The Hamilton College Performing Arts begins the spring Classical Connections series with an all-German recital by baritone Wolfgang Holzmair, accompanied by pianist Russell Ryan on Friday, Feb. 15 at 8 p.m. at Wellin Hall in the Schambach Center for Music and the Performing Arts.
Austrian lyric baritone Wolfgang Holzmair is consistently acclaimed for his uncommon sensitivity to text, and voice of rare refinement and beauty. Widely credited with helping revive the intimate art of the song recital on this continent, his invitations include New York's Alice Tully Hall, Frick Collection, Carnegie's Weill Recital Hall, and Metropolitan Museum of Art; as well as the premier series in San Francisco, Montreal, Cleveland, Detroit, Atlanta, Washington, D.C., Louisville, Houston, Fort Worth, Los Angeles, Toronto, Vancouver, Santa Fe, Denver and Philadelphia.
A prolific recording artist, Holzmair's Philips Classics releases include Beethoven Folk Songs with Trio Fontenay; Ernst Krenek's Reisebuch aus den österreichischen Alpen (which he performed in Washington and New York in fall 2000); Mélodies françaises with pianist Gérard Wyss; and five collaborations with pianist Imogen Cooper: a Beethoven/Haydn/Mozart disc; Schubert's Schwanengesang, Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise; and Schumann's Dichterliebe, Liederkreis and Heine_Lieder, the latter earning a Grammy nomination. A Grammy winner for the Brahms Requiem with Herbert Blomstedt and the San Francisco Symphony, he has also received "Best Opera Recording" nominations for Braunfels' Die Vögel, Busoni's Arlecchino, and Weber's Der Freischütz. Forthcoming are recordings of more Schumann Lieder and a "live" performance of Pelléas et Mélisande with Bernard Haitink.
Holzmair graduated from the Vienna University of Economics, subsequently studying singing at the Vienna Academy of Music and Dramatic Arts. Major awards include Holland's Hertogenbosch International Vocal Competition and the Vienna Musikverein International Competition for Lieder Singers. He appears by arrangement with Matthew Sprizzo.
Russell Ryan was born in Grand Forks, North Dakota and began his piano studies at age six. A graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory, he has also attended masterclasses at the Juilliard School and studied at the Vienna Musikhochschule, graduating with honors in the field of piano chamber music under Professor Georg Ebert. He worked many years as the accompanist of the Wiener Singverein and has been on the staff of the vocal department of the Vienna Musikhochschule since 1985. He has instructed and accompanied for masterclasses in Lied, Chamber Music, Opera and Musical Theatre, and is currently the accompanist/assistant for the Lied class of soprano Edith Mathis.
As soloist, accompanist and chamber musician he has appeared frequently in the United States, Israel, Europe and Japan, including such Festivals as the Vienna, Menuhin (Gstaad), Grieg (Oslo), and Schleswig-Holstein (Hamburg). For four consecutive seasons he appeared as soloist/accompanist at the San Francisco Bach Festival. In addition Ryan has been featured in numerous radio and television productions in Austria, Scandinavia, Japan and the United States.
Tickets for this concert are $15 adult, $10 senior, and $5 students. All seating is general admission. To purchase tickets or for more information call the performing arts box office at 859-4331.
