Only two composers were chosen by Ian Bostridge and Aaron Wajnberg for their recital as a benefit for Kom op tegen Kanker at Amuz on 7 March: Franz Schubert and Benjamin Britten. Yet it yielded an intense concert, for which the Amuz hall could easily have been fuller.
From Schubert, a selection from Winterreise was performed. Bostridge appeared on stage with his typical personality: apparently stiff-formal and at the same time with a distinctive manner of spontaneity. His voice is ideal as an expression of the sadness that permeates the cycle. Despair and hopelessness dominate the songs, which culminate in a longing for death. The acrid, bitter tone is part of the character of Bostridge's voice. In songs like Erstarrung or Rückblick he embodies the emotion physically and vocally. It is his attraction and fascination. The content of the songs dominates him in such a way that through his experience of them he touches the audience to their very soul. It is admirable how he continues to nuance and colour his voice according to the emotion that the song requires. The expression of his voice is inescapable.
The same applies to the lesser-known songs by Benjamin Britten, Winter Words on texts by Thomas Hardy. Britten composed the songs in 1953 and they express the acrid humour of Thomas Hardy's poems. The lost innocence of childhood gives way in a refined way to bitterness. Despite the prevailing tone of despair, there is here and there a note of hope. But the bittersweet tone usually quickly exposes the hope as merely a melancholic dream. Britten's intonation simply belongs to the "authentic" singing style of Bostridge, it comes across as his natural biotope. The combination with Schubert could not have been better chosen.
In Aaron Wajnberg, Bostridge had an attentive partner who was perfectly on the same wavelength.
Since it was a concert for the benefit of Kom op tegen Kanker, a word about this as well: the testimonies during the intermission were not only praise for the work of Kom op tegen Kanker in relation to support for scientific research into cancer treatment, but also highlighted the painful lack of empathy with patients in the medical world. But fortunately there were also positive comments about oncological specialists and their ethical approach.
WHAT: Before Life and after - Recital for the benefit of Kom op tegen Kanker
WHO: Ian Bostridge [tenor], Aaron Wajnberg [piano]
WHERE: Amuz Antwerpen
WHEN: Tuesday 7-3-2023