Schäfer sings Schubert at the Mumford

The concert will see Schäfer accompanied by London-based Australian pianist Piers Lane – Patron of The Sampson Orchestra of Cambridge – and the pair will perform the same programme at the Wigmore Hall in London on Sunday, 17 February.

Schäfer has established an international reputation for his interpretation of Mozart’s operatic roles and Baroque operas by Monteverdi, Scarlatti, Handel and Hasse.  Recent concert performances have included Bach’s Matthäus-Passion under Nikolaus Harnoncourt at the Wiener Musikverein.

His sophisticated Schubert interpretations, exquisitely shaped and always alive to emotional contrasts, have been heard at the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg and New York’s Lincoln Center.

Pianist Lane has a flourishing international career and highlights of the current season include the European premiere of Carl Vine’s Piano Concerto with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under Vassily Sinaisky, his participation at the Sitka Summer Music Festival in Alaska and his collaborations with Schäfer.

Lane’s last performance in Cambridge was in a sell-out performance of Admission: One Shilling in January 2012, and he has fond memories of the city.  He said: “It is always a great pleasure to play in Cambridge – such friendly, yet discerning audiences!

“The last time I played there, it was in Admission: One Shilling with the wonderful Patricia Routledge narrating the story of Dame Myra Hess and the wartime concerts at the National Gallery.  But before that, it was a recital in West Road, with its marvellous acoustics and sight lines.  I’ve played there on and off for decades now.  I used to do a lot with the Cambridge Orchestra under Darrell Davison and I’m now the Patron of that orchestra, renamed The Sampson Orchestra of Cambridge.

“Markus Schäfer and I performed together for the first time at the opening of the new Melbourne Recital Centre in Australia.  I think he has the perfect voice for Schubert and our Cambridge recital will be followed by one at the Wigmore Hall in London.  That will mark Markus’ debut there.  He’s such a great Schubert tenor, I have no doubt it won’t be his last appearance at the Wigmore.”

All lunchtime concerts are free and are supported by the Anglia Ruskin Arts Council, and this recital is promoted in association with Hazard Chase Concert Agency.  For further information, please visit www.anglia.ac.uk/ltcseries

 

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For more press information please contact:

Jon Green on t: 0845 196 4717, e: jon.green@anglia.ac.uk

Andrea Hilliard on t: 0845 196 4727, e: andrea.hilliard@anglia.ac.uk

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