Ian Bostridge, Steven Isserlis & Julius Drake, Wigmore Hall

From his extraordinary Winterreise with Thomas Ades to his upcoming appearance in the City of London festival with Andreas Haefliger, tenor Ian Bostridge has collaborated with some very fine pianists indeed. For his latest appointment at Wigmore Hall, however, he’s trying something a little different. There will be a pianist – the ever-busy, expert accompanist Julius Drake – but there will also be a cellist. And what a cellist – Steven Isserlis, a stunningly diverse master of phrasing who is one of Britain’s greatest living string musicians. Barring a clash of conflicting egos, it is unlikely that this will be anything less than first rate.
The first half of the programme starts with three arias from Bach’s cantatas, before launching into two pieces by Benjamin Britten, who himself played in a legendary tenor-piano-cello trio with Peter Pears and Mstislav Rostropovich. His Cello Suite No. 3, inspired by Rostropovich, is a solo showpiece with Russian elements derived from Tchaikovsky. It will be followed by a piece that bridges both composers – Britten’s Five Spiritual Songs, transcribed from Bach.
The second half grows more eclectic, with three works for the trio by Franz Paul Lachner, a friend of Schubert whose reputation is on the upswing after years of neglect. His best music, though not as astounding or significant as that of the great romantic, is delightful on its own terms. Then comes an arrangement of Tom O’Bedlam’s Song from the recently deceased British film composer Sir Richard Rodney Bennett, before the night draws to a close with Schubert’s Auf dem strom, an iridescent extended song originally arranged for voice, piano and clarinet. The interplay of these instruments is crucial to the piece’s effect, so it will be fascinating to see how it works with the cello. As well as uniting three superb musicians, this looks to be an evening of discovery.