Ema Nikolovska and Sean Shibe are equal partners in their dialog: The Canadian-Macedonian mezzo-soprano can already look back on a stellar career and prestigious competition prizes. However, the Heidelberger Frühling Liedakademie graduate doesn't just go straight ahead, she likes to think outside the box, driven by a passion to rethink the classical concert format so as not to lose touch with the present. She devises originally curated concert programs with a repertoire that knows no limitations.

She has found a brother in spirit in the Scottish guitarist Sean Shibe, whose classical and electric guitar repertoire ranges from the Middle Ages to the present day. Together, they embark on a tour of musical and intellectual history in the footsteps of the enigmatic figure of Orlando. The journey ranges from Ariosto's "Orlando Furioso" to Virginia Woolf, touches on Schubert's "Winterreise" and honors the festival's focus on Brahms with three songs, including "Da unten im Tale", a wistful folk song that Brahms first set for three-part choir, then for four-part choir and only finally for solo voice. The program arrives in the present with commissioned compositions by Sasha Scott and Cassandra Miller and closes with songs by Laurie Anderson and Bob Dylan. Bach's Two-Part Inventions provide the reassuring central theme.

Concert with intermission.

The concert will be recorded by SWR Kultur.