Hugo Wolf
Hugo Wolf (1860–1903) was an Austrian composer, celebrated above all for his intensely expressive art songs, or Lieder, and for chamber works such as the Italian Serenade.
He brought a concentrated, highly charged intensity to the Lieder form that set him apart in late Romantic song. Periods of extraordinary productivity, especially in the late 1880s, produced many of the settings that still define his reputation, alongside a smaller body of chamber and other works.
His Italian Serenade is heard on Torquing Points (MD 3143), and his songs appear among the art-song repertoire recorded for Move.
Compositions by Hugo Wolf appear on
Shichiseki
Collaborations with violinist Miwako Abe and cellist Alister Barker sit beside solos written for Michael Kieran Harvey by Gabriella Vici and Andrián Pertout, spanning Japanese, Latin American and South Indian influences.
Hymne à l’amour
Hymne à l’amour is an exquisite collection of art songs from soprano Siobhán Stagg and pianist Amir Farid. The programme traces the frailty of the human condition through flirtation, deep love and heartbreaking truths.
Torquing Points
An exciting juxtaposition of 20th-century Australian and 19th-century European styles. Gordon Kerry's Torquing Points for String Quartet and Mark Pollard's The Quick or the Dead sit approachably beside the classical works on this programme.