Scattering clouds: Ekaterina Semenchuk at Wigmore Hall

By Mark Pullinger, 13 March 2017

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Reviewed at Wigmore Hall, London on 12 March 2017

Rimsky-Korsakov, Of what I dream in the quiet night, (O chjom v tishi nochej) words by Maykov, Op.40 no.3

Rimsky-Korsakov, Over the hills of Georgia, (Na kholmakh) Op.3 no.4

Rimsky-Korsakov, Quietly evening falls Op.4 no. 4

Rimsky-Korsakov, The Clouds begin to scatter, (Redejet oblakov) words by Pushkin, Op.42 no.3

Rimsky-Korsakov, Enslaved by the rose, the nightingale, (Vostochnyj romans) words by Kol'tsov, Op.2 no.2

Rimsky-Korsakov, In Spring: The Lark sings louder (Vesnoj: Zvonche zhavoronka pen′e), words by Tolstoy, Op.43 no.1

Cui, I Touched the bloom lightly, Op.49 no.1

Cui, The Fountain Statue at Tsarskoye Selo, Op.57 no.17

Cui, Listening to the horrors of war Op.62 no. 14

Cui, Desire, Op.57 no.25

Borodin, My Songs are Filled with Poison

Borodin, At some Folks' Houses

Balakirev, Embrace, kiss

Balakirev, When I hear thy voice

Balakirev, Rapture

Balakirev, The Rock

Balakirev, I loved him

Mussorgsky, Songs and Dances of Death

Rachmaninov, How fair this spot (Zdes' khorosho), Op.21 no.7

Verstovsky, Gypsy Song: Old Husband, Cruel Husband

Tchaikovsky, Strashnaya minuta (The fearful moment), Op.28 no.6

Ekaterina Semenchuk, Mezzo-soprano

Helmut Deutsch, Piano

Diana Damrau, Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch in Berlin recital

Elena Luporini, 30th June

Diana Damrau, Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch's European tour reaches Berlin with a heart-on-sleeve programme of Lieder by Strauss and Mahler.

***11

Kaufmann and Deutsch shine in Claus Guth's dramatized Schwanengesang

Robert Levine, 27th September

In New York's Park Avenue Armory, Claus Guth imagines Schubert's final song collection set in a military hospital, Jonas Kaufmann as one of its soldiers with a story to tell.

****1

Die schöne Müllerin at the Schubertiade

Sarah Batschelet, 28th August

Lyric tenor Mauro Peter recently returned to the renowned Schubert festival to sing the demanding song cycle that many consider to be the pinnacle of Lied.

****1

Knight Errant: Brahms’ Beautiful Magelone in Rotterdam

Jenny Camilleri, 10th May

Brahms’ only song cycle, Die schöne Magelone, gets star treatment from baritone Michael Volle, pianist Helmut Deutsch and narrator Thomas Quasthoff at the Doelen in Rotterdam.

****1

A Winter's Tale: Jonas Kaufmann sings Winterreise

Christie Franke, 1st April

Jonas Kaufmann, German singer extraordinaire, may not be fully human. His exquisite chocolatey tenor, coupled with his extraordinary command of diction, tone and emotion, lend him an other-worldly air, whether performing opera or singing lieder. This man can do no wrong, as was witnessed Tuesday night at his Berlin Philharmonic performance of Schubert’s intense song cycle Winterreise.

*****

Hugo Wolf's complete Italienisches Liederbuch at the Vienna Konzerthaus

Chanda VanderHart, 5th November

The evening began on a fun note: Juliane Banse’s voice rang out in a pre-recorded message, reminding the audience that as far as she knew, cell phones and classical music did not generally mix. After a community chuckle, the audience applauded Banse, Bo Skovhus and Helmut Deutsch onto the stage, and then settled back into its seats for an evening of Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch.

***11

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Mark Pullinger

Mark has been a Bachtrack editor since 2014. He is also an experienced critic, writing hundreds of reviews for the site, as well as a freelancer writing for other magazines and newspapers. He also writes programme notes and blogs on Substack. Mark has a particular passion for the operas of Verdi as well as Russian and French repertoire. Outside the concert hall and opera house, Mark enjoys cooking and travel and is probably at his happiest let loose in a French patisserie or a Viennese coffee house.

Scattering clouds: Ekaterina Semenchuk presents The Mighty Handful at Wigmore Hall