Programme & Tickets

From a purely artistic standpoint, there is little cause for concern about the next generation of lieder singers; the lieder community is largely in agreement on this point. Äneas Humm, the 27-year-old Swiss baritone who trained at the Juilliard School in New York under Edith Wiens and is currently a member of the ensemble at the Theater St. Gallen, communicates like a millennial who’s well-versed in all things social media. At the same time, he is an artist whose vocal sensitivity seems tailor-made for the art song. Berlin’s Tagesspiegel has already hailed Humm as a “classical music rising star” and praises his “great interpretive maturity, first-rate diction, and a vocal flexibility that is truly astonishing.” Humm not only understands what he sings, praises Bayerischer Rundfunk, which has named the album “Embrace” its CD of the Week—he also lives it. “For all his clever virtuosity, he is not one to merely hint at things from a safe distance. Instead, he makes the emotions his own with emphasis.” Humm’s original choice of repertoire also sparks curiosity. For his performance at the Liedfestival with American pianist Renate Rohlfing, the singer has reimagined the title track “Umarmungen” from his programme. Among the rarer gems are works by the Mendelssohn siblings, Franz Liszt, and Edvard Grieg, as well as exquisite early songs by Walter Braunfels, who was later silenced by the Nazis.

Running time: approx. 70 min, no intermission