“language is given to man so that he mightcreate, destroy, and perish, andreturn to the immortal, to the mistressand mother, that he might bear witness to what hehas inherited, learned from her, her the mostdivine, the all-sustaining love.” — An excerpt from “Im Walde” by Friedrich Hölderlin (1770–1843) In the essay On Fairy-Stories by J.R.R. …
If I had to describe the concert review in one word, I would choose: Volltreffer (a bullseye). Every song that evening was among my top favourites. The duo baritone Benjamin Appl and pianist Simon Lepper were like a pair of experienced dance partners: completely in sync, with perfect pacing and elegant movement. I especially enjoyed …
“Auch die Stimme ist es wiederDie ich einst so gern gehöret!”“It is that voice once moreWhich I used to love to hear so much!”— Heinrich Heine I smiled when I heard the baritone Benjamin Appl sing this line. How I missed listening to his Liederabend. On the piano was Sholto Kynoch, whom I am becoming …
A Night at Sea is a concert in Bristol Cathedral. A sea-themed concert that contained the world premiere of Bright’s The Lighthouse, Elgar’s Sea Pictures, and Vaughan Williams’s A Sea Symphony. Bristol, the harbour, the seagulls, and a sea concert—all fitting together perfectly. Besides being an audience member, I was also honoured to be a …
This post is a continuation of my previous reflection. Two thoughts came to me while listening to Mendelssohn’s Elijah at the Berlin Philharmonie on 8 March 2026. In my previous post, I discussed “the essence of Elijah.” In this post, I would like to share my thoughts on “Baal worship.” At first sight, it looks …
The Elijah I listened to at the Berlin Philharmonie on 8.3.2026 is the kind of version where Mendelssohn would be watching from heaven and smiling with utmost satisfaction. Having heard Benjamin Appl’s excellent and moving interpretations of Bach’s St. Matthew and St. John Passions, I had been anticipating his interpretation of Mendelssohn’s Elijah. Personally, the …
“A white hand wavesFrom fairy tales of old,Where there are sounds and songsOf a magic land.” — Aus alten Märchen winkt es, Heinrich Heine The Liederabend was indeed an entry into a magical land of sounds and songs. Our guides for the evening were Benjamin (baritone) and James (piano), who led us through the poetic …
The CD I have been waiting for over 19 days finally arrived today, and I realised that I had never written a proper review of my absolute favourite Christmas album. Today, I am putting that right. If you are interested in reading this review, you are probably more interested in my personal thoughts than in …
I had fairly high expectations for this concert, Franz Schubert: Master Storyteller by Benjamin Appl and Sholto Kynoch, which was also the opening concert of this year’s Oxford International Song Festival, for three reasons. Firstly, I had heard their wonderful performance back in May in Heidelberg, Germany. Secondly, I have been a lover of Lieder …
The concert at Aula der Alten Universität Heidelberg at 19:30 was the 100th anniversary commemoration of the singer Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. A significant figure who contributed greatly to the cultural landscape after the war, especially in the German cultural heritage of Kunstlied (Art Song). His last pupil, Benjamin Appl, curated the programme using Fischer-Dieskau’s biography as …