A celebration of European song will be the focus of the 2018 Oxford Lieder Festival (12^th - 27^th October) and will showcase the familiar masterpieces of the song repertoire while exploring wider cultural influences from Finland to the south of Spain and from Dublin to Moscow. The great masters of the German Lied brush shoulders with composers from Carl Nielsen to Ester Magi to Lili Boulanger. Fascinating talks and study events will illuminate music, art and literature across the continent. A series of ‘language labs’ explore language and poetry from Polish to Czech to Estonian.

International stars including Louise Alder (15 Oct), Toby Spence (16 Oct), Kai Rüütel (17 Oct), James Gilchrist (19 Oct), Camilla Tilling (20 Oct), Christoph Prégardien (21 Oct), Benjamin Appl (22 Oct), Sarah Connolly (22 Oct), Véronique Gens (24 Oct), Thomas Oliemans (25 Oct) and Kate Royal (26 Oct) appear alongside exceptional young artists, including the winners of the Kathleen Ferrier Awards, the Wigmore Hall International Song Competition and, in a new collaboration with Heidelberger Frühling, Das Lied. The lunchtime series includes concerts of Polish, Hungarian and Italian songs, and there is a rich programme of chamber music in the rush-hour series, including music from the Baltic states, Russia and France.

A day-long event focuses on Scandinavian song, with performances given by native-speaking singers from all the Nordic countries (20 Oct). There will be a day devoted to Claude Debussy on the centenary of his death, including a recital with leading French pianist Anne Le Bozec and two of the brightest emerging French singers: Marie-Laure Garnier and Jean-Christophe Lanièce (13 Oct). An evening in Spain features soprano Lorena Paz Nieto and British/Catalan mezzo Marta Fontanals-Simmons, as well as Spanish violin music, a Spanish wine tasting and Flamenco (18 Oct). A range of events mark the 100th anniversary of the death of Hubert Parry taking a fresh look at his significance for English song.

Other highlights include the opening concert (12 Oct) with Sophie Bevan, Kitty Whateley, James Gilchrist and Marcus Farnsworth performing works including Ralph Vaughan Williams’s Serenade to Music, and the closing concert (27 Oct) with the thrilling Irish mezzo Tara Erraught and BBC New Generation Artist Ashley Riches performing Schumann’sMyrthen. Robert Holl and Graham Johnson perform Winterreise (14 Oct) and the exciting new ensemble Schubert & Co. present an uplifting Schubertiade (23 Oct).

Tickets and festival passes visit www.oxfordlieder.co.uk / 01865 591276.