Oxford Lieder Festival: Opening Night camaraderie and conviviality

Friendship in Song is the theme of the 21st Oxford Lieder Festival, and the Opening Night recital in the Sheldonian Theatre certainly offered an evening of camaraderie and conviviality, as…

Ian Bostridge and Julius Drake, Live from London: ‘Transfigured Love’

VOCES8’s Summer ’22 — LIVE From London series has offered the ensemble the opportunity to form new partnerships, and this recital by Ian Bostridge and Julius Drake was recorded in…

A very special Schumanniade, hosted by Bostridge, Coote and Drake, closes a season to cherish at Wigmore Hall

After keeping the music alive and the song flowing during an incredibly challenging 2020-21 season, Wigmore Hall’s artistic and executive director, John Gilhooly, offered one final feast of lieder to…

Winterreise: Fleur Barron and Julius Drake

Tenor Ian Bostridge’s award-winning idiosyncratic guide to, and all-embracing musing upon, Schubert’s Winterreise is subtitled ‘Anatomy of an Obsession’.  The obsession is Schubert’s, the wanderer’s, Bostridge’s and our own.  And,…

Nicky Spence and Julius Drake bring Gypsy magic and mystery to Wigmore Hall

‘You noticed a nice passage in my Diary of One Who Disappeared?  You know, it would be like under that fir tree of mine in my forest.  And there’s another…

PrÈgardien at the Wigmore Hall

Hugo Wolf is a hard sell. Technical expertise isn’t enough. The secret to singing Wolf is expressing the unique personality in each song. Wolf, perhaps more than any other composer, creates miniatures that open out into mini-operas when performed well.

Katarina KarnÈus, Wigmore Hall

In Britain, Katarina KarnÈus is closely associated with Grieg and Sibelius. Indeed, her career has almost been defined by her recordings of their songs for Hyperion.

Schubert bounces along at Wigmore Hall

The performance of lieder is a partnership between singer and pianist. In May I heard Julius Drake redeem an indifferent recital by the sheer beauty of his playing. I’ve been listening to him for more than 15 years. He’s a favorite. So I was completely taken by surprise by this recital