Schumann Project

Robert Schumann's complete songs will be the focus of the fifteenth Oxford Lieder Festival (14-29 October 2016). The Schumann Project, which falls on the 160th anniversary of the composer's death, places his works for voice alongside an array of his other works and songs by his friends and contemporaries. The two-week Lieder Festival, which won an RPS Award for the 2014 Schubert Project, encompasses chamber and choral works, study events, artistic partnerships and world-class musicians. It will explore Schumann's life and times, his friends and contemporaries, his influences and his legacies, and his literary and artistic interests; all illuminating and casting a fresh light on his remarkable body of songs.

Graham Johnson returns for two lecture-recitals exploring Schumann's life and music; study days will look at Schumann's fascination with Bach, and at the political upheaval and revolution of the 1840s; Wolfgang Holzmair will lead the residential mastercourse; and there will be film screenings, masterclasses and talks. 2016 is also the 120th anniversary of Clara Schumann's death; her twenty-nine songs will be included in the Festival.

Christian Gerhaher and Gerold Huber will give the opening recital of the Festival, and other artists appearing in Oxford for the first time include Anne Sofie von Otter, Bo Skovhus and Juliane Banse. The roster also features Thomas Allen, Sarah Connolly, Felicity Lott, James Gilchrist, Sophie Karthäuser, Christopher Maltman, Mark Padmore, Christoph Prégardien and Roderick Williams, alongside many other leading artists and emerging stars.

Passes for the entire festival cost £460 and a week pass £280 - available now via the link below or by phoning +44 (0)1865 591276. General booking opens on 1 June.

Information: www.oxfordlieder.co.uk

Posted: 13 January 2016

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