
Winter into Spring – The Changing Seasons
27th - 28th February 2021
Building on the success of its first online festival in October 2020, Oxford Lieder presents a live, online weekend of song on Saturday 27 and Sunday 28 February. Winter into Spring: The Changing Seasons offers nine events with world-class singers and pianists, and emerging stars, with a wide range of music to lift the spirits in the depths of this bleak winter and herald the coming of spring. Concerts will be broadcast live and on demand from the historic Holywell Music Room in the heart of Oxford, and introduced by BBC Radio 3's Petroc Trelawny.
Winter is the focus on Saturday 27 February: Joshua Ellicott and Anna Tilbrook perform Britten’s Winter Words and songs by Schubert, while Dietrich Henschel and Sholto Kynoch perform Schubert’s Winterreise. In a study event with live musical examples, in collaboration with the University of Oxford, Joanna Neilly explores Wilhelm Müller – the poet of Winterreise – as an important figure with a lasting and contemporary influence. The young soprano Nardus Williams gives a recital of Purcell, Brahms and Walton.
Spring bursts forth on Sunday 28 February, culminating in Ailish Tynan’s recital with Iain Burnside, featuring Schubert's evergreen 'The Shepherd on the Rock'. Philip Bullock examines the Russian ‘thaw’ following the death of Stalin in March 1953, with music performed by Helen Charlston, Oliver Johnston and Natalie Burch; and RPS Singer of the Year 2020 Natalya Romaniw and Lada Valešová perform Rachmaninov’s Spring Waters and other songs from their acclaimed album Arion: Voyage of a Slavic Soul.
CLOSER THAN EVER TO OUR ARTISTS
We will be bringing you closer than ever to the artists, through live Q&As and in the world-class filming and audio that will beam them directly to your home. Our filming partners are once again TallWall Media, who delivered stunning HD footage of October 2020’s Oxford Lieder Festival, viewed 24,000 times in 25 countries.
TICKETS
Streaming tickets for individual festival events cost £5 to £13 per household and give access to the Digital Concert Hall from a week before the event and for three weeks after. The Digital Concert Hall includes full texts, translations, and programme notes. A full weekend pass costs £40 (£15 for under 35s), with the option to extend to a six-week viewing period for £80, or a Pioneer Plus pass for £100 that also includes access to recent footage from the Oxford Lieder Festival archive (click here for the full list).
BOOK YOUR PASS NOW – click here
FULL WEEKEND PASS – £40
View all festival events live online and on demand for three weeks, until 21 March.
Pioneer Pass – £80
- Double your on-demand viewing period: View all festival events live online and on demand for six weeks, until 11 April.
- Receive two free guest streaming tickets to share with friends for the opening recital of Winter into Spring given by tenor Joshua Ellicott & Anna Tilbrook.
Pioneer Plus Pass – £100
As above, plus exclusive access to a selection of recent OLF events, including last year's Festival recitals given by Sarah Connolly and Christoph Prégardien (click here for the full list). These events will be available for you to watch on demand as soon as our Digital Concert Hall opens on 20 February, and until 11 April.
BOOK YOUR PASS NOW – click here
Share the joy of song: our Passes make the perfect gift...
Friday 19th February
Pioneer Plus Passholders - exclusive access to archive footage
19 Feb 2021 09:00 | Holywell Music Room
Our Pioneer Plus Passholders receive exclusive access to a selection of recent OLF events. These events will be available to watch on demand from 20 February to 11 April 2021 via this event page (please click on the Digital Concert Hall link above). Archive footage includes the following concerts and Song Connections study events: CONCERTS Schumann and Mahler: Sa...Saturday 27th February
Introducing 'Winter into Spring': Artistic Director Sholto Kynoch in conversation with Petroc Trelawny
27 Feb 2021 10:30 | Holywell Music Room
Oxford Lieder's Artistic Director Sholto Kynoch introduces the 'Winter into Spring' weekend and discusses Oxford Lieder's future plans with the weekend's presenter Petroc Trelawny. Watch this conversation live at 10.30am on Saturday 27 February, or afterwards on demand. The livestream will be available to view on this page (no ticket required). Please refresh...01. Winter Words: Joshua Ellicott & Anna Tilbrook
27 Feb 2021 11:00 | Holywell Music Room
Live-streamed from the Holywell Music Room, presented by Petroc Trelawny Our Winter into Spring weekend gets underway with Benjamin Britten’s astonishing Winter Words: evocative settings of Thomas Hardy that represent one of those perfect meetings of poet and composer. We’re delighted that this cycle, and other winter-themed songs, will be performed by acclaimed tenor Joshua ...02. Nardus Williams & Sholto Kynoch
27 Feb 2021 13:30 | Holywell Music Room
Live-streamed from the Holywell Music Room, presented by Petroc Trelawny The exceptional young soprano Nardus Williams made a great impression at the last Lieder Festival in one of our ‘emerging artist’ slots and we are pleased that she is able to return for this recital. She and pianist Sholto Kynoch perform two Purcell songs – 'Sweeter than Roses and his...03. Wilhelm Müller’s Die Winterreise
27 Feb 2021 17:00 | Holywell Music Room
Joanna Neilly, German Fellow at St Peter’s College, Oxford, introduces the poet Wilhelm Müller and explores the surprising range of his creativity well beyond the cycles immortalised by Schubert, Die schöne Müllerin and Die Winterreise. Her talk explores the cultural history of Müller’s best-known poem, ‘Der Lindenbaum’, and highl...04. Winterreise: Dietrich Henschel & Sholto Kynoch
27 Feb 2021 19:30 | Holywell Music Room
Live-streamed from the Holywell Music Room, presented by Petroc Trelawny Following our earlier Song Connections event, we hear Schubert’s extraordinary response to Müller’s poems in one of his greatest works, Winterreise. Dietrich Henschel is one of the leading international baritones, bringing an illuminating insight to everything he sings. Emerging soprano Anna Cavalie...05. Charles Owen
27 Feb 2021 22:00 | Holywell Music Room
Due to the current lockdown, we are unable to hold this concert in collaboration with Merton College Choir. We are instead delighted to be able to present this recital given by the exceptional pianist Charles Owen. Charles Owen enjoys an extensive international career performing a wide-ranging repertoire to outstanding critical acclaim. He appears at many major UK venues such...Sunday 28th February
06. Winners of the Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform: Siân Dicker & Krystal Tunnicliffe
28 Feb 2021 11:00 | Holywell Music Room
Joël Terrin and Cole Knutson have had to withdraw from this concert due to travel complications around the pandemic. We look forward to welcoming them to the Festival in October, and in the meantime are delighted to welcome back Siân Dicker and Krystal Tunnicliffe. Siân Dicker and Krystal Tunnicliffe were winners of the Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform 2020. Since t...07. The Beginning of Spring: Poetry and Song after the Death of Stalin
28 Feb 2021 13:30 | Holywell Music Room
Philip Ross Bullock looks at the rebirth of lyric poetry and song after the death of Stalin in March 1953. Tracing how writers and musicians responded to the greater cultural freedom that were integral to the Khrushchev 'Thaw', he examines how lyric forms could respond to important contemporary themes in Soviet society. Philip’s talk is illustrated by three artists who also im...08. Songs of Travel: James Platt & Lada Valešová
28 Feb 2021 17:00 | Holywell Music Room
Natalya Romaniw is unwell and with great regret is having to withdraw from her concert. We are very grateful to James Platt for stepping in at short notice to join Lada Valešová for this recital. We wish Natalya a speedy recovery and hope to bring her to Oxford in a future Festival. The outstanding British bass James Platt and pianist Lada Valešová perfor...09. The Shepherd on the Rock: Ailish Tynan & Iain Burnside
28 Feb 2021 19:30 | Holywell Music Room
Tara Erraught and Dearbhla Collins have had to withdraw from this concert due to travel complications around the pandemic. We look forward to welcoming them to the Festival in October, and in the meantime are very grateful to Ailish Tynan, Iain Burnside and Julian Bliss for stepping into this recital. Ailish Tynan and Iain Burnside need little introduction as two of today's le...