Concerts
Mark Padmore and Julius Drake
Monday 15th February 2010 at 7.30pm
Mark Padmore (tenor), Julius Drake (piano)
6.30 – pre-concert talk: Mark Padmore and Julius Drake will discuss die Winterreise with Lynne Walker
‘Mr Padmore deployed his light voice with tonal allure and clarity. He deftly calculated the emotive impact of his singing across the cycle’s duration.’ New York Times
‘For my money this inspired accompanist is now the best in the business.’ New York Magazine
Who better to perform Schubert’s timeless masterpiece Winterreise than acclaimed tenor Mark Padmore and his ever-sensitive accompanist Julius Drake? Last year their Schubert song cycle performances at London’s Wigmore Hall were lavished with critical praise: ‘It was astonishingly beautiful,’ wrote the Daily Telegraph, ‘few singers can convey a feeling of pure-hearted idealistic longing so intensely as Padmore.’
Based on the poetry of Wilhelm Müller, Winterreise (‘Winter Journey’) is a remarkable emotional experience for performers and audiences alike. As autumn turns to indifferent winter, Schubert’s haunting setting graphically evokes the images of nature that mock the unhappy wanderer – the croaking on high of a predatory crow, the barking of village dogs – and even the grim symbolism of signpost and weathervane. Schubert himself wrote that Winterreise had ‘taken more out of me than was ever the case with other songs,’ and rest assured, Padmore and Drake will draw out every one of its musical, psychological and emotional nuances.
Mark Padmore website
Julius Drake website
Winterreise text and translation