Schenectady, N.Y. (Jan. 23, 2002) – Austrian lyric baritone Wolfgang Holzmair, acclaimed for his uncommon sensitivity to text, and voice of refinement and beauty, will appear with pianist Russell Ryan at Union College's Memorial Chapel Feb. 1, at 8 p.m. As part of this performance, Anne Turner, director of the Opera Workshop at Skidmore College, and noted lecturer, will present a pre-concert lecture in Memorial Chapel at 7:15 p.m. The lecture is open to the public.
This performance will feature works
by Schumann, Schubert, Brahms, Wolf, and Mendelssohn.
In addition to countless recitals in
Europe's major venues the 2001-2002 season includes his ninth North American
recital tour. 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 the 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.
Mr. Holzmair's Philips Classics
releases include Beethoven Folk Songs with Trio Fontenay; Ernst Krenek's Reisebuch aus den österreichischen Alpen; Mélodies françaises with pianist Gérard Wyss; and five collaborations with pianist Imogen Cooper. 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.
Mr. Holzmair first came to
international attention for his interpretation of Hans Scholl in Udo
Zimmermann's Die weiße Rose at both the Vienna State and Zurich Operas,
and as Debussy's Pelléas – his “signature” role – recently reprised in Paris with the Orchestre National de France under the direction of Bernard Haitink. With conductor Nikolaus Harnoncourt he has appeared at the Salzburg Festival (Monteverdi's Poppea and 1610 Vespers), Vienna Festival (Haydn's L'anima del filosofo) and Berlin Festival (Weber's Der Freischütz). Collaborations with Seiji Ozawa include his Japanese opera debut (Poulenc's Les Mamelles de Tirésias at the Saito Kinen Festival, also a
Philips recording), and concerts with the Boston Symphony in Boston's Symphony
Hall and New York's Carnegie Hall. Among the other conductors with whom he
collaborates are Pierre Boulez, Riccardo Chailly, Christoph von Dohnányi, Ivan Fischer, Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Kent Nagano, Sir Roger Norrington, Julius Rudel and Pinchas Zukerman.
Born in Upper Austria, Mr. 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 began his piano studies at age six in Grand Forks, North Dakota, where he was born. A graduate of the San Francisco Conservatory, he has also attended master classes at the Juilliard School and studied at the Vienna Musikhochschule, graduating
with honors in the field of piano chamber music under Professor Georg
Ebert. As soloist, accompanist and
chamber musician, he has appeared frequently in the United States, Israel, Europe and Japan. For four consecutive seasons, he appeared as soloist/accompanist at the San Francisco Bach Festival. In
addition, Mr. Ryan has been featured in numerous radio and television
productions in Austria, Scandinavia, Japan and the United States.
Tickets at $20 ($8 for students) are available in advance at the Office of Communications, Union College (518) 388-6131 and at the door at 7 p.m. For more information, call 372-3651.
The Union College Concert Series is made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, a State Agency; additional support comes from the Times Union Newspapers. Memorial Chapel is located near the center of the Union College campus. Parking is available on campus and nearby side streets.