Join us this October as Oxford Lieder, the UK’s biggest festival of song, marks its 20th year with its most ambitious programme to date.
This year’s Festival features more than 100 events, both in-person with a socially distanced audience and livestreamed online, building on the success of two previous online festivals.
World-class singers and pianists, alongside emerging stars, take to the stage for song recitals, complemented by piano, chamber and choral works and several world premieres.
An extensive series of Song Connections events forges links between music, poetry, nature, art, language and science, ensuring multiple access points to the world of song
Streaming tickets start at just £3, with a full Festival streaming pass, providing online access to every event, offering exceptional value at £165.
'All song lovers should buy a pass for the Oxford Lieder Festival... varied, rewarding, engaging.' The Observer, 2021
Saturday 9th October
5:30 PM
09. Carnival of the Animals (first performance)
- Elizabeth Watts
- Jonathan Stone
- Jâms Coleman
- Felix Kemp
- Martin Sturfält
- Echor Chamber Orchestra
09 Oct 2021 17:30 | Saint John the Evangelist
All evening concerts this year are performed twice, at 5.30pm and 8.15pm. This 5.30pm performance will be in-person only. Please see Event 11 for information on the 8.15pm in-person and livestreamed performance. Saint-Saëns was mortified that Carnival of the Animals became his best-known work, but there is no denying its perennial appeal. In tonight’s performance ...
5:45 PM
10. Master & Pupil
- Martin Roscoe
- Fenella Humphreys
09 Oct 2021 17:45 | Jacqueline du Pré Music Building
The Festival has a strong strand of chamber music that complements the themes and songs of particular days. In this first chamber recital, we hear two dazzling violin sonatas by Saint-Saëns and his distinguished student Gabriel Fauré, performed by this exceptional duo. Both sonatas are passionate, profound and virtuosic, and although the master-pupil influence is audible, each inhab...
8:15 PM
11. Carnival of the Animals (second performance)
- Elizabeth Watts
- Jonathan Stone
- Jâms Coleman
- Felix Kemp
- Martin Sturfält
- Echor Chamber Orchestra
09 Oct 2021 20:15 | Saint John the Evangelist
All evening concerts this year are performed twice, at 5.30pm and 8.15pm. This 8.15pm performance is a repeat performance of Event 09. This performance will be in-person and livestreamed. Saint-Saëns was mortified that Carnival of the Animals became his best-known work, but there is no denying its perennial appeal. In tonight’s performance of this upliftin...Wednesday 13th October
5:45 PM
34. Madame ma bonne soeur
- Lotte Betts-Dean
- Armida Quartet
13 Oct 2021 17:45 | Jacqueline du Pré Music Building
We are thrilled to present the world premiere of a co-commissioned new work for quartet and voice by Brett Dean, one of the most sought-after composers today. Brett Dean’s opera Hamlet, premiered at Glyndebourne in 2017, was a sensation, described by The Sunday Times as ‘the operatic event of the year’. This new piece, Madame ma bonne soeur, draws on texts ...Saturday 16th October
5:45 PM
53. Dover Beach
- Matthew Rose
- The Albion Quartet
16 Oct 2021 17:45 | Jacqueline du Pré Music Building
Dover Beach is one of the great works for voice and string quartet. It is an early work of the American composer Samuel Barber, setting the English poet Matthew Arnold. Barber looked back on Dover Beach throughout his life with affection, considering it one of his few early works that displayed real maturity. It is played this evening by the dazzling Albion Quartet with eminent bass Matthew Ros...