Sarah Connolly’s recitals with Eugene Asti are always memorable occasions, and this certainly promises to be a spectacular opening night concert. Sarah and Eugene begin with Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben (‘A woman’s love and life’). Written in 1840, the year of Schumann’s marriage to Clara Wieck, the cycle was dedicated to Clara and has been a firm favourite ever since. Schumann sets poems by Adelbert von Chamisso (who was also a renowned botanist) that may seem out of keeping with the modern world but in fact come from the pen of a noted liberal and describe a relationship across social classes that was rare indeed for its time.
Reflecting the ‘connections across time’ of today’s programme of events, Sarah and Eugene also include a selection of texts by Elizabethan poets, primarily Shakespeare, set by composers including Haydn, Arne, Howells and Quilter. They conclude this programme with Mahler’s Rückert Lieder. Like Schubert’s Schwanengesang, these songs were not conceived as a cycle by the composer, but they sit perfectly together and are one of Mahler’s great contributions to the song repertoire.
The outstanding bass William Thomas, who won the 2018 Kathleen Ferrier Awards, will begin this evening’s concert with a short set of Schubert songs, including Schubert’s settings of Shakespeare. Every evening recital this year will begin with Schubert songs performed by singers who have arguably been hardest hit by the current crisis: artists who are already forging careers but not yet at a stage where they can view current circumstances as a temporary setback.
This concert will be streamed completely live from the Holywell Music Room. Shortly afterwards, it will also be available to watch again (using the same ticket and link) until 1 November 2020. Click here for further information on how tickets will work this year.
Q&A
After a short break at the end of the concert, there will be a Q&A with the artists. Please email any questions you have during the interval or at the end of the concert (songconnections@oxfordlieder.co.uk) or post them on social media (#OLF2020), and the artists will answer as many as time allows.