Tuesday 14 February 2017

Looking ahead: Wigmore Hall's 2017/18 season

Jorg Widmann - photo Marco Borggreve
Jorg Widmann - photo Marco Borggreve
The Wigmore Hall's 2017/18 season has nearly 500 concerts in it including 120 chamber recitals. Gerald Finley opens the season with songs by Schubert, Poulenc,Turnage and Britten on 9 September 2017, whilst the Dutch bass-baritone Robert Holl gives his final Wigmore Hall recital on 27 September.

Baritone Roderick Williams will be singing Schubert's Die schone Mullerin, Winterreise and Schwanengesang for the first time, and will be exploring the works with young performers from the Guildhall School. Winterreise is also the focus for tenor Mark Padmore's recital with pianist Mitsuko Uchida.

Returning divas include Sarah Connolly, Joyce DiDonato, Elina Garanca, Anna Bonitatibus, Alice Coote, Ann Hallenberg, Robert Invernizzi and Sandrine Piau. Counter-tenor Philippe Jaroussky will be giving an all-Handel programme with Ensemble Artaserse. Also returning are Christian Gerhaher, Simon Keenlyside, Matthias Goerne and Florian Boesch.

Residencies include violinist Isabelle Faust whose focus will include Mozart's mature violin sonatas. German violinist Christian Tezlaff will be exploring Brahms' violin sonatas with Lars Vogt,as well as performing in chamber music including Schubert's String Quintet in C. Italian contralto Sonia Prina gives three concerts performing French melodies, and Italian repertoire with period groups Akademie fur Alte Musik Berlin and Concerto Copenhagen. Jorg Widmann will be appearing as both composer and performer; the Heath Quartet is performing five quartets, other groups also perform his chamber music whilst he will be performing with Sir Andras Schiff and the Tezlaff Quartet.

Composer in Residence Helen Grime is developing a new project exploring motherhood, to be performed by Ruby Hughes and Joseph Middleton.

There will be 17 concerts in which various groups explore the full gamut of Haydn's string quartets, whilst Cuarteto Casals performs the complete Beethoven quartets alongside works by living composers.

Igor Levit will be celebrating Frederic Rzewski's 80th birthday with The People United WIll Never Be Defeated and a specially commissioned new work. Nelson Freire also celebrates the 50th anniversary of his Wigmore debut with a recital.

John Butt and the Dunedin Consort will be performing Bach's Christmas Oratorio, St Matthew Passion and Mass in B Minor. Philip Higham will be playing Bach Cello Suites.

Wigmore Hall Learning programme has been running for 20 years and in 2016 led 539 learning events and engaged with 11531 people. Recent initiatives include a new choir for people living with dementia and their carers.

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