Baritones dominate Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition

Johnny Herford (L) and Aarne Pelkonen (R)

As we prepare to watch the finals of the Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition, we're amazed at the consistently great baritone voices on the world scene. Five of the eleven singers in the September 1st finals are baritones. They include Johnny Herford, Morgan Pearse, Aarne Pelkonen, Ross Ramgobin and Gavan Ring. Pearse has appeared on this site a few times.

The Wigmore Hall/Kohn Foundation International Song Competition has been around for ten years and attracts some of the top young vocal and piano talent in the world. Singers compete in tandem with an accompanist. This Competition recognizes the song tradition as a whole and requires contestants to perform in at least three languages. At the same time it honors the Lied’s place at the heart of the song repertoire and celebrates the Shakespearean stature of Schubert in the genre.

Dominik Köninger's thrilling 2011 winning set at the Wigmore/Kohn Competition:

The semi-final round will be held from 3-7:30 PM on September 1 and the final round and award ceremony will begin at 6 PM on September 3 with a dinner break. Tickets are available online.

Fans of great baritones may want to hang around until September 7 when Simon Keenlyside and Bryn Terfel join accompanist Malcolm Martineau for an evening of Schumann and Schubert at Wigmore Hall. Tickets are available online.