2018/19 Season January - March 2019 2 • This spring, two of today's greatest Lieder interpreters, the German baritone Christian Gerhaher and his regular pianist Gerold Huber, return to survey one of the summits of the repertoire, Schubert’s psychologically intense Winterreise. Harry Christophers and The Sixteen join us with a programme of odes, written to welcome Charles II back Director’s to London from his visits to Newmarket, alongside excerpts from Purcell's incidental music to Theodosius, Nathaniel Lee's 1680 tragedy. Introduction Leading Schubert interpreter Christian Zacharias delves into the composer’s unique melodic, harmonic and thematic flourishes in his lecture-recital. Through close examination of these musical hallmarks and idiosyncrasies, he takes us on a journey to the very essence of Schubert’s style. With her virtuosic ability to sing anything from new works to Baroque opera and Romantic Lieder with exceptional quality, Marlis Petersen is one of the most enterprising singers today. Her residency continues with two concerts, sharing the stage with fellow singers and accompanists of international acclaim. This year’s Wigmore Hall Learning festival, Sense of Home, celebrates the diversity and multicultural melting pot that is London and the borough of Westminster, reflects on Wigmore Hall as a place many call home, and invites you to explore what ‘home’ means to you. One of the most admired singers of the present day, Elīna Garanča, will open the 2018/19 season at the Metropolitan Opera as Dalila in Saint-Saëns’ Samson et Dalila. Her programme in February – comprising four major cycles – includes Wagner's Wesendonck Lieder, two of which were identified by the composer himself as studies for Tristan und Isolde. After witnessing each other perform in Schloss Elmau, Germany, in 2015, American pianist-composer Brad Mehldau and British tenor Ian Bostridge met and professed their admiration for each other’s work. Materialising into a creative spark that resulted in pieces written by Mehldau for Bostridge, they began to build the original material into a song cycle which revolved around text and themes of the ‘modern sinuous nature of human desire as it exists in love and adoration’, and they give its UK première in March. In the first ever concert to be promoted by Wigmore Hall at the Roundhouse, Sir George Benjamin conducts his own Palimpsests (2002) this March, together with an intense work by the Russian Galina Ustvolskaya. This performance harks back to the days of Boulez’s famous avant-garde concerts at the iconic Camden venue, and offers a chance to hear large-scale contemporary works in an inimitable setting. On the previous evening, we will present Benjamin’s chamber opera Into the Little Hill on the Wigmore stage. Russian pianist Zlata Chochieva has received exceptional praise for the Romantic repertory. Works and transcriptions by Rachmaninov, a favourite composer, appear in a March programme that also includes mazurkas by Chopin and Skryabin. There are also many wonderful concerts by our Chamber Ensemble in Residence, The Nash Ensemble, so do have a look at those. I look forward to welcoming you to the Hall. • 3 Contents At a Glance 4 Calendar 6 January 8 February 35 March 58 Contemporary Music Series 84 Booking Information 88 January – March 2019 At a Glance See pages 8 – 82 for full details of these concerts and page 88 for booking information. Series and Events to look out for… BBC Radio 3 Lunchtime Concerts Wed 6 Mar Ensemble Modern Orchestra/ 63 Sir George Benjamin Ilker Arcayürek 8 Mon 7 Jan Alexander Gavrylyuk 13 Sat 9 Mar Recollections of Hans Keller 64 Alexander Gavrylyuk 13, 67 Mon 14 Jan Juilliard String Quartet 18 Mon 11 Mar Nils Mönkemeyer/ 67 Alexander Melnikov Residency 10, 82 Mon 21 Jan Leila Josefowicz/ 23 William Youn Schumann Song Series 12, 36 John Novacek Tue 12 Mar Janine Jansen/ 67 Mon 28 Jan 31 Nash Ensemble: 16, 17, 49, 66, 73 Simon Höfele/Frank Dupree Alexander Gavrylyuk German Romantics Mon 4 Feb Sophie Pacini 36 Sat 16 Mar Heath Quartet 71 Robin Tritschler 19 Mon 11 Feb François-Frédéric Guy 41 Tue 19 Mar Nash Ensemble 73 Christian Gerhaher 20 Mon 18 Feb Kitty Whately/Simon Lepper 50 Fri 22 Mar Škampa Quartet 75 The Sixteen 22 Mon 25 Feb Quatuor Arod/Timothy Ridout 56 Sat 23 Mar Joshua Bell/Timothy Ridout/ 76 Christian Zacharias 24 Mon 4 Mar Mariam Batsashvili 61 Steven Isserlis/Jeremy Denk Pekka Kuusisto Residency 25 Mon 11 Mar Belcea Quartet 67 Wed 27 Mar Britten Sinfonia 79 Graham Johnson Songmakers' Almanac 28 Mon 18 Mar Jeremy Denk 73 Fri 29 Mar Kristóf Baráti/István Várdai/ 81 ECMA (European Chamber Music 26, 27 Mon 25 Mar Novus String Quartet 77 Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Academy) Showcase Sun 31 Mar Alexander Melnikov/ 82 Borodin Quartet 29, 30 Chamber Music Season Marcel Ponseele/ Lorenzo Coppola/Javier Zafra/ Christian Blackshaw Residency: 31 Wed 9 Jan Tasmin Little/Piers Lane 13 Teunis van der Zwart 70th Birthday Concert Sat 12 Jan Nash Ensemble 16-17 Russian Song Series 32, 59 Sun 13 Jan Doric String Quartet 18 Sunday Morning Concerts Les Arts Florissants/William Christie 34 Tue 15 Jan Juilliard String Quartet 18 Sun 6 Jan Rolston String Quartet 11 The Cardinall's Musick 31 Sat 19 Jan Alina Ibragimova/ 21 Sun 13 Jan Hyeyoon Park/Sholto Kynoch 15 Marlis Petersen Residency 33, 56 Cédric Tiberghien Sun 20 Jan Israeli Chamber Project/ 21 American Series: Escher String Quartet 37 Sun 20 Jan The Endellion String Quartet 21 Antje Weithaas Sonia Prina 37 Wed 23 Jan Pekka Kuusisto 25 Sun 27 Jan Borodin Quartet/ 29 Michael Collins 29, 38 Fri 25 Jan ECMA: Simply Quartet 26 Michael Collins Wigmore Hall Learning 44, 45 Sat 26 Jan ECMA Masterclass: 26 Sun 3 Feb Zahir Quartet 35 Festival 2019: Sense of Home Professor Johannes Meissl/ Sun 10 Feb Narek Hakhnazaryan/ 39 Stile Antico 46 Simply Quartet Oxana Shevchenko Sun 17 Feb Trio Isimsiz 49 Elīna Garanča 48 Sat 26 Jan ECMA: Trio Vitruvi 27 Sat 26 Jan 30 Sun 24 Feb Albion Quartet 55 Henk Neven/Imogen Cooper 51 Borodin Quartet/ Alexei Volodin Sun 3 Mar Kronberg Academy 59 Les Talens Lyriques/Christophe Rousset 52 Sun 27 Jan ECMA: Trio Gaon/ 27 Sun 10 Mar Nash Ensemble 66 Schumann String Quartet Series 54 Cosmos Quartet Sun 17 Mar David Oistrakh String Quartet 71 Dame Emma Kirkby 70th Birthday 57 Sun 3 Feb Goldner String Quartet/ 36 Sun 24 Mar Dover Quartet 75 Stéphane Degout 58 Piers Lane Sun 31 Mar Horszowski Trio 81 Brad Mehldau/Ian Bostridge 60 Tue 5 Feb Escher String Quartet 37 Brahms Plus Series: Jonathan Plowright 61 Wed 6 Feb Britten Sinfonia 37 Early Music and Baroque Series Sir George Benjamin 62, 63 Sat 9 Feb New Elizabethan Award 39 Fri 4 Jan The King’s Consort/ 9 Showcase Denis Kozhukhin 65 Iestyn Davies/James Hall Sat 9 Feb Michael Collins/ 38 Recollections of Hans Keller 64, 67 Thu 17 Jan The Sixteen 22 Michael McHale Marc-André Hamelin 66 Tue 29 Jan Les Arts Florissants/ 34 Mon 11 Feb Sergey Khachatryan/ 41 William Christie Dame Sarah Connolly Residency 69 Alisa Weilerstein/ Renata Pokupić/La Serenissima 70 Inon Barnatan/Colin Currie/ Wed 30 Jan The Cardinall’s Musick 31 Vox Luminis Residency 72 Owen Gunnell/Sam Walton Thu 7 Feb Sonia Prina/ 37 Alina Pogostkina/ Christoph Prégardien/Pentaèdre 74 Wed 13 Feb Britten Sinfonia 43 Dorothee Oberlinger/ Fauré/Schumann Project 76 Wed 13 Feb Nikolaj Znaider/Robert Kulek 43 Sonatori de la Gioiosa Marca Paul Appleby 77 Fri 15 Feb Razumovsky Ensemble 47 Thu 14 Feb Stile Antico 46 Zlata Chochieva 78 Sat 16 Feb Nash Ensemble 49 Thu 21 Feb Les Talens Lyriques 52 Kristóf Baráti/István Várdai/ 81 Wed 20 Feb Skride Quartet 53 Thu 28 Feb Dame Emma Kirkby 57 Jean-Efflam Bavouzet Fri 22 Feb Elias String Quartet 54 Wed 6 Mar Florilegium 61 Mahan Esfahani 68, 82 Sat 23 Feb Trio Zimmermann 55 Fri 8 Mar The English Concert/ 65 Chamber Zone 83 Tue 26 Feb Quatuor Zaïde 57 Nadja Zwiener/Tuomo Suni/ Contemporary Music Series 84 Tue 5 Mar Ensemble Modern/ 62 Christian Curnyn Sir George Benjamin/ Wed 13 Mar Die Kölner Akademie/ 68 Anu Komsi/Helena Rasker Mahan Esfahani wigmore-hall.org.uk • 5 Wed 20 Mar Vox Luminis/ 72 Mon 18 Feb Kitty Whately/Simon Lepper 50 Tue 19 Mar Nash Ensemble/ 73 Reinoud Van Mechelen/ Mon 18 Feb Ailish Tynan/ 44 Royal Academy of Music A Nocte Temporis Benjamin Appl/Iain Burnside Sun 24 Mar Nathan Gunn/Julie Gunn 75 Wed 27 Mar Carolyn Sampson/ 79 Tue 19 Feb Henk Neven/Imogen Cooper 51 Mon 25 Mar Paul Appleby/ 77 The King's Consort Mon 25 Feb Marlis Petersen/ 56 Malcolm Martineau Sat 30 Mar Mahan Esfahani 82 Anke Vondung/Werner Güra/ Wed 27 Mar Britten Sinfonia 79 Paul Armin Edelmann/ London Pianoforte Series Christoph Berner/Camillo Radicke Wigmore Hall Learning Thu 3 Jan Sergio Tiempo 9 Fri 1 Mar Sofia Mchedlishvili/ 59 Thu 3 Jan Wigmore Study Group: 9 Andrey Zhilikhovsky/ Sun 6 Jan Pavel Kolesnikov/ 11 Schumann Song Iain Burnside Elīna Bukša/Hermès Quartet Tue 8 Jan Wigmore Study Group: 9 Sat 2 Mar Stéphane Degout/Alain Planès 58 Tue 8 Jan Sunwook Kim 13 Schumann Song Sun 3 Mar Brad Mehldau/Ian Bostridge 60 Thu 10 Jan Alexander Melnikov/ 10 Fri 11 Jan Chamber Tots: On the Farm 15 Andreas Staier Thu 14 Mar Simon Bode/Igor Levit 68 Fri 11 Jan Wigmore Study Group: 9 Fri 18 Jan Christian Zacharias 24 Fri 15 Mar Dame Sarah Connolly/ 69 Schumann Song Lecture-Recital Julius Drake/Emily Berrington Sat 12 Jan Family Day: 15 Mon 21 Jan Rafał Blechacz 23 Sun 17 Mar Renata Pokupić/ 70 Chamber Challenge La Serenissima/Adrian Chandler Fri 25 Jan Roman Rabinovich 29 Fri 18 Jan For Crying Out Loud! 19 Thu 21 Mar Christoph Prégardien/ 74 Sun 27 Jan Christian Blackshaw 31 Thu 24 Jan Chamber