Famous Bass To Give Concerts In. City

Press, Volume C, Issue 29444, 21 February 1961, Page 13

Famous Bass To Give Concerts In. City

One of the world’s finest bass singers, Kim Borg, and the renowned Viennese pianist, Erik Werba, will give recitals in. Christchurch on March 18 and 22. One of the most versatile singers of the day, Kim Borg, who is Finnish, has achieved fame in opera, oratorio and concert and his recordings are well known. He is the bass soloist in Igor Markevitch’s recording of Haydn’s “The Creation,” which won the Grgpd Prix du Disque a few years ago. Kim Borg was bom in Helsinki in 1919. He studied chemistry before devoting himself entirely to singing. Since his debut in 1947, he has sung in the world’s major opera houses, from the Metropolitan in New York to the Vienna State Opera. His operatic parts include the Count in “Le Nozze di Figaro,” Don Giovanni, Sarastro in “Die Zauberfloete,” Boris Godunov, Don Pizarro in

“Fidelio,” King Philip in “Don Carlo" and Caspar in Weber’s "Der Freischutz.” Kim Borg sings in six other languages besides his native Finnish: Italian, German, French, Russian, English and Danish. It was at the singer's request that Sibelius scored for orchestra the accompaniment of his Shakespeare song, “Come unto me. Death.” It was the last work of the great Finnish composer’s long life. On the other band, in Amsterdam, Kim Borg sang Mussorgsky’s "Songs and Dances of Death.” with Eugen Jochum conducting the Concertgebouw in the singers own orchestration of the score. He is married, with two children, and has his permanent home in Copenhagen. Erik Werba has accompanied many famous singers in their recitals and records, among them Elisabeth Schumann, Dusolina Giannini, Ljuba Welitsch, Maria Cebotari, Irmgard Seefried, Rita Streich, Christa Ludwig, Julius Patzak, Franz Volker, Eberhard Waechter and Walter Berry. He first appeared in public at the age of seven. In 1940 he became the second youngest person to receive a doctorate from the Vienna University. At that time he was activfe as violinist and composer as well as pianist. Since 1949 he has been instructor of a class in lieder and oratorio singing at the Vienna Academy of Music. In 1954 he was appointed a professor. He is also well known in Vienna as a critic and writer on musical subjects. As a musician, Erik Werba is devoted primarily to the age of romanticism, for the 19th century was the blossom-time of lieder.