Damrau, Kaufmann & Deutsch

On 13 October 1887, 23-year-old Richard Strauss and 27-year-old Gustav Mahler met for the first time in Leipzig. Both were united by a passion for opera, conducting and, last but not least, Richard Wagner. "I made a new, very charming acquaintance in Mr Mahler, who struck me as a highly intelligent musician and conductor," Strauss writes to Hans von Bülow. Mahler in turn summarised his relationship with Strauss ten years later: "Schopenhauer somewhere uses the image of two miners who dig into a shaft from opposite sides and then meet on their underground path." The two world stars Diana Damrau and Jonas Kaufmann explore this special artistic friendship in their recital together with Helmut Deutsch.