Sarah-Jane Brandon – soprano
Johnny Herford – baritone
William Vann – piano
The first season of the PizzaExpress Live Art Song series concludes with a complete performance of one of the most famous of all song cycles. The 46 songs of Hugo Wolf’s Italienisches Liederbuch were composed between 1890 and 1896, setting lyrics taken from an anthology of Italian poems by Paul Heyse (1830–1914), and translated into German. A conversation between two lovers, the male in love tends to idealise his lover and praise her beauty, while the female shows practical ideas about love and sometimes has a number of complaints.
Winner of the 2009 Kathleen Ferrier Award, soprano Sarah-Jane Brandon studied at the Benjamin Britten International Opera School, and has performed all over the world with some of the leading opera companies, orchestras and conductors of our era. Baritone Johnny Herford was the winner of the Song Prize at the 2013 Kathleen Ferrier Awards, and of the Jean Meikle Duo Prize at the 2013 Wigmore Hall International Song Competition. He recently made his US debut at Opera Philadelphia, creating the title role in Denis and Katya by Philip Venables. William Vann, Artistic Director of the Pizza Express Art Song series, is one of the most highly regarded accompanists of his generation.
“A special word for William Vann’s deft pianism” – Gramophone
Programme:
Italienisches Liederbuch – Hugo Wolf (1960-1903)