Oeuvre: 3 mélodies: La statue de bronze

Louise Alder and Roger Vignoles offer French charm in their return to Wigmore Hall.

Suave baritone Stéphane Degout was mood – and word – perfect in the brooding melancholy of Debussy. In perfect collusion with pianist Alain Planès, he was even better in droll fables by Poulenc and Ravel.

Part of Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series, Matthew Polenzani's programme impressed. Beginning with Beethoven, he made his way from German to French by way of Liszt, then carried on with Satie and Ravel, and finally wound down the concert with a set of Samuel Barber songs and some lovely encores.