Oxford International Song Festival returns to Oxford this October. Daily Info sat down with the festival's Artistic Director, Sholto Kynoch to discuss this year's festival and what audiences can expect from it.
Daily Info: What’s the Oxford International Song Festival all about?
Sholto Kynoch: It’s a celebration of classical song, the world’s biggest festival of its kind. In the most general terms, it’s a meeting of poetry and music, usually for one singer with piano. In emotional terms, it’s a rollercoaster, and a look into the deepest feelings and sentiments of great poets and composers from the 16th century to the present day.
DI: What can audiences expect from this year's festival?
SK: Some of the world’s great singers and pianists, rubbing shoulders with the most exciting musicians of the new generation. Some of the most personal and profoundly moving music. Intimate venues, with that sense of the singers speaking directly to you. An informal atmosphere and a super-warm welcome.
As well as the many song recitals, there are also chamber music and choral concerts, talks, walks and masterclasses.
DI: This year's theme is Cities of Song. What does that mean?
SK: It’s a broad theme, and you won’t spot it in every concert, but lots of events take as their starting point a city that was home or inspiration to the composers and poets in the programme. This takes us from Haydn’s visit to Oxford to Kafka’s Prague and fin-de-siècle Vienna.
DI: What are some of the highlights for this year's line-up?
SK: There are so many to choose from! Roderick Williams is one of the UK’s most popular singers, and he gives the opening-night concert. We’re all very excited for the return of another baritone, Christian Gerhaher, an international superstar, with his regular pianist Gerold Huber: the New York Times described them as ‘classical music’s greatest duo’. Then a new work by composer Reena Esmail, settings texts from the Bhagavad Gita; a day marking the anniversaries of two revolutionary figures, Lord Byron and Arnold Schoenberg; and the ever-popular Schubert weekend. But every day is packed with great events, and sometimes the most exciting thing is hearing a new singer or unfamiliar music, or making a connection you never knew about!
DI: It's ten years since you began the Schubert Project. What does the Schubert Weekend entail?
SK:Franz Schubert changed the face of song forever, taking the fusion of poetry and music, voice and piano to a different level. His 600+ songs are a cornucopia of masterpieces. The Festival is already looking towards Schubert’s bicentenary in 2028, and the Schubert Weekend is an annual celebration of the composer which features the great Schubertian pianist and scholar Graham Johnson exploring Schubert’s life 200 years on (so 1824 this year), as well as numerous other artists presenting many of his finest songs.
DI: Can you sum the festival up in three words?
SK: Inspiring, varied, welcoming!
Oxford International Song Festival runs from the 11th to 26th October and you can see the full line up here.