Hölderlin-Zyklus

The Hölderlin Cycle for voice and piano was commissioned by the Tübinger Kam­mer­musikfre­unde e.V. and composed in 2023 and 2024. The world premiere took place in March 2025 in Tübingen, performed by baritone Julian Dominique Clement and pianist Sebastian Fuß.

The song cycle comprises six short poems by the poet Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843), born in Lauffen am Neckar, which are marked by a wide variety of char­ac­ter­ist­ics and moods. Yet they all share one thing: they explore the diversity of life while at the same time revealing a profound connection to nature and to human experience. They also hint at the tensions and inner contradictions that shaped Hölderlin’s eventful life and his poetic expressive power­.

In composing the cycle, Moritz Laßmann was guided by the words of the poems, which charted both the path and the destination for the music. The harmonic language developed through listening and experimenting at the piano, which in turn influenced the vocal lines. In this way, a harmonious interplay of text and music emerged, reflecting the emotional depth of the poems.