News for 2024
SCHOENBERG 150th Claire has been described as leading a “one woman campaign” in promoting Arnold Schoenberg’s music in his anniversary year, in a series of performances of both his lieder and seminal work PIERROT LUNAIRE, and not one but two new recordings. The first, EXPRESSIONIST MUSIC, released in July, pairs Schoenberg’s songs with eight of his own paintings, taking its cue from Schoenberg’s own comment that ‘painting is the same to me as making music’, generously supported by members of the Schoenberg family and estate. The second PIERROT PORTRAITS is the highly anticipated release of Claire’s interpretation of PIERROT LUNAIRE, a work with which she has been highly associated since her debut performance under the baton of Pierre Boulez at the Luzern Festival while still a student at GSMD. Claire has been invited to perform at the Schoenberg Center, Vienna, this coming December
STRAUSS FOUR LAST SONGS Claire began a busy 2024 with a series of appearances with Nordwestdeutsche Philharmonie Orchestra under Jonathan Heywood, performing Strauss’ late vocal masterpiece. Both she and Jonathan reprised the Strauss in Spain, later in the spring with the Orquesta Sinfónica de Galicia. Claire has since been invited to the US to perform Strauss’ songs, alongside Mahler’s 4th symphony with the Boston Philharmonic, conducted by Benjamin Zander.
NOT ONE BUT TWO WORLD PREMIERES Working with Helen Grime and Zoe Martlew, Claire has commissioned 2 world premieres for 2024. Grime’s new work, Folk, is a collaboration with author Zoe Gilbert, reworking her critically acclaimed novel Folk into a series of scenes for Soprano and Orchestra. It debuted in September with the BBC Scottish Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Ryan Wigglesworth, and Claire will perform this work at the 2025 Aldeburgh Festival. Taking her cue from Schoenberg’s Cabaret Songs, Claire commissioned Martlew to write a theatrical song cycle, to be the centre of a cabaret-inspired program “Willkommen, Welcome, Bienvenue”. This highly original program can be seen at festivals around the UK, including London’s Wigmore Hall this November.
EXPRESSIONIST SUCCESS⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for Claire’s recent recording of Schoenberg lieder, entitled EXPRESSIONIST MUSIC. Gramophone writes that “Booths voice is bright and vibrant, conveying fiery urgency.. she’s a natural communicator, too; she draws you in and rarely lets you go.” The Guardian writes of the “immaculate way in which each number is presented here, with every flick and tremor of the vocal lines and of the pano accompaniments precisely caught.” Classical Music, giving 5 STARS, states that “Booth and Glynn maximise the variety of musical expression explored in each of the themes with performances that respond vividly to all the twists and turns in Schoenberg’s complex and ever-changing musical armoury.” ⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐
Claire Booth’s previous release: Edvard Grieg: Lyric Music.
Soprano Claire Booth and pianist Christopher Glynn trace an arc through Edvard Grieg’s Lyric Music, interspersing vocal miniatures with solo piano pieces that range in mood from bright, youthful innocence to shades of autumnal twilight.
“Booth and Glynn are certainly on fire here… Booth goes all out to capture the yearnings and frustrations of (Haugtussa) with a truly contemporary lack of inhibition…. This new recital, strongly recommended, contributes greatly to the catalogues..” Gramophone Autumn 2019 Click here for more information and to buy.
Edvard Grieg: Med En Vandlilje (With A Waterlily) Ibsensangene Op.25
Claire Booth / Christopher Glynn / Avie Records
