The 20th Oxford Lieder Festival: Nature’s Songbook
The Oxford Lieder Festival (8 – 23 October 2021) will celebrate its 20th anniversary this autumn. Celebrating the magical art of song, an astonishing array of artists will appear in more than 80 events, encompassing the great song cycles of Schubert and Schumann, the riches of fin-de-siècle Paris, the epic landscapes of Scandinavia and the vibrant sphere of American song.
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The broad focus of the Festival is on nature, at a time when it has played an increasingly important part in many people’s lives, exploring how poets and composers have so often been inspired by nature and used it as a metaphor for every aspect of life. This vast range of repertoire will gently steer the Festival programme both inside the concert hall and into some of Oxford’s unique outdoor spaces.
World-leading singers appearing at the Festival include Ian Bostridge, Dame Sarah Connolly, Dietrich Henschel, Thomas Oliemans, Christoph Prégardien, Dorothea Röschmann, Carolyn Sampson, Anna Stéphany, Camilla Tilling, Robin Tritschler and Roderick Williams amongst others. The cream of the new generation includes BBC Cardiff Singer of the World 2017 Catriona Morison, Simon Bode, Stuart Jackson, Konstantin Krimmel, and Helen Charlston. As part of its 20th anniversary celebrations and Song Futures programme, Oxford Lieder is commissioning 20 new works, including major new song cycles by Tom Coult, Cheryl Frances-Hoad, and Kate Whitley. A residential mastercourse will be led by Joan Rodgers, and there will be a myriad of study events in partnership with Oxford’s many cultural and academic institutions.
As well as in-person attendance, the Festival will be live-streamed, allowing audiences around the world to enjoy this thrilling and immersive fortnight of exploration, discovery and inspiration.