11.08.2022

JULIAN PRÉGARDIEN curates Brahms-Night at the SHMF

“Precise, crystal clear, and unsentimental” is how the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung” recently described Julian Prégardien’s tenderly melting timbre. In addition to oratorio and opera, the celebrated lyric tenor is particularly fond of art song, and so he has conceived and arranged a program for the SHMF that illuminates Johannes Brahms’ vocal works in a unique way: “What fascinates me about Brahms’ music is its expansiveness and boundlessness, which almost magically transcends mere text and rhetoric. In terms of phrasing and breathing technique, this is of course an enormous vocal challenge. The melodiousness creates an infinity that is incredibly moving. I’m very excited to share that with audiences this summer. At our Brahms Night in Kiel, we want to bring out two aspects in particular: First, Brahms’ fascination for the foreign and its exoticism – to be experienced spiritedly in his love song waltzes, gypsy songs, and Hungarian dances. Then, in contrast, the magic of the night, so movingly set to music in many of Brahms’ songs like An die Nachtigall, Auf dem Kirchhof, or Feldeinsamkeit.” 

Julian Prégardien, tenor and conception
Nikola Hillebrand, soprano
Patricia Nolz, mezzo-soprano
Konstantin Krimmel, baritone
Florian Schüle, clarinet
Jakob Lehmann, violin
Angelika Wirth, violin
Raquel Massadas, viola
Balázs Máté, violoncello
Peter Ferretti, double bass
Els Biesemans, fortepiano

Johannes Brahms
Excerpts from Gypsy Songs, Liebeslieder Waltzes, Clarinet Quintet, Hungarian Dances, etc.