Our Composers and Poets programme has been a cornerstone of the Leeds Lieder Festival from the very beginning, and has featured luminaries such as South-Yorkshire born poet Ian McMillan.

Robert Schumann, one of our featured composers this year, wrote “Sometimes it seems as though I am embarking on completely new paths in music” and this showcase promises to be an unpredictable and fascinating concert, which may well point out new directions for art song.

Composer and clarinettist Mark Simpson (b.1988, Liverpool) became the first ever winner of both the BBC Young Musician of the Year and BBC Proms/Guardian Young Composer of the Year competitions in 2006. In 2015 he was appointed Composer in Association of the BBC Philharmonic for a period of four years. Join us to discover more about his new song cycle in this short documentary video.

Two Leeds Lieder favourites join forces and bring their customary cheer to Yorkshire. Hailed by the Daily Telegraph as “a voice of real distinction,” Nicky Spence is fast emerging as “one of our brightest young tenors”. An artist of great integrity, Nicky Spence’s unique skills as a singing actor and the rare honesty in his musicianship are steadfastly earning him a place at the top of the profession.

Join us in the bar for an informal evening of local ales and song and poetry presented by our Leeds Lieder Young Artists.

Marked out early in her career as the logical successor to Christa Ludwig and Brigitte Fassbaender, Angelika Kirchschlager now enjoys a reputation as one of the finest artists currently before the public. Loved by audiences and colleagues alike for her generosity of spirit and probing intellect, this ‘in conversation’ with Andrew McGregor, well-known to BBC Radio 3 listeners as the presenter of Record Review, is guaranteed to be engaging, sincere and witty.

Well known for her informative, amusing, probing and highly entertaining talks, we are thrilled to welcome to Leeds one of the country’s pre-eminent Lieder specialists. Dr Natasha Loges is Head of Postgraduate Programmes at the Royal College of Music and has co-edited Brahms in the Home and the Concert Hall: Between Private and Public Performance.

Hasselhorn and Middleton juxtapose two of our featured composers in this recital. Schumann’s great settings of dramatic Heine and heartbreaking Kerner poems bookend four folksongs by Brahms. German-born Hasselhorn stands at the forefront of today’s young Lieder singers. A prize-winner at the Queen Elisabeth Competition, Das Lied and Wigmore International Song Competitions.

The closing masterclass of the 2019 Festival sees our outstanding duos working with the great Irish mezzo-soprano Ann Murray DBE, to find clarity of expression and a deeper understanding of the songs they have prepared. We are also proud to offer the inaugural Leeds Lieder/Schubert Institute of Great Britain Song Prize to the duo with the most promise. The winning duo will also receive an invitation to appear in the Leeds University International Concert Series next season.

Natasha Loges will talk about how we approach the compositions of Robert and Clara Schuman against the backdrop of women’s cultural achievements in the nineteenth century. She will outline some of the social and legal restrictions professional women faced, but also offer thoughts on how we can connect meaningfully with that era through music.

Much-loved Swedish soprano Miah Persson, an artist in her prime, makes her Leeds Lieder début in a programme which explores femininity and motherhood in the first half, before turning to her Scandinavian roots in the second. She is joined by Leeds Lieder Director Joseph Middleton to close the 2019 Festival in what will certainly be a must-see event for Lieder enthusiasts.