Sasha Cooke mezzo-soprano; Malcolm Martineau piano

As the San Francisco Chronicle suggested of a recent Das Lied von der Erde, ‘anytime you add Cooke into the mix, there’s a whole new level of magic involved. She brings an extraordinary wealth of tonal colour to a performance, as well as a degree of emotional intensity that can be almost unnerving in its focus’. Her programme culminates in a cycle setting texts written by Cooke and her husband and which the singer premièred in the US in February.