This CD is the first recording of Bernd Alois Zimmermann’s complete vocal works. The eleven songs are all interpreted by the 27-year-old rising star, Anna Prohaska, who currently captivates the opera world with her light and lyric soprano voice.

Members of the Berlin Philharmonic, including the Trio Berlin, present ‘Trio’as well as ‘Kleine Suite’, ‘Aria’ and ‘Sonate’. Except for ‘Sonate’ of 1950, all the works compiled on this CD were created between 1939 and 1946. Wergo thus closes a gap in Zimmermann's repertoire and puts the focus on the early career of this great composer: never had Zimmermann been as close to the neo-romantic tonal language as in his songs in which he set texts by Rilke, Klabund or Nietzsche, among others, to music. This genre – to which he never returned again – reflects both the expression of intimate feelings and his strong interest in literature.