Samuel Hasselhorn & Takako Miyazaki

In our hunt for exceptional young talent in Lieder singing we like to take advice from the great Lieder pianist Irwin Gage. Although he has retired from giving concerts, he is still occupied as a teacher and a member of juries in many international competitions. So he is in an excellent position to spot up-and-coming talent and to report back to us on it.
Gage is also the driving force behind the ‘Schubert Liedwettbewerb’ in Dortmund. The outright winners in 2013 were the German baritone Samuel Hasselhorn and pianist Takako Miyazaki. So of course Schubert must also be included in their debut recital at deSingel. And we can never have enough of Schumann’s ‘Dichterliebe’ either. This cycle, with words by Heinrich Heine, sheds light on every aspect of love. For the performers it is a challenge to convincingly portray not only burgeoning love and the ‘sehnende Verlangen’, but also the bitter disappointments and their sarcastic treatment.