Lise Davidsen & James Baillieu

Songs from Schubert to Sibelius.

Focus is on the voice, the interaction and the poetry when soprano Lise Davidsen, Artist in residence, joins forces with pianist James Baillieu for a duo recital in Grieghallen. 

The programme boasts a wide spectrum of song cycles and poems set to music in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. Davidsen and Baillieu perform great verse by Goethe set exquisitely to music by Schumann, Otto Benzon's poetry in Grieg's musical garb, the national treasures of Sibelius and the Seven Early Songs of Alban Berg. 

Lise Davidsen, who has drawn attention and critical acclaim on operatic stages worldwide, experienced huge success last year for her Grieg album with pianist Leif Ove Andsnes. Their concert at last year's Bergen International Festival with material from the album was a resounding favourite with audiences and critics alike. While Grieg is also on the programme this year, the illustrious soprano takes this opportunity to display a greater breadth of her lieder repertoire. 

'The Norwegian soprano's spellbinding voice was the perfect match for pianist James Baillieu's quicksilver fingers.'  – THE GUARDIAN

Image: Lise Davidsen (photo: Morten Krogvold), James Baillieu (photo: Kaupo Kikkas)