehmann's major accompanists. He appeared on LL's RCA lieder recordings. In Opera News, 31 Dec. 1956, Balogh spoke about his career and his work with Mme. Lehmann. "My happiest artistic association was with Lotte Lehmann, fortunately the longest in years though my last as an accompanist. With her, not merely every concert but every rehearsal had the intensity and importance of a music festival. Whether she sang alone in a room or before several thousands, it was the same for her. If her whole career had depended on every song she could not have poured more into it... Lehmann radiated a constant glow of warmth. She could mould an audience after a few songs into a happily united group which seemed to enjoy a holiday reunion. I heard her from both sides of the concert stage and in the opera houses of two continents; she created a happy atmosphere everywhere and always. She was the happiest when she could give, and she gave endlessly."

Of Strauss' Ständchen he wrote '(It) has a flowing melody which requires a vocal outpouring that is used sometimes with discretion, sometimes with its full glamor. Lehmann's infallible feeling for words and music always directed her to the right mood. Her comparatively slower tempo gave her opulent voice just the right majestic flow and her rendition brought this beloved Strauss song to a triumphant end." --GH