Leeds Lieder Festival to take place with live audiences this June

Leeds Lieder will this year take place from 17-20 June 2021.

The programme includes appearances from Alice Coote, Mark Padmore, Iestyn Davies, James Gilchrist, Roderick Williams, Carolyn Sampson, Ema Nikolovska, William Thomas and pianists Graham Johnson, Iain Burnside, Anna Tilbrook, Joseph Middleton and Christian Blackshaw.  

Repertoire ranges from Schubert, Schumann and Mahler, to a Leeds Lieder commission by Hannah Kendall, improvisations by Hermes Experiment on works by Leeds-based poets, and Leeds premieres by Errollyn Wallen and Jonathan Dove. 

The four-day festival will be performed to a socially-distanced audience and streamed live on Leeds Lieder’s digital platform. Events will be available on demand for a month. 

Festival Director Joseph Middleton said: 'In a year when art and music have been needed more than ever, having the opportunity to programme song at Leeds Town Hall, with the support of Arts Council England, has been enormously rewarding.

'Despite the pandemic we have live-streamed sixteen recitals in the past six months and, when allowed, a handful of these have been in front of socially distanced audiences. Our 2021 festival is as colourful and diverse as anything we have curated - every corner of the rich tapestry of art song is explored and championed.

'After the hiatus of the past year we are committed to supporting as many artists as we can. We continue to educate and grow audiences, commission new works and programme songs in a diverse way. This year’s programme showcases some of the astonishing work the organisation undertakes, and provides a platform for international stars to rub shoulders with the next generation of emerging musicians.' 

Full details of the 2021 Festival can be found here: www.leedslieder.org.uk