Name: Gerald Finley bass-baritone; Julius Drake piano
Start: 2026-12-10T19:30:00
Location: Wigmore Hall

Julius Drake

Gerald Finley

Wigmore Hall

Songs old and new occupy Andrè Schuen and Daniel Heide. They turn the clock back to the world of ancient Greek myth, as so vividly imagined by Schubert, and show its eternal relevance. The baritone from the South Tyrol, commended by Gramophone as the owner of a ‘free-ranging voice, used with taste and invariable sensitivity to the text’, is joined by his regular duo partner in Unerzählt, Thomas Larcher’s intimate cycle of songs to poetry by the great German writer WG Sebald.

Andrè Schuen baritone; Daniel Heide piano

Join musicians from the Royal Academy of Music for a concert experience created especially for parents or carers and babies under 1. Enjoy live music together in an interactive and welcoming environment – move and groove to the music or sit back and unwind. Parents-to-be are also warmly welcomed.

For Crying Out Loud!

Mandela Tales is a production by composer Shirley J Thompson, inspired by the book Nelson Mandela's Favourite African Folktales (WW Norton & Company, 2002) with music by Thompson, designed to appeal to families and young people.

The African Concert Series

The South African pianist and composer Nduduzo Makhathini has earned widespread acclaim for the genuinely spiritual transcendence of his music. A Zulu healer and educator, Makhathini has delved deeply into the histories and traditions of his ancestors' music. Born in the lush hills of uMgungundlovu, South Africa, Nduduzo Makhathini grew up in an environment where music and ritual were deeply intertwined. This region, historically significant as the site of Zulu King Dingane’s kingdom, profoundly influenced Makhathini’s musical vision. He was drawn to the powerful role of music in the Zulu warrior code for motivation and healing, shaping his unique sound.

The African Concert Series: Nduduzo Makhathini

A relaxed and interactive drum workshop with acclaimed percussionist Richard Olatunde Baker, an experienced workshop leader specialising in African percussion and the Yoruba talking drum. This free workshop is suitable for anyone aged 7+. Spaces are limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. Children must be accompanied by an adult.

The African Concert Series: African Rhythms Drum Workshop

An evening of orchestral music by South African composers highlighting Shane Woodborne’s Red Ink concerto for double bass and string orchestra (2019). Commissioned by the Matseer Diabelli Sommer festival Red Ink is dedicated to the bassist Leon Bosch and serves as a musical memorial to the Soweto Uprising of 1976 in South Africa, an event that marked a turning point in the fight against apartheid but which came at a devastating human cost.

Talented musicians from the Royal College of Music present a moving showcase inspired by Alexandre Dumas’s La Dame aux Camélias. Through songs in French, German, English and Russian, the story of Violetta, Alfredo, and Germont unfolds - echoing Verdi’s La Traviata with passion, sacrifice and poignant artistry.

Royal College of Music Vocal showcase

Playing on period instruments, with an intimate understanding of historical style and collective love for its art, the Consone Quartet has won high praise. The Strad noted how its debut album of works by Haydn and Mendelssohn, released in 2017, ‘instantly leaps out of the stereo at you as something special’. Its programme prefaces the fourth of Mozart’s so-called Haydn Quartets, ‘The Hunt’, with the much lighter galanterie of Haydn’s Op. 33 No. 5.

Consone Quartet

Austrian baritone Florian Boesch has earned his place among the immortals of Lieder singing as an artist famed for his deep love of poetic words and their musical expression. As the son and grandson of singers, he absorbed the art by osmosis as a child and, following studies with his grandmother, then with fellow baritone Robert Holl, came of age as a recitalist at the world’s leading concert venues. A regular guest at Wigmore Hall since the early 2000s, he returns with a typically compelling programme.

Florian Boesch baritone; Malcolm Martineau

Giulio Caccini, born in 1551, most likely in Rome, channelled heightened emotions into his solo songs. He understood the artistic and commercial value of The New Music, as he titled his 1602 collection of monodies, as did the other composers in La Venexiana’s concert. The Italian vocal ensemble, founded almost 30 years ago, comes to this repertoire with a near-supernatural understanding of its imagery and expressive language.

La Venexiana

‘I think it’s safe to conclude that another new countertenor superstar has arrived, and he’s found just the right ensemble to work with,’ concluded Gramophone’s critic following the release in 2024 of Carlo Vistoli’s recording of Vivaldi’s famous Stabat Mater setting and Nisi Dominus with the Akademie für Alte Musik. Its reprises both works this evening, placed together with JS Bach’s contemplative solo cantata Ich habe genug and three superb instrumental works.

Akademie für Alte Musik Berlin; Carlo Vistoli countertenor

Violinist Leonidas Kavakos is joined by The Apollon Ensemble for an evening of Bach’s masterful concertos, works that showcase dazzling virtuosity, expressive depth and the timeless brilliance of Baroque craftsmanship.

Leonidas Kavakos violin; The Apollon Ensemble

Gerald Finley makes a welcome return to Wigmore Hall after an absence of almost five years with a fabulous programme built around Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe and a handful of Edvard Grieg’s finest songs. The illustrious Canadian bass-baritone, recently awarded the prestigious title of Kammersänger of the Bavarian State Opera, crowns his recital with Samuel Barber’s spellbinding settings of poems from James Joyce’s Chamber Music and a selection of songs infused with pre-Christmas spirit.