Oxford
Lieder Festival12th
-27th October 2007
:
A Preview by Anne Ozorio
Six years on, the Oxford Lieder Festival has
established its place firmly in the musical life
of this country, and for good reason. It may seem
low key and unambitious, but don't be fooled. It
has been built on the strongest of foundations :
a commitment to promoting the genre through live
performance. Like the Liederabend of Schubert's
time, musicians and audiences are brought together
in settings which foster the intimacy and direct
communication that is so much the essence of
Lieder and art song. Schubert's friends would be
gathered closely around the piano, listening to
people they knew personally and cared about.
Chamber music is called “Chamber music” because it
was meant to be played in chambers. It's almost
important that the audience interacts with the
musicians as the musicians interact among
themselves. In our modern world, we're
increasingly cut off from this sort of personal,
human communication. Mass produced sounds assail
us from all sides. It's all too easy to get drawn
into the assumption that only big, flashy effects
are exciting. Lieder gets us back to that
essential stillness of the soul, liberating us
from the mad hubbub that surrounds us. It
substitutes “inner values” for the otiose and
grandiose - what an antidote to the superficial
world around us !
Each year, the Oxford Lieder Festival gets better
in terms of what it offers. This year's Festival
kicks off with three keynote concerts, each a
headliner in its own right. First, the young
baritone Mark Stone sings Schumann, Quilter,
Duparc and Mussorgsky. Then Joan Rodgers follows
with Wolf, Fauré, Rachmaninoff and Shostakovich's
Satires. Then James Gilchrist presents
Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin, one of his
specialities. On the first Friday, the big name
is Olaf Bär, in his second appearance at this
Festival. Bär was mentored by Peter Schreier, so
it's a wonderful that he supports Oxford Lieder,
with its ethos of helping young performers. He'll
be singing Schumann's Dichterliebe and
other songs.
The Festival is also known for including
interesting “new” voices. Christianne Stotijn is
back. She made such an impact when she appeared
here in 2004, that she's gone on to great things,
including Proms. Don't miss Measha Brueggergosman,
a lively soprano making many waves. Other much
loved OLF favourites, such as Stephan Loges and
Jasia Julia Nielsen will be singing, too. Both
will be singing Wolf, as will Anna Grevelius.
There will be two all-Wolf evenings, plus other
songs scattered through other programmes. The
finale will be Lisa Milne, singing Berg, Poulenc,
Strauss and Brahms. All three big name pianists
in the genre will be playing – Martineau, Drake
and Vignoles. Sholto Kynoch, who will also be
playing, was a student of Martineau. He's a good
pianist, as well as being the organiser of this
wonderful, innovative series. Graham Johnson may
not be playing this year, but he's still a guiding
light and patron.
Before nearly every concert, there will be a short
talk about the music. These talks are very good
indeed, and valuable even to those who think they
know the material. Speakers in the past have
included some of the best minds in music studies,
such as Richard Stokes and the amazing Natasha
Loges. Always arrive early, if you can, because
these talks are an important part of the
experience.
The Festival concerts are only the tip of the
iceberg, for Oxford Lieder's core mission is to
encourage performance. For a week before the
Festival starts, singers and pianists from all
over the world will be attending a residential
mastercourse (open to the public), led by Sarah
Walker, who will present their work in a special
mastercourse concert. Indeed, if you can be in
Oxford in the afternoon, you can even have “Lunch
with Schubert”, because there'll be four
all-Schubert concerts at 1 pm, with students from
the Guildhall School of Music and drama. There
are also workshops for other students and a
popular singing workshop which anyone is welcome
to attend, as long as they love song.
One of the very important reasons I support the
Oxford Lieder festival is because it supports a
year round series of concerts and activities.
Whatever you spend on tickets and CDs (they have
their own label !) goes towards supporting the
entire year's programme. There is also a £1000
annual scholarship towards postgraduate studies.
Oxford Lieder is more than a Festival, it is part
of an ongoing and innovative programme which very
effectively promotes love for the genre and
appreciation of what live performance is about.
Successful as they are, they're still fledgling in
terms of permanent funding. But the whole ethos of
this undertaking is “giving” - giving pleasure,
knowledge, enjoyment, giving young musicians a
platform, giving audiences a unique experience.
Music has given us so much that whatever we spend
in return is small recompense. If only I could
manage to attend more concerts ! But perhaps,
anyone reading this will make the effort to come
along too. This Festival, and the on going
programme it supports is a shining example of what
can be done by people who love music and love
performance.
Anne Ozorio
Link to Oxford Lieder homepage.
http://www.oxfordlieder.co.uk/
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