Ian Bostridge (photo Marco Borggreve)

The Folly of Desire

Ian Bostridge + Brad Mehldau
Fri 28 Mar 2025 20:15 - 22:00
Fri 28 Mar 2025
20:15 - 22:00
  • Fri 28 Mar 2025
    20:15 - 22:00
    Grote Zaal

Program

19:30 / Grote Zaal / Support

20:15 uur / Grote Zaal / Main programme
Brad Mehldau The Sick Rose
Brad Mehldau Leda and the Swan
Brad Mehldau Sonnet 147
Brad Mehldau Sonnet 75
Brad Mehldau Über die Verführung von Engeln
Brad Mehldau Ganymede I
Brad Mehldau Ganymede II
Brad Mehldau The Boys I Mean Are Not Refined
Brad Mehldau Sailing to Byzantium
Brad Mehldau Night II
Brad Mehldau Lullaby
Jack Strachey These Foolish Things
David Mann In the Wee Small Hours of the Morning
Cole Porter Ev’ry Time We Say Goodbye
Franz Schubert Nacht und Träume D 827
Cole Porter Night and Day

Credits

Ian Bostridge tenor
Brad Mehldau piano

British tenor and American jazz pianist together on stage

Jazz pianist Brad Mehldau, together with tenor Ian Bostridge, presents The Folly of Desire, his song cycle about the limits of sexual freedom in a post-MeToo era. The music flows seamlessly between jazz and classical styles. With poetry by Blake, Yeats, Shakespeare, Brecht, Goethe, Auden and Cummings, the work explores a theme as timeless as it is topical. The addition of a selection of jazz standards and a song by Schubert underlines the stylistic diversity of this project.

One of the greatest lieder performers and one of the most sought-after and renowned jazz pianists of our time share the stage. Grammy Award-winning jazz pianist Brad Mehldau has been captivating audiences since the early 1990s with his dynamic talent, intense performances and surprising collaborations. Tenor Ian Bostridge has a voice that is instantly recognisable. Like no other, he always delves into the context of what he is singing.