Ian Bostridge with Twilight Schumann Songs

The Guardian: “Ostridge’s performances of all these songs have a wonderful clarity and sensitivity. He so obviously cares deeply about the texts and ensures that he delivers them with such vividness and clarity that there is not a syllable out of place…this is really an album full of treasures, and also the occasional discovery.”  ★★★★☆

 

Saskia Giorgini:

 “Robert Schumann’s music had a great influence on my musical growth. His songs often move me to tears, with that very rare intensity which is uniquely his. It makes you believe that an intense life, however difficult, is a gift: only by embracing and living the darkest despair can you reach a level of joy so high that you feel you could burst.”

 

Ideal ambassadors for schumann’s inner world

Twilight is the third album by tenor Ian Bostridge and pianist Saskia Giorgini, dedicated to Robert Schumann’s song cycles, all composed during the remarkably productive year of 1840. The album’s title and cover photography were inspired by the song ‘Zwielicht,’ which, along with ‘Mondnacht’ from the same Op. 39 cycle, is often considered the epitome of German nineteenth-century Romanticism.

The album serves as a fitting metaphor for Schumann’s troubled soul, constantly oscillating between light and dark, hope and despair. The recorded songs shed a fascinating light on Schumann’s inner world, expressing his profound love for his wife Clara and his euphoria after overcoming a period of severe mental disturbance.

 

Ian Bostridge:

 “When I became a professional singer Dichterliebe became a part of my life, something I carried with me everywhere, a piece that reflected my life, my emotions, my interests. “

 

 

Ian Bostridge and Saskia Giorgini are ideal ambassadors for this repertoire, with their acclaimed partnership making them seasoned champions of German lied. Bostridge is one of the most celebrated tenors and lied interpreters of his generation. His PENTATONE recording of Schubert’s Winterreise (2019) was awarded the ICMA Vocal Music Award 2020.

Since then, Bostridge has released Schwanengesang (2022), The Folly of Desire (2023), Die schöne Müllerin (2020), and Respighi Songs (2021), all with Giorgini. Giorgini’s recordings of Liszt’s Harmonies poétiques et religieuses (2021) and Consolations (2023), as well as her Debussy recital album Images (2024), have received extensive praise.

Listen to the first track of the album or purchase the music here.