German barihunk Benjamin Appl, who has become one of the leading lieder recitalists in the world, has announced his first U.S. tour.
He will begin his tour in New York City for three nights at the Park Avenue Armory. On January 6th he will perform Schubert's Die schöne Mülllerin, followed by Schubert's Schwanengesang on January 8th and the composer's Winterreise on January 10th.
He then heads to Portland, Oregon on January 13th, New Orleans on January 15 and 16, Cleveland on January 18 and finally Washington D.C. on January 20th. Those recitals will variously feature music by Schubert, Schreker, Schumann, Duparc, Grieg and Nico Muhly's "The Last Letter," a collection of five songs based on letters sent by soldiers during World War I. The piece was commissioned by the Barbican for Appl in 2015.
He will be joined on the tour by his frequent accompanist James Baillieu.
Tenor Piotr Beczala had to cancel his August 25th Schubertiade Schwarzenberg recital due to laryngitis. Barihunk Benjamin Appl has been tapped to replace him and will perform a program of Schubert, Schumann and Grieg. Accompanist Helmut Deutsch, who was scheduled to play piano for Beczala, will perform with Appl. Tickets are available online.
Appl has other upcoming recitals on September 9th in Köln and on September 21 in Bad Kohlgrub. He then heads to Tokyo to perform Orff's Carmina Burana with soprano Olga Peretyatko and countertenor Max Emanuel Cenčić.
On September 7th, Appl will release his solo album of Bach with Concerto Köln for Sony Classical. The album includes music from the St. Matthew Passion, as well as lesser known pieces selected by Appl.
German barihunk Benjamin Appl has already been recognized as one of the leading lieder singers of our age, despite being only 35 years old. From May 31-June 3, he will make a rare appearance in the United States when he performs Kullervo by Siblius with the Seattle Symphony and soprano Maria Männistö. We believe that this may be his West Coast debut, as his bio lists his only U.S. appearances at Carnegie Hall and at the Ravinia Festival. He will also be joining soprano Helena Juntunen for a performance of Kullervo on May 17th with the Scottish Symphony Orchestra.
Benjamin Appl sings Schubert's Der Einsame:
The Kullervo "choral symphony" is based on the epic poem Kalevala. It is not until the third movement, over thirty minutes from the beginning of the work, that the male voice choir and the soloists make their voices heard. The orchestra creates the atmosphere and finally the choir begins the story: Kullervo, son of Kalervo, son of an old man, wearing blue stockings. The archaic atmosphere is accentuated by male voice choir, which sings in unison. Berfore his U.S. appearance, Appl has a series of lieder recitals, including a Bach recital in Köln and his HEIMAT recital tour, which is headed to Hong Kong, the Château de Coppet in Switzerland, the Gut Holzhausen Voices Festival in Nieheim, Germany, and at the Reydale Festival in Pickering, U.K.
Beethoven remains the single most influential figure in the
history of Western music, having composed some of classical music's most lasting and popular pieces, including nine symphonies (in particular the Eroica, the 5th, 7th and 9th (with it's famous Ode to Joy), the opera Fidelio, Missa Solemnis, many of the greatest string quartets ever written (including the classic String Quartet No.14), five piano concertos (capped by the popular Piano Concerto No.5), Piano Sonata No.30, the Coriolan Overture, Violin Concerto in D, the Kreutzer Sonata and many more!
Beethoven was born in Bonn, Germany on December 16, 1770. His father was a
court musician who had hopes of making money by exploiting his son as a
child prodigy. At the time, Vienna was the place where any German or Austrian musician
had to go to acquire a reputation, and it's where Beethoven landed, just
a year after Mozart's death.
Beethoven had previously visited Mozart in Vienna and had hoped to
study composition with him, but ended up studying with Haydn. Beethoven's music has become a testament to the human spirit in the face of cruel misfortune.
His 32 piano sonatas, which he wrote in bursts throughout his career,
experiment with form in all directions, using the full expressive range
of an instrument that was itself changing rapidly, growing louder and
with an ever greater range of notes.
Benjamin Appl sings "An der ferne Geliebte":
His songs have not gained the popularity that his other works attained, possibly because his emotions came out in the piano parts rather than the vocal lines. Nonetheless he left us the glorious An die ferne Geliebte song cycle, the six Gellert settings, folksong arrangements and, perhaps his greatest song, Adelaide.
Adelaide was composed in 1794 or 1795 and was the composer's favorite song, which he played in an 1815 concert in celebration of the Empress of Russia's birthday.
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Adelaide:
Adelaide is structured like a sonata in miniature, with a middle passage that goes through several keys. The first verse of the setting, for example, in which the poet describes wandering in a garden during a spring night, is tranquil; in the second, when he describes seeing the face of his beloved in the grandeur of nature, the music is far more stately; in the third, the piano vividly depicts both rushing waves and the song of the nightingales. Throughout, however, the overall tone, one of ecstatic contemplation, is the same. One of the song's most important unifying elements is the tender repetition of the name "Adelaide."
The quartet from Fidelio:
Fidelio, Beethoven's only opera, dates from the heady days of revolutionary idealism, but its cry for freedom has echoed through the centuries. The opera premiered at the Theater an der Wien in November
1805, only days after Napoleon and his army had occupied Vienna. Fidelio seemed
to have all the ingredients for success, but the initial performances were a
disaster, attended by sparse crowds, which included the composer’s
friends and a handful of stray French soldiers. It is best remembered for the Prisoners' Chorus ("O welche Lust" - "O what a joy"), an ode to freedom sung by a chorus of political prisoners, a glorious vocal quartet, Fidelio's magnificent aria "Abscheulicher! Wo eilst du hin?" and Florestan's aria "Gott! Welch Dunkel hier!," which he sings from deep inside a dark dungeon.
Walter Berry sings Ha! Welch ein augenblick:
Fortunately, Beethoven also left us the sinister aria "Ha! Welch ein augenblick," sung by the evil bass-baritone Don Pizarro, who orders that Florestan be killed.
ONLY 15 DAYS LEFT TO ORDER our 2018 Barihunks Calendar, which includes 20 of opera's sexiest men is now available for
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In response to reader demand, we've also added a Barihunks Photo Book
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The brilliant young recitalist Benjamin Appl has been nominated for a 2017 Gramophone Award as best Solo Vocalist for his album Heimat with accompanist James Bailieu. The recording features music by Brahms, Britten, Grieg, Ireland, Poulenc, Reger, Schubert, Adolf and Richard Strauss, Vaughan Williams, Warlock and Wolf.
Other nominees in the category include Florian Boesch and Roger Vignoles for Krenek's Reisebuch aus den österrichischen Alpen and Matthias Goerne and Christoph Eschenbach for Brahms' Vier ernste Gesänge.
The German barihunk was a BBC New Generation Artist and an ECHO Rising Star artist for the 2015/16 season, appearing in recital at major European venues. He became an exclusive SONY Classical recording artist in May 2016 and won the Gramophone Young Artist of the Year Award in 2016.
Benjamin Appl sings Schubert's Der Lindenbaum:
He is currently performing Schubert recitals in the U.K., including on August 17th at the Edinburgh International Festival's Queen’s Hall with Schumann and Grieg, and at Ireland's Kilkenny Festival where he'll perform Winterreise on August 19th and a program with soprano Ailish Tynan and tenor Robin Tritschler on August 20th.
Barihunk Benjamin Appl has won Gramophone Magazine's coveted "Young Artist of the Year" award. James Jolly of Gramophone wrote the following in his nomination for Appl's award:
For the past few years, British music-lovers have been aware of a major new singing talent in their midst, Benjamin Appl. Listeners to BBC Radio 3 have had a particularly privileged ring-side seat as this young German baritone was a New Generation Artist for the class of 2014-16; but he’s an increasingly visible figure on the concert scene, and once seen – tall, blond, handsome and with a commanding stage presence – he’s not easily forgotten. The last private pupil of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (there’s a YouTube clip of the two baritones, nearly a half century apart in age, working on Lieder together), Appl has been named an ECHO Rising Star and, earlier this year, he signed a contract with Sony Classical, the first fruits of which will appear early next year.
Benjamin Appl accepting his Grammophone award (Photo: Benjamin Ealovega)
Appl has appeared on a number of recordings, often alongside other singers – in the Mendelssohn song series with the pianist Malcolm Martineau for Champs Hill or in songs by Schumann alongside Ann Murray for Linn (‘With clear, incisive diction, he characterises vividly in the narrative “Ballade des Harfners” and catches both the Lear-like weariness of soul and the accusatory bitterness of “Wer sich der Einsamkeit ergibt”, wrote Richard Wigmore in March last year). But 2016 saw the appearance of his first two solo recordings.
Champs Hill’s May release, entitled ‘Stunden, Tage, Ewigkeiten’, linked Schumann’s song-cycle Dichterliebe with other songs to words by Heine. As Richard Fairman wrote, ‘Appl has a baritone voice with its own character and a natural appreciation of the essentials of singing Lieder’. Barely a month passed before his next disc, a Wigmore Hall Live recording – with Graham Johnson at the piano (Appl has worked with just about every major accompanist on the British scene) – of Lieder by Schubert. Hugo Shirley, who reviewed it, felt a marked advance even on that first disc: ‘His instinctive feel for these songs is immediately striking and manifests itself in the sort of artlessness that distinguishes the finest Lieder singers: a lack of tension, an easy relationship with the poetry, a confidence in the words and Schubert’s melodies to communicate with nothing but the gentlest helping interpretative hand.’
This young singer has huge potential and we look forward to following the exciting journey that lies ahead. As Richard Fairman concluded, in his May review: ‘Sample his debut solo disc and you will hear the current front-runner in the next generation of Lieder singers.’
Michael Nagy and BenjaminAppl(Top row, l-r), Tarez Nazmi, Andrè Schuen (Bottom row l-r)
This year's Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, Austria features some of the leading barihunks in the world, including Michael Nagy, Benjamin Appl, Tareq Nazmi and Andrè Schuen.
On September 4th, Michael Nagy will join soprano Annette Dasch, mezzo Michael Schuster, tenor Paul Schweinester and pianist Gerold Huber for an evening of music by Schubert, Schumann and Brahms. Nagy will perform Schubert songs and Brahms' Four Duets for Alto and Baritone, op. 28.
On September 5th, Benjamin Appl will join soprano Sophie Rennert and pianist Graham Johnson for lieder and duets by Robert and Clara Schumann. Included on the program is Robert Schumann's Liebesfrühling, op. 37 and Myrthen, op. 25.
Benjamin Appl sings Schubert's Im Abendrot:
On September 6th Tareq Nazmi and pianist Gerold Huber will perform an evening of music by Schubert, Jacques Ibert (Chansons de Don Quichotte) and Robert Schumann (Lieder nach Gedichten von Hans Christian Andersen). Among the Schubert pieces will be Erlkönig and Prometheus.
On September 9th, Andrè Schuen and Gerold Huber will join forces for Schumann's Zwölf Gedichte, op. 35 and Sechs Gedichte von Nikolaus Lenau and Requiem.
Other singers at this year's festival include countertenor Andreas Scholl, tenor Piotr Beczala, tenor Mauro Peter, tenor Klaus Florian Vogt, soprano Soile Isokoski, mezzo Elisabeth Kulman, and mezzo Magdalena Kožená. Tickets and additional information is available online.
The sublimely gifted German barihunk Benjamin Appl has signed a contract with Sony Classical. Appl, who was Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's last private student, will release a recording of Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Grieg and a number of English composers in early 2017.
His first recording on Champs Hill was of Schumann’s Dichterliebe, which he followed with a disc of Schubert lieder from Wigmore Hall with accompanist Graham Johnson.
His next live recital will be at the Concertgebouw in Amsterdam and will include music by Hahn, Schubert, Muhly and Schumann with James Bailleu on piano. On June 13, he'll appear as Aeneas in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas at the Theatre Royal in Bury St Edmunds with Dame Ann Murray as Dido.
German barihunk Benjamin Appl will be on tour from November 15-23 accompanied by pianist Gary Matthewman. The tour will take him to Abbeystrewry Church in Skibbereen, Station House Theatre in Clifden, Hugh Lane Galler in Dublin, Tipperary Excel Center, Triskel Christchurch in Cork, the Pavillion Theatre in Dun Laoghaire and Warrenpoint Town Hall in Down.
The program will included selections from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and The Magic Flute, as well as arias from Lehár’s The Merry Widow and Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos. Appl will also offer a selection of songs by Mendelssohn, Poulenc, Schubert and a newly commissioned work from Irish composer Marian Ingoldsby.
Benjamin Appl sing Ungeduld from Schubert's Die schöne Müllerin:
Following his debut at the BBC Proms in the Royal Albert Hall earlier
this year, Appl appeared with the RTÉ National Symphony Orchestra in
September in a performance of Mahlers' Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.
The last-ever student of the great
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, he was awarded the prestigious Schubert Prize
by the Deutsche Schubert-Gesellschaf in 2012.
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The young German barihunk Benjamin Appl, who was the last student of the late Dietrich Fisher-Dieskau, is rapidly emerging as one of the most sought after lieder singers in the world. Last month, he was named one of the European Concert Hall Organization's (ECHO) six outstanding young artists to become its Rising Stars and will have a piece commissioned for him by composer Nico Muhly.
Appl is also a BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist and they just recorded him singing Beethoven songs, which is available online until Sunday, August 22. He joins the world renowned accomanist Graham Johnson in performing the composer's Gesang aus der Ferne, WoO137 and Der Kuss, Op 128. The remainder of the program includes Beethoven's Rondo alla ingharese quasi un capriccio, Op. 129; CPE Bach's Sonata in A minor, Wq 62/21; and, Adolf von Henselt's Duo for Horn and Piano Op.14.
Benjamin Appl sings Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte:
On September 1st, he makes his debut at the BBC Proms at Royal Albert Hall in Brahms' Triumphlied with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment under the baton of Marin Alsop. The concert also included Cardiff winner Jamie Barton singing Brahms' Alto Rhapsody. On September 5, he returns to the Proms for Carl Orff's Carmina Burana with Keith Lockhardt and the BBC Concert Orchestra or Chorus.
On October 6th, he'll part of the closing concert at the 40th Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg, Austria, joining Angelika Kirchschlager, Mojca Erdmann, Juliane Banse, David Steffans, Graham Johnson and fellow barihunk Andrè Schuen.
Fans in Ireland will be thrilled to know that he'll be touring the country in November, with performances in Skibbereen, Clifden, Dublin, Tipperary, Cork, Dun Laoghaire and Down. The program will include lieder by Mendelssohn, Poulenc and Schubert, arias from Mozart's The Marriage of Figaro, Don Giovanni and Magic Flute, and from Lehár’s The Merry Widow and Strauss’ Ariadne auf Naxos.
German barihunk Benjamin Appl was just named one of the European Concert Hall Organization's (ECHO) six outstanding young artists to become its Rising Stars. The selected Rising Stars receive professional development support and perform a concert tour across the halls of the ECHO network The ECHO Rising Stars series was founded in 1995 and has shaped the musical careers of many of today’s world class artists.
The aim of the Rising Stars series is to bring young and exceptional young artists to new international audiences. The selected artists are offered unparalleled performance opportunities to present musical programs of their choosing in the major concert halls of Europe. A new element for the 2015/2016 season is that each artist also has a new work commissioned for them as part of the series. Composer Nico Muhly has been chosen to create a piece for Appl.
Other artists chosen this year are pianist Cathy Krier, cellist Harriet Krijgh, Quatour Zaïde, harrpist Remy van Kesteren and Trio Catch.
An all-star cast of singers has been assembled for Bach's St Matthew Passion at St. John's Smith Square in London tonight at 7 PM. This is a rare opportunity to hear Bach's St Matthew Passion performed with just eight singers, allowing one to hear the work with the sonorities that the composer had in mind. It is believed that Bach wrote the SMP using one voice per part, or
eight voices total, rather than the two conventional choirs which is common
for performances and recordings.
The cast includes rising star and BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist Benjamin Appl as Christus and Edward Grint in the bass section, along with Charles Daniels as the Evangelist, Daniel Taylor and Robin Blaze in the countertenor section, sopranos Joanne Lunn and Elizabeth Cragg and tenor Mark Wilde. The London Handel Orchestra will be conducted by Adrian Butterfield.
The Oxford Lieder Festival and their celebration of Schubert is underway. Some of the biggest names in music have joined forced to perform the entire collection of his songs including Angelika Kirchschlager, Kate Royal, Jonathan Lemalu, Sir Thomas Allen, Thomas Adès, Imogen Cooper and Dame Felicity Lott.
The three week Schubert Project also features the world-renowned Schubert expert Graham Johnson, who is giving lecture recitals, as well as performing full evening recitals with two of our favorite singers, baritones Christopher Maltman and Wolfgang Holzmair.
Benjamin Appl & Graham Johnson perform Die schöne Müllerin:
Joining these operatic luminaries is the gifted young barihunk Benjamin Appl, whose career we've been following closely. He's performing tonight in Graham Johnson lecture recital exploring the years 1816/1817 with tenors Benjamin Hulett and Robert Murray. He returns on October 25 for another morning lecture recital with Graham Johnson exploring the years 1822-1825 (when illness struck the composer), followed by a performance of Winterreise with Sir Thomas Allen and pianist Joseph Middleton.
Both performances are in the Jacqueline du Pré Building at Oxford University. You check out the entire schedule HERE.
German barihunk Benjamin Appl recently caught the eye of a reader while performing in the Guildhall School of Music's production of Britten's Owen Wingrave. Apparently, he wasn't the only one who found Appl both vocally stunning and visually attractive. The review in Bachtrack stated, "As Owen, Benjamin Appl’s voice was clear and strong, and he’d certainly be employed by Abercrombie and Fitch..."
ClassicalSource.com described him as "tall, blond and in Prince William mould." Even the oft staid Financial Times wrote, "Benjamin Appl’s Owen makes a handsome, quietly composed centrepiece."
It's been a busy year for the young singer, who in addition to Owen Wingrave has performed as Chevalier des Grieux in Massenet's Le portrait de Manon, Conte Almaviva in Mozart's Le nozze di Figaro and Aeneas in Purcell's Dido and Aeneas. He made his professional debut with the Berlin Philharmonic singing lieder by Mahler at
the Ravinia Festival, as well as at the International Festival
Heidelberger Frühling singing Beethoven's An die ferne Geliebte, followed by his debut at Rheingau Musik Festival with Wolf's Italian Songbook.
A set of lieder from Benjamin Appl:
Before studying at Guildhall, he received his musical training with the Regensburger Domspatzen. He studied with Edith Wiens and Helmut Deutsch at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater in Munich as well as at the Bayerische Theaterakademie.
In 2002, Benjamin Appl was awarded a Special Prize by the Bavarian Broadcasting Corporation for his outstanding interpretation of 20th Century works. In 2003 , he was a prize winner of the "Bundeswettbewerb Jugend musiziert." In 2012, he was awarded the Schubert Prize by the Deutsche Schubert - Gesellschaft.
