Julius Drake (piano), Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano) & Timothy Ridout (viola) - Drogheda Classical Music

Julius Drake (piano), Beth Taylor (mezzo-soprano) & Timothy Ridout (viola) - Drogheda Classical Music

Thursday, 7 April 2022, 7.30pm

For this song recital, internationally celebrated pianist Julius Drake is joined by two standout stars of classical music today, mezzo soprano Beth Taylor and viola player Timothy Ridout for a programme of glorious works by Schumann and Brahms.

Brahms Four Songs
Schumann Märchenbilder op 113 for viola and piano
Schumann Frauenliebe und Leben
Schumann Fantasiestücke op 73 for viola and piano
Brahms Deutsches Volkslieder
Brahms Two songs with viola and piano op 91

Please note it is subject to change depending on further Covid-19 restrictions.

Julius Drake piano

The pianist Julius Drake lives in London and enjoys an international reputation as one of the finest instrumentalists in his field, collaborating with many of the world’s leading artists, both in recital and on disc. He appears regularly at all the major music centres and festivals. Director of the Perth International Chamber Music Festival in Australia from 2000 -2003, Julius Drake was also musical director of Deborah Warner’s staging of Janáček’s Diary of One Who Vanished, touring to Munich, London, Dublin, Amsterdam and New York. Since 2009 he has been Artistic Director of the Machynlleth Festival in Wales. Julius Drake’s passionate interest in song has led to invitations to devise song series for Wigmore Hall, London, The Royal Concertgebouw, Amsterdam, the 92nd Y, New York and the Pierre Boulez Saal, Berlin. His annual series of song recitals –Julius Drake and Friends –in the historic Middle Temple Hall in London, has featured recitals with many outstanding vocal artists. Julius Drake holds a Professorship at Graz University for Music and the Performing Arts in Austria, where he has a class for song pianists, and is Professor of collaborative piano at the Guildhall School of Music in London. He is regularly invited to give master classes worldwide. His many recordings include a widely acclaimed series with Gerald Finley for Hyperion, award winning recordings with Ian Bostridge and Alice Coote for EMI; several recitals for the Wigmore Live label, with among others Joyce DiDonato, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Christopher Maltman and Matthew Polenzani.

Beth Taylor mezzo soprano

Beth Taylor is at the onset of a major international career. Recent engagements have led the young Scottish mezzo-soprano to the Nancy Opera House in her role debut as Bradamante in a new production of Alcina, to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam in Mozart’s Krönungsmesse KV317 at the Concertgebouw of Amsterdam, to Aix-en-Provence, where she made her festival debut in a new production of Rihm’s Jakob Lenz, to the New Generation Festival in Florence, where she appeared as Marcellina in Le nozze di Figaro, to the Opéra de Lyon as Melanto, Anfinomo and Fortuna in Il ritorno d’Ulisse in patria, to the Longborough Festival as Arnalta in L’incoronazione di Poppea, and to the Iford Arts Festival as Rosmira in Partenope. She has performed many popular and lesser-known oratorios and sacred cantatas with notable ensembles including the Dunedin Consort, the Sixteen, the Royal Scottish National Orchestra, Netherlands Radio Filarmorchestra, the Orchestra of Scottish Opera, the Ricecar Ensemble and the Instruments of Time and Truth. Her popular recital engagements with such notable pianists as Julius Drake, Marcia Hadjimarkos and rising star Hamish Brown have taken her across Europe including France, Germany, Italy, the UK and Denmark. Other operatic roles in her repertoire include Constanza (L’isola disabitata, Haydn), Ottone (Agrippina, Handel), Irene (Theodora, Handel), Cornelia (Giulio Cesare, Handel), Old Woman (The Day After, Dove) and Ramiro (La finta giardinera, Mozart). Beth is a graduate of the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland and The Open University. She is currently refining her technique under the tutelage of Jennifer Larmore and Iain Paton. Beth has participated in masterclasses with renowned artists such as Sarah Connolly, Susan Graham, Sir Thomas Allen, Sophie Daneman and Dame Emma Kirkby.

Timothy Ridout viola

With recent awards including the inaugural Sir Jeffrey Tate Prize in Hamburg and a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship, Timothy Ridout has confirmed his position at the forefront of young European soloists. He has been a BBC New Generation Artist since 2019 and will join the Bowers Program of the Chamber Music Society of the Lincoln Center in 2021. Equally in demand as a recitalist and chamber musician, his engagements include several appearances per season at the Wigmore Hall as well as throughout the UK, Europe and Japan. He also maintains a regular relationship with the Nash Ensemble. His second album, Music for Viola & Chamber Orchestra: Vaughan Williams, Martinu, Hindemith & Britten with Jamie Phillips and l’Orchestre de Chambre de Lausanne was released to general acclaim in February 2020 on Claves Records. He released his debut album with Champs Hill Records in spring 2017 Henri Vieuxtemps: Complete works for Viola, with pianist Ke Ma. In 2016 Ridout won 1st Prize in the Lionel Tertis Competition and was selected by Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT). Other prizes include the 2019 Thierry Scherz Award at the Sommets Musicaux de Gstaad and 1st Prize at the 2014 Cecil Aronowitz Competition. Born in London in 1995, Ridout studied at the Royal Academy of Music graduating with the Queen’s Commendation for Excellence. He completed his Masters at the Kronberg Academy with Nobuko Imai in 2019 and in 2018 took part in Kronberg Academy’s Chamber Music Connects the World. He plays on a viola by Peregrino di Zanetto c.1565–75 on loan from a generous patron of Beare's International Violin Society.

All concerts take place in St Peter’s Church of Ireland, Drogheda and will follow and adhere to Government guidelines on Covid-19. Tickets are €20 and can be booked through Droichead Arts Centre on 041 9833946 or www.droichead.com with further information available from www.droghedaclassicalmusic.com

The Series is funded by the Arts Council and Louth County Council and run in partnership with Droichead Arts Centre with sponsorship from WhiteLight Events, the d Hotel and RTÉ Supporting the Arts.

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BETH TAYLOR Johannes Brahms: Geistliches Wiegendlied, Op. 91

Published by DICMS on 20 January 2022

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