At the heart of this programme of Beethoven songs performed by Ian Bostridge and Sir Antonio Pappano is the song cycle An die ferne Geliebte (To the distant beloved). Bostridge describes it as “the distillation of Beethoven as lover”. Among the other items are the rapturously lyrical ‘Adelaide’, the sombre ‘In questa tomba oscura’ and a selection of Beethoven’s settings of folksongs from the British Isles, which elicit the participation of violinist Vilde Frang and cellist Nicolas Altstaedt. “When we all play together,” says Pappano, “it’s like a family making music at home.”
