Tomorrow marks the 20th Anniversary of Dmitri Hvorostovsky’s debut performance in Wigmore Hall.
The final of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World is still the most talked about in history. Few who were present will ever forget the competition between Hvorostovsky and and the Welsh singer Bryn Terfel. The “Battle of the Baritones” ended with Terfel winning the Lieder Prize and Hvorsotovsky winning the competition.
On Friday the occasion is marked with much grandeur as Dmitri Hvorostovsky and Ivari Ilja (piano) mark the anniversary with a grand performance in Wigmore Hall in London. Dmitri will be performing the same repertoire as his 1990 debut in the same hall. This will include Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninov songs. It was this occasion and the Pushkin Romances release that lead the BBC Music Magazine to feature Dmitri on the cover of its June 2010 edition.
From the Wigmore Hall website:
“Playing to his native strength, Hvorostovsky brings to Wigmore Hall a veritable harvest of lyrical expression from the two giants of Russian song composition.
Tchaikovsky’s often anguished introspection is nevertheless couched in near-Mozartian perfection, which contrasts vividly with the more unselfconscious romantic outpouring of his protege Rachmaninov.”
So for everyone who can’t celebrate the anniversary in person, make sure to get your copy of “Pushkin Romances” direct from Delos and listen in celebration!