Hypnotic Baritone, Benjamin Appl, Set to Captivate Listeners at his Hong Kong Debut (press release)
Hypnotic Baritone, Benjamin Appl, Set to Captivate Listeners at his Hong Kong Debut
Monday April 23rd 8pm at Hong Kong City Hall Concert Hall
Benjamin Appl – “the current front runner in the new generation of Lieder singers” (Gramophone) – is set to mesmerize listeners with an evening of adventure, romance, magic, and high emotion.
BBC New Generation Artist, ECHO Rising Star artist, and Gramophone Young Artist of the Year, Benjamin Appl is celebrated both as a soloist and for his operatic performances.
The German baritone will bring to life the piano-and-voice partnership of 19th century Lieder alongside celebrated South African pianist James Baillieu. A debut on all fronts—two top young performers and Premiere Performances’ first voice recital!
This concert is part of Premiere Performances Recital Series sponsored by Citi, and is supported by the Goethe Institute, the South African Consulate General and the British Council.
International praise for Appl:
Appl is not only a singer of boundless promise, he is already a great artist.”
BBC Music Magazine
In dynastic terms the young German baritone Benjamin Appl is Lieder royalty.”
The Spectator
Young German baritone Benjamin Appl has a vocal presence so arresting it almost seems hypnotic.”
Irish Times
Listen to Benjamin Appl perform Ich weiß bestimmt, ich werd’ dich wiedersehen accompanied by James Baillieu
The evening’s programme, entitled “Heimat”, tracks Appl’s first disc on Sony Classics, which The Guardian called an “impressive, poignant, finely judged performance.” There are songs by 14 different composers including Schubert, Brahms, and Grieg (categorized by evocative sub-headings) in this specially curated programme.
“Heimat” is a German word that encompass rootedness, longing and belonging. The notion of Heimat reflects Appl’s relationship with his two homes, Germany and England. A distinctive feature of the programme is the way that the songs move from predominantly German lied to a group of English songs, reflecting the way Appl moved between the two countries.
Listen to Benjamin Appl talk about the inspiration behind his album “Heimat”
Benjamin Appl has appeared in recital at major European venues including the Barbican Centre London, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wiener Konzerthaus, Philharmonie Paris and Cologne and the Laeiszhalle Hamburg. He became an exclusive SONY Classical recording artist in May 2016. He trained as a chorister at the renowned Regensburger Domspatzen and continued his studies at the Hochschule für Musik und Theater München and graduated from the Guildhall School of Music & Drama in London, where he now teaches German Lieder. He had the good fortune to be mentored by one of the greatest singers of the twentieth century, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.
James Baillieu has been described as being ‘in a class of his own’ (The Daily Telegraph). He was a prize-winner of the Wigmore Hall Song Competition, Das Lied International Song Competition, Kathleen Ferrier and Richard Tauber Competitions. He was selected for representation by Young Classical Artists Trust (YCAT) in 2010 and in 2012 received a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Fellowship and a Geoffrey Parsons Memorial Trust Award. In 2016 he was shortlisted for the Royal Philharmonic Society Outstanding Young Artist Award.
Concert details and full programme
High-resolution photos of the musicians may be downloaded here.