Schumann Kerner Lieder (Williams / West)

Schumann - Kerner Lieder

Songs by Korngold and Mahler

Supported by The Helena Oldacre Trust

Schumann’s twelve settings of the poet Justinus Kerner are not a cycle as such; they were published with the title “Liederreihe”, “song sequence”. They contain some of Schumann’s finest writing, and some of his most overtly passionate songs.  Korngold’s songs have been enjoying a revival in recent years. For many years he was known primarily as a composer of film scores in the ‘20s and ‘30s, but in fact he was a child prodigy and prolific composer of songs, chamber music and more.  His songs represent the height of romanticism, and are well complemented by a selection of Mahler’s early settings of poems from Des Knaben Wunderhorn.

Roderick Williams is one of Britain’s best-loved baritones, who attracts rave reviews wherever he performs. He is joined by pianist Andrew West, who works with many of the finest singers and instrumentalists in Europe (including Florian Boesch at the OLF in 2008).