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ETO kicks off its spring season with What Dreams May Come, a strange and moving staging of songs inspired by William Shakespeare.

The HK Phil display virtuosic brilliance in an energetic rendition of Shostakovich’s witty Symphony no. 9 under Jaap van Zweden

Julius Drake, Krzysztof Chorzelski and Mark Padmore contributed their notable gifts of piano, viola and voice respectively in a very special, often heartfelt fundraising evening for two music education charities. 

Half-arty, half-folky, this collaboration between bass-baritone Florian Boesch and the East Tyrolean ensemble Franui was an entertaining mixed bag.

German soprano Julia Kleiter is among singers of unparalleled talents who are participating in this years “jubilee cycle” of Schubert songs at the renowned Schubertiade.

An evening of Lieder with James Gilchrist and Anna Tilbrook promised well, and did deliver occasionally, but sadly enthusiasm got the better of style more than once. 

In a thoroughly riveting recital at the Concertgebouw, soprano Anna Prohaska probes Ophelia’s psyche through songs from the nineteenth century onwards.

St Andrews Voices was a perfect platform for Roderick Williams and Iain Burnside to exlore the fine line between madness and genuis in a compelling song recital.

At the Muziekgebouw, Amsterdam, Dutch baritone Henk Neven and pianist Hans Eijsackers charmed an enthusiastic audience with a programme of Ravel, Ibert, Schubert and Spanish songs arranged by Norwegian composer Arne Dørumsgaard.

The duo toss off three encores before breezing off into the night, sending their audience off to their beds, already completely and utterly satisfied. 

Simon Keenlyside and Graham Johnson's concert at the Vienna Konzerthaus featured songs by Schoenberg and his pupil Hanns Eisler, as well as Britten, Wolf, Schubert and Brahms. These consummate artists made a difficult program seem easy to perform and even easier to listen to.

St John’s, Smith Square, is one of London’s loveliest concert venues. A Baroque church, situated in the heart of Westminster, amongst government offices and ministerial departments, it boasts a fine acoustic, and is host to a varied programme of concerts throughout the year.

Florian Boesch reminded me of the terror I felt as a nine year-old boy treble: I had to walk home in the dark after rehearsing Schubert's version of The Erlking, with phantoms following.

The programme had been changed. No Montsalvatge, but this gave space for a lovely performance of Grieg's varied and characterful Haugtussa (Maid of the Mountain) cycle. Both performers had clearly worked at it intently, and took us with great authority through its twists and turns. The Larsson songs must be some of the strangest lyrics ever set.

Le dernier projet original de Pygmalion et Raphaël Pichon, avec la metteuse en scène Silvia Costa, la Maîtrise Populaire de l'Opéra-Comique et une belle distribution, est une franche réussite.

Très grand récital à Bozar : dans Schubert, Rachmaninov et Scriabine, le pianiste Arcadi Volodos impressionna par ses qualités de délicatesse et d’imagination.

Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto pléthorique offre un récital jubilatoire soutenu par un Roger Vignoles royal ; malheureusement la truculence déjà légendaire de la cantatrice semble bien mal adaptée à l’exercice du récital.

C’est à un admirable récital que Simon Keenlyside et Malcolm Martineau nous convièrent dans une somptueuse errance romantique dans les terres schubertiennes. Après un Hamlet mémorable, nous espérons le revoir bientôt sur les planches genevoises afin de goûter à son sens inné de la scène et succomber de nouveau à cette voix somptueuse.

Pour qui adore les trios de Schubert, ce 14 avril offrait l’embarras du choix : le All-Stars band Kissin-Rachlin-Maisky en donnait l’opus 99 au TCE ; la formation Pascal-Milone avec Eric Lacrouts, l’opus 100 à Gaveau. David et Goliath ? C’était sans compter l’extraordinaire engagement des musiciens rassemblés autour de Denis Pascal...

Mercredi 26 août, dans l’Angelika-Kauffmann-Saal de Swarzenberg se poursuivait le Festival Schubertiade avec, à 16h, un liederabend par la jeune soprano Brenda Rae accompagnée de Wolfram Rieger au piano.

Un moment féerique comme le vie en offre peu !

Pour la première édition du Festival Mezzo, Karine Deshayes et Jean-Baptiste Bou ont donné à entendre, salle Gaveau, un programme varié mêlant mélodies, lieder et airs d'opéra plus ou moins connus.