SHIFTING PERSPECTIVE
ROBERT SCHUMANN Frauenliebe und Leben Op.42 (A Woman’s Love and Life)
RYAN WIGGLESWORTH New work
with additional songs by JOHANNES BRAHMS, CLARA SCHUMANN, HERBERT HOWELLS and SALLY BEAMISH
Schumann’s hugely popular song cycle Frauenliebe und Leben is today regarded as a pivotal work in the soprano repertoire. The words, with a female narrator at their heart, focus exclusively on a woman’s experience of love. And yet, the poems were written by male German poet and botanist Adelbert von Chamisso, and the first public performance, with Robert Schumann’s wife Clara at the piano, was given by a baritone, Julius Stockhausen.
Music in the Round's singer-in-residence Roderick Williams challenges himself to come to terms with shifting perspectives in the performance and understanding of music, presented in a thought-provoking evening of mesmerising music featuring a new work by Ryan Wigglesworth.
From Wincobank, Sheffield, Ryan Wigglesworth has come a long way since he was a chorister at Sheffield Cathedral! He is one of the foremost composer-conductors of his generation, having been Principal Guest Conductor of The Hallé Orchestra from 2015 to 2018 and Composer-in-Residence at English National Opera.
