Events

09 Oct 2020 18:30 | Holywell Music Room

This special recital is exclusively available to our Pioneer Passholders, without whose backing this year's Festival would not be possible. Find out more about the Pioneer Pass here. In a special programme exclusively for Pioneer Pass holders, the tenor Alessandro Fisher joins Oxford Lieder’s Artistic Director – pianist Sholto Kynoch – for a feast of song from the ornat...

Saturday 10th October

9:30 AM

The Digital Concert Hall: How it works

10 Oct 2020 09:30 | Various

Well, this isn't exactly a 'Masterclass' but it's a chance for you to try our our Digital Concert Hall if you've already bought a Pass, and see how our whole booking process works if you've not done so before. The following 3-minute video takes you quickly through the booking process then shows you how to access the Digital Concert Hall. Please watch it, then book you...

10:00 AM

Connections Across Time - A Brief History of Song

10 Oct 2020 10:00 | Various

Over a packed eight days, world-class artists including Benjamin Appl, Ian Bostridge, Sarah Connolly and Roderick Williams will present some 40 concerts and events, from venues across Oxford and completely live. From the comfort of your own home, you will be able to enjoy these concerts live-streamed in the highest quality. We’ll be exploring every possible advantage of this temporary ...

11:00 AM

01. Brahms's Circle and the Musical Past (Part One)

10 Oct 2020 11:00 | Trinity College

Presented in association with the Royal College of Music As well as being a brilliant and engaging speaker, Natasha Loges is a renowned Brahms scholar, whose book Brahms and his Poets has been described as ‘extremely useful and endlessly fascinating’ (Gramophone Magazine). In a two-part event, she delves into Brahms’s fascination with music from the medieval t...

1:15 PM

02. Brahms, Britten and Purcell: Katie Bray, William Vann & Hélène Clément

10 Oct 2020 13:15 | Holywell Music Room

Katie Bray was the winner of the Dame Joan Sutherland Audience Prize at the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition in 2019. Her programme today with the acclaimed pianist William Vann and violist Hélène Clément is a perfect and carefully devised complement to our study day on ‘Brahms’s Circle and the Musical Past’, and the concert given later toda...

3:00 PM

03. Brahms's Circle and the Musical Past (Part Two)

10 Oct 2020 15:00 | Trinity College

Presented in association with the Royal College of Music In today’s two-part event, Natasha Loges delves into Brahms’s fascination with music from the medieval to the baroque, bringing in some remarkable characters along the way. PART ONE: A sensation in 1880s Berlin: Amalie Joachim’s Historical Song-Recitals Please click here for details. PART TWO: Brahms ...

5:30 PM

04. Time after Time: James Gilchrist & Elizabeth Kenny

10 Oct 2020 17:30 | Broughton Castle

This is the dream combination of artists for this astonishing repertoire. James Gilchrist and Elizabeth Kenny explore the songs of John Dowland (1563-1626), the Schubert of the English Renaissance. Dowland was a singer and lutenist himself, who wrote songs throughout his nomadic career at English, Danish, French and Italian courts. James and Elizabeth also include songs by Dowland’...

7:30 PM

05. Schumann and Mahler: Sarah Connolly & Eugene Asti

10 Oct 2020 19:30 | Holywell Music Room

Sarah Connolly’s recitals with Eugene Asti are always memorable occasions, and this certainly promises to be a spectacular opening night concert. Sarah and Eugene begin with Schumann’s Frauenliebe und -leben (‘A woman’s love and life’). Written in 1840, the year of Schumann’s marriage to Clara Wieck, the cycle was dedicated to Clara and has been...

10:00 PM

06. Love songs of Guillaume de Machaut: The Orlando Consort

10 Oct 2020 22:00 | Broughton Castle

The medieval French poet and composer Guillaume de Machaut was one of the most important artistic figures of the 14th century, and his love songs bear comparison with their counterparts in the romantic song literature. Bringing us full circle to the period of music Brahms might well have encountered in the concerts of Amalie Joachim (see today’s study events), we could ask for no bett...

Sunday 11th October

11:00 AM

07. Elias Ashmole and the Ashmolean Museum

11 Oct 2020 11:00 | Ashmolean Museum

The world-famous Ashmolean Museum was founded in 1683 by Elias Ashmole, an Enlightenment polymath. Within the Festival’s sub-theme of the Enlightenment, Xa Sturgis, the Museum’s Director, discusses the Ashmolean’s past, present and future. Alongside this, we hear songs by Purcell and Haydn, as well as the 17th-century Venetian composer and singer Barbara Strozzi, whose sta...

2:00 PM

08. Hafez and Persian Poetry in Song (Part One)

11 Oct 2020 14:00 | Various

Presented in association with TORCH, with support from the Humanities Cultural Programme, and the Ashmolean Museum The focus of today is on Hafez, the 14th-century Persian poet, and his reception and influence on song across the centuries. In this first event, we root ourselves in the time of Hafez himself. Dominic Brookshaw, Fellow in Persian at Wadham College, introduces Hafez and the ...

3:30 PM

09. Inspired by Hafez: Michael Mofidian & Jâms Coleman

11 Oct 2020 15:30 | Holywell Music Room

Scottish-Iranian bass-baritone Michael Mofidian and pianist Jâms Coleman are both former Oxford Lieder Young Artists. Michael, now a member of the Jette Parker programme at the Royal Opera House, and Jâms have created a programme within our day-long exploration of the 14th-century Persian poet Hafez. They include songs by Schumann from his cycle Myrthen (his wedding gi...

5:00 PM

10. Hafez and Persian Poetry in Song (Part Two)

11 Oct 2020 17:00 | Various

Presented in association with TORCH, with support from the Humanities Cultural Programme, and the Bodleian Libraries In the second of today’s illustrated talks about Hafez, we jump ahead several centuries and explore the many appearances of Hafez’s poetry, in translation, in the European song tradition. The most famous instance of this is, arguably, through Goethe’s Wes...

7:30 PM

11. The West-Eastern Divan: Ian Bostridge & Julius Drake

11 Oct 2020 19:30 | Holywell Music Room

We are thrilled that Ian Bostridge, one of the world’s foremost tenors, will be our artist in residence this year, giving two concerts, an interview and a masterclass. Tonight, he appears with long-standing duo partner and accompanist-par-excellence Julius Drake in a programme that builds on today’s exploration of Hafez and his influence on later song composers. They include the...

9:55 PM

12. Iranian Classical Songs

11 Oct 2020 21:55 | Jacqueline du Pré Music Building

To bring today to a close, we are delighted to welcome ensemble 'The Voice of Santur', comprising voice and three instrumentalists: qanun, violin, and tabla. They perform a number of settings of Hafez, both traditional and contemporary; a very special event not to be missed. This concert will be streamed completely live from the Holywell Music Room. Shortly afterwards...

Monday 12th October

11:00 AM

13. Ian Bostridge in conversation

12 Oct 2020 11:00 | VENUE TBC

As part of his Festival residency, Ian Bostridge appears in conversation with Katy Hamilton, discussing his life and career, music, and poetry, and fielding questions from our audience. During this event, please email any questions ([email protected]) or post them on social media (#OLF2020), and Ian will answer as many as time allows.

1:00 PM

14. Songs of the Zodiac: Robin Tritschler & Graham Johnson

12 Oct 2020 13:00 | Holywell Music Room

The outstanding Irish tenor Robin Tritschler and the ‘peerless song accompanist’ (Daily Telegraph) Graham Johnson bring a fascinating programme that forges numerous ‘connections across time’. They begin with Benjamin Britten’s arrangement of the gently profound Bist du bei mir (usually ascribed to Bach, though it is actually by Gottfried Stölzel),...

3:00 PM

15. Mendelssohn and the Jewish Enlightenment

12 Oct 2020 15:00 | The Bodleian Library

Presented in association with TORCH, with support from the Humanities Cultural Programme, and the Bodleian Libraries The Bodleian Libraries house one of two major collections of Felix Mendelssohn’s manuscripts, the other being in Berlin. Martin Holmes, Alfred Brendel Curator of Music at the Bodleian, shows us some of these important scores, letters, and paintings, and tells the sto...

5:30 PM

16. Songs for violin and voice: Caitlin Hulcup & Jonathan Stone

12 Oct 2020 17:30 | Holywell Music Room

The superb Australian mezzo-soprano Caitlin Hulcup makes a welcome return to the Festival for a programme of works for voice, violin, and piano, in various combinations, joined by the violinist Jonathan Stone and Oxford Lieder’s Artistic Director, Sholto Kynoch. Three works are for voice and violin alone: one from the Three Old English Songs by Rebecca Clarke, which are beauti...

7:30 PM

17. Britten, Strauss and French Song: Lucy Crowe & Anna Tilbrook

12 Oct 2020 19:30 | Holywell Music Room

Lucy Crowe ‘brings down the house with a soprano artistry beyond compare’ (The Independent). She makes a long-anticipated return to the Festival, with the brilliant Anna Tilbrook, for this captivating programme. They begin with a selection of Britten’s arrangements of old English folk songs, following perfectly from today's 5.30pm recital with Caitlin Hulcup. T...

Tuesday 13th October

10:30 AM

18. Ian Bostridge Masterclass

Mastercourse

13 Oct 2020 10:30 | Merton College Chapel

As part of his Festival residency, Ian Bostridge works with outstanding young artists; emerging professionals who are already working at a high level. He helps them to hone their craft, drawing on his wide experience and offering insights both for students and observers alike. The three duos taking part in this masterclass are Liam Bonthrone (tenor) & Marina Staneva (piano),Theo Perr...

1:00 PM

19. Beethoven, Schubert and Gordon: James Gilchrist & Anna Tilbrook

13 Oct 2020 13:00 | Holywell Music Room

Today is an exciting day of inspiring new music as part of Song Futures; Oxford Lieder’s initiative for commissioning outstanding composers, programming existing works by living composers, and illuminating new music for all. James Gilchrist and Anna Tilbrook enjoy a long-standing and acclaimed partnership. Today, they begin their programme with a selection of Schubert songs, and th...

3:00 PM

20. Voltaire, Rousseau and the Enlightenment

13 Oct 2020 15:00 | Upper Library, The Queen’s College

Please note that due to a technical issue the scheduled streaming of this event was delayed. The film is now available in the Digital Concert Hall to ticket holders, and Suzanne Aspden and Nicholas Cronk will conduct a live Q&A here on Friday 16 October at midday. The Q&A film is just underneath the main Livestream window in the Digital Concert Hall (and at the bottom of this page)....

5:30 PM

21. Imogen Cooper plays Schubert: Imogen Cooper & Harriet Burns

13 Oct 2020 17:30 | Holywell Music Room

Imogen Cooper needs little introduction as one of the finest living interpreters of Schubert. We are thrilled that she will perform his G major sonata, D894. She will also be joined by former Oxford Lieder Young Artist Harriet Burns for a selection of Schubert night songs. This concert will be streamed completely live from the Holywell Music Room. Shortly afterwards, it will also be avai...

7:30 PM

22. Six Songs of Melmoth: Carolyn Sampson & Joseph Middleton

13 Oct 2020 19:30 | Holywell Music Room

Carolyn Sampson is undoubtedly one of today’s leading sopranos and has been described as singing with ‘luminous perfection and beautiful diction’ (Herald Scotland). After a stunning debut appearance at the Festival last year, we are delighted to welcome her back, with regular duo partner and lauded pianist Joseph Middleton. We are equally delighted that they will premie...

10:00 PM

23. The Hermes Experiment

13 Oct 2020 22:00 | Christ Church Cathedral

Our Song Futures day concludes with a performance by sparkling ensemble The Hermes Experiment. This contemporary quartet, comprising soprano, harp, clarinet, and double bass, was founded in 2014 and has already commissioned more than 50 composers. Their recently released album HERE WE ARE was described by The Guardian as ‘witty and imaginative…joyous and heartbreaking...

Wednesday 14th October

1:00 PM

24. Bach and Britten: Ian Bostridge, Saskia Giorgini & members of Oxford Bach Soloists

14 Oct 2020 13:00 | Merton College Chapel

This is the first event of four in a day that broadly explores the intersection of sacred and secular in song across the ages. Ian Bostridge’s residency at the Festival draws to a close with this wonderful programme, juxtaposing and joining Bach and Britten. With a chamber ensemble made of members of Oxford Bach Soloists, he sings the cantata Ich habe genug (‘I have...

3:00 PM

25. The Great Debate

14 Oct 2020 15:00 | Museum of Natural History

Presented in association with TORCH, with support from the Humanities Cultural Programme, and the Museum of Natural History On 30 June 1860, the Oxford University Museum of Natural History hosted a clash of ideologies that has become known as the ‘Huxley-Wilberforce Debate’, or simply the ‘Great Debate’. Thomas Henry Huxley (1825-1895), nicknamed ‘Darwin&rsq...

5:30 PM

26. Akkordeon Baroque: Loré Lixenberg & Bartosz Glowacki

14 Oct 2020 17:30 | Rycote Chapel

Loré Lixenberg is one of today’s most exciting mezzo-sopranos, renowned for her wide range of repertoire and interests, as perfectly reflected in this fascinating programme. She is joined by Bartosz Glowacki, hailed as one of the outstanding accordionists of his generation and a City Music Foundation Artist. Their programme was inspired by Loré’s experience in B...

7:30 PM

27. The Sound of Silence: Benjamin Appl & Sholto Kynoch

14 Oct 2020 19:30 | Holywell Music Room

The baritone Benjamin Appl has been described as possessing a voice that ‘belongs to the last of the old great masters of song’ with ‘an almost infinite range of colours’ (Süddeutsche Zeitung), an ‘exacting attention to text’ (New York Times), and artistry that is ‘unbearably moving’ (The Times). Continuing our day’s theme of spi...

Thursday 15th October

1:00 PM

28. Winners of the Kathleen Ferrier Awards: Benson Wilson & Lucy Colquhoun

15 Oct 2020 13:00 | Holywell Music Room

New Zealand-born Samoan baritone Benson Wilson is the winner of the prestigious Kathleen Ferrier Awards 2019, as well as numerous other awards. He has recently joined ENO as a Harewood Artist. Lucy Colquhoun is a prize-winning alumnus of the Royal College of Music, where she studied with Roger Vignoles, and a Britten-Pears Young Artist. Benson and Lucy begin their programme with a select...

3:00 PM

29. The Story of the Rose

15 Oct 2020 15:00 | Oxford Botanic Garden

Presented in association with TORCH, with support from the Humanities Cultural Programme, and the Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum The rose has been a symbol in poetry and song, in varying guises, since time immemorial. We look at some of these appearances from Purcell to the present day, linking them to wider cultural representations and learning about their botanical characteristics...

5:30 PM

30. Winners of the Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform: Jess Dandy & Dylan Perez

15 Oct 2020 17:30 | Holywell Music Room

Each year, the Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform seeks two outstanding duos – young professionals beginning to forge great careers – to be our ‘ambassadors for song’. They give recitals up and down the country in music clubs and festivals, supported by Oxford Lieder and flying the flag for song, as well as for our international partner festivals. Their showcase rec...

7:30 PM

31. From the Pens of Women: Kitty Whately & Simon Lepper

15 Oct 2020 19:30 | Holywell Music Room

Kitty Whately and Simon Lepper gave a completely sensational recital at last year’s Lieder Festival. They return now with another colourful and imaginative programme, that they first performed at Wigmore Hall. Seven composers from Ralph Vaughan Williams to Juliana Hall set the words of women poets, including Ursula Vaughan Williams, Virginia Woolf, and Margaret Atwood. We hear two ...

Friday 16th October

1:00 PM

32. Die schöne Müllerin: Ashley Riches & Sholto Kynoch

16 Oct 2020 13:00 | Holywell Music Room

A youth tormented by futile love is hardly a rare premise, but Schubert’s settings of Wilhelm Müller’s tale of the young would-be miller, striding out into the world only to find it inhospitable, reach an astonishing level of poignancy. ‘To wander’ is the protagonist’s desire, but when he meets the eponymous beautiful daughter of his new employer, the mill...

3:00 PM

33. Solace in Nature

16 Oct 2020 15:00 | Harcourt Arboretum

Presented in association with TORCH, with support from the Humanities Cultural Programme, the Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum, and the Oxford Department of Psychiatry This is the second of our events in collaboration with the Oxford Botanic Garden and Arboretum: today is also jointly presented with the Oxford Department of Psychiatry. Three fascinating speakers discuss nature, mental...

5:30 PM

34. Winners of the Oxford Lieder Young Artist Platform: Siân Dicker & Krystal Tunnicliffe

16 Oct 2020 17:30 | Holywell Music Room

7:30 PM

35. Settings of Thomas Hardy: Roderick Williams & Christopher Glynn

16 Oct 2020 19:30 | Holywell Music Room

Described as ‘our greatest living baritone’ (Daily Telegraph) with a ‘noble warmth’ (The Independent), Roderick Williams has given many memorable recitals at the Festival, not least his trilogy of Schubert cycles last year, also with renowned pianist Christopher Glynn. For this concert, they present a wide range of settings of Thomas Hardy. Although known to many ...

10:00 PM

36. Songs of the Stars: Lotte Betts-Dean & Sean Shibe

16 Oct 2020 22:00 | The Radcliffe Observatory

A magical combination of music and artists in a stunning setting! The Australian mezzo Lotte Betts-Dean enjoys a busy career in both the UK and Australia, is a former Oxford Lieder Young Artist, and has been described in Limelight Magazine as being ‘powerful and lyrical, exhibiting a masterly control of both vocal range and colour.’ She is joined by Scottish guitarist Sean Sh...

Saturday 17th October

11:00 AM

37. Beethoven and the Enlightenment

17 Oct 2020 11:00 | Old Library, Worcester College

Presented in association with TORCH, with support from the Humanities Cultural Programme, and Worcester College This year marks the 250th birthday of Ludwig van Beethoven. Although often denigrated as a song composer, who had no natural affinity for writing for the voice, Beethoven was a pioneer in song as he was in every other genre he turned his hand to. This is the case bey...

1:15 PM

38. Before Beethoven: Stephan Loges & Eugene Asti

17 Oct 2020 13:15 | Holywell Music Room

Following on from our earlier Song Connections event on Beethoven and the Enlightenment, Stephan Loges and Eugene Asti present a recital placing Beethoven as the crucial pivot between earlier composers such as C.P.E. Bach, Zelter, Haydn and Mozart, and the inimitable master of song Franz Schubert. The German bass-baritone Stephan Loges has been described as ‘br...

5:30 PM

39. An Imperfect Tapestry: Gweneth Ann Rand & Simon Lepper

17 Oct 2020 17:30 | Holywell Music Room

Following an extraordinary performance of Messiaen’s Harawi at last year’s Festival, Gweneth Ann Rand was described in The Observer as having a ‘sumptuous voice [that is] technically brilliant, verbally agile and expressive’, and that concert, also with the acclaimed pianist Simon Lepper, was subsequently selected as one of The Guardian’s Top Ten Clas...

7:30 PM

40. Schubert: Schwanengesang: Christoph Prégardien & Michael Gees

17 Oct 2020 19:30 | Holywell Music Room

Christoph Prégardien’s appearances at the Festival are always memorable highlights. For the first time this year, he appears with the brilliant German pianist, composer and improviser Michael Gees, with whom he has a long-standing partnership and many acclaimed recordings. They pivot from our earlier focus on Beethoven – with a performance of one of his most popular so...

10:00 PM

40b. Songs of the Stars: Lotte Betts-Dean & Sean Shibe