Rodolfo Lipizer, Warum sind die Rosen so blaß

With the publication of the opera Intermezzo Warum sind denn die Rosen so blaß?, whose first draft was composed by Lipizer for voice and piano in 1920 and which was transcribed for voice and string orchestra in 1941, the relationship of mutual esteem between Rodolfo Lipizer and a person from Gorizia by adoption, the famous translator and Germanist Ervino Pocar (1892-1981), was highlighted. The Maestro asked him to translate the German text of the Lied XIII taken from ‘Buch der Lieder’ by the poet Heinrich Heine into Italian, so that he could use it in his transcription for voice and string orchestra.

Warum sind denn die Rosen so blaß, /  O sprich, mein Lieb, warum? /  Warum sind denn im grünen Gras / Die blauen Veilchen so stumm? 

Perché sono sì scialbe le rose, / oh dimmi amor, perché? / Perché mai fra l’erbe odorose  /  le viole taccion, perché? 

In the opera Intermezzo, the excellent translation of Heine’s German text by Ervino Pocar stands out and finds its place in the music’s natural metric structure and masterful harmonic and melodic construction created by Lipizer, which creates moments of high emotional intensity, through enharmonic connections and smart modulations, while remaining in a tonal framework.