Medtner: Songs Sofia Fomina & Alexander Karpeyev

• Nikolai Medtner (1880 - 1951): Medtner: 6 Poems by Pushkin, Op. 36:
• 1Medtner: 6 Poems by Pushkin, Op. 36: No. 1, The Angel01:57
• 2Medtner: 6 Poems by Pushkin, Op. 36: No. 2, The Flower02:25
• 3Medtner: 6 Poems by Pushkin, Op. 36: No. 3, When Roses Fade01:55
• 4Medtner: 6 Poems by Pushkin, Op. 36: No. 4, Spanish Romance02:07
• 5Medtner: 6 Poems by Pushkin, Op. 36: No. 5, Night01:56
• 6Medtner: 6 Poems by Pushkin, Op. 36: No. 6, Arion03:19
• Medtner: 5 Poems by Tyutchev & Fet, Op. 37:
• 7Medtner: 5 Poems by Tyutchev & Fet, Op. 37: No. 1, Sleeplessness04:42
• 8Medtner: 5 Poems by Tyutchev & Fet, Op. 37: No. 2, Tears01:48
• 9Medtner: 5 Poems by Tyutchev & Fet, Op. 37: No. 3, Impromptu02:40
• 10Medtner: 5 Poems by Tyutchev & Fet, Op. 37: No. 4, The Waltz02:37
• 11Medtner: 5 Poems by Tyutchev & Fet, Op. 37: No. 5, Night Wind01:37
• Medtner: 4 Songs, Op. 45:
• 12Medtner: 4 Songs, Op. 45: No. 1, Elegy05:21
• 13Medtner: 4 Songs, Op. 45: No. 2, The Wagon of Life02:33
• 14Medtner: 4 Songs, Op. 45: No. 3, Night Song03:00
• 15Medtner: 4 Songs, Op. 45: No. 4, Our Time03:00
• 16Medtner: 7 Poems, Op. 46: No. 1, Prelude01:59
• Medtner: 7 Poems, Op. 46:
• 17Medtner: 7 Poems, Op. 46: No. 2, Hallowed Place03:02
• 18Medtner: 7 Poems, Op. 46: No. 3, Prospect01:19
• 19Medtner: 7 Poems, Op. 46: No. 4, In the Forest01:27
• 20Medtner: 7 Poems, Op. 46: No. 5, Winter Night03:37
• 21Medtner: 7 Poems, Op. 46: No. 6, The Spring01:46
• 22Medtner: 7 Poems, Op. 46: No. 7, Sing Out!02:33
• Total Runtime56:40

Info for Medtner: Songs

Like his friend and contemporary Rachmaninoff, Nikolai Medtner enjoyed a privileged and affluent upbringing, and was also exiled from Russia following the revolution in 1917. Unlike Rachmaninoff, Medtner could point to an ancestry that was part German, and his father’s passion for Germanic culture ensured that Goethe and Beethoven exerted as much influence on the young Medtner as Russian composers and writers, in particular Beethoven’s piano sonatas and string quartets. Medtner moved first to Germany, then France, before settling in London in 1935.

The earlier songs in this programme, Opp. 36 and 37, were written against the backdrop of the revolution, shortly before he fled Russia. Opp. 45 and 46 (written to Russian and German texts, respectively) were composed in France.

Praised for her ‘formidably striking’ and ‘stunning silvery’ sound, the rising star soprano Sofia Fomina has performed in Toulouse and Baden-Baden, at Bayerische Staatsoper, Seattle Opera, Hungarian State Opera, Paris Opéra, and The Royal Opera, Covent Garden. Her Pamina for Glyndebourne Festival Opera in 2019 received rave reviews.

Alexander Karpeyev has performed throughout Europe and toured in the USA, Canada, and Russia as a concerto soloist, recitalist, and chamber musician. A prize-winner of several international competitions, he also completed a doctorate on performance practise in the music of Medtner, based on the Edna Iles Medtner Collection at the British Library.

Sofia Fomina, soprano
Alexander Karpeyev, piano

Sofia Fomina
Praised for her “formidably striking” and “stunning silvery” soprano sound, Sofia Fomina first burst onto the international operatic scene in 2012 when she made a sensational debut at the Royal Opera House as Isabelle in Meyerbeer’s Robert le Diable. A previous member of the Saarländisches Staatstheater and Frankfurt Opera, she has since appeared at Paris Opera, Glyndebourne Festival, Bayerische Staatsoper, Hungarian National Opera, Royal Opera House, Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse, Baden-Baden Festspielhaus, Seattle Opera, Theater an der Wien, Concertgebouw Amsterdam, Wigmore Hall and the BBC Proms. The 2020/21 season sees Fomina launch her solo recital debut CD on Chandos - dedicated to Russian composer Nikolai Medtner - as well as invitations at Semperoper Dresden as Pamina in a new production of Die Zauberflöte, and at Bayerische Staatsoper as Adele Die Fledermaus, Gilda Rigoletto and her role debut as Konstanze Die Entführung aus dem Serail.

Recent highlights include a company debut as Zerbinetta Ariadne auf Naxos at Staatsoper Hamburg; Adele Die Fledermaus, Gilda Rigoletto, Fiakiermili Arabella and Oscar Un ballo in maschera at Bayersiche Staatsoper, and her role and company debut as Pamina in a new production of Die Zauberflöte at Glyndebourne Festival and the BBC Proms. On the concert platform she performed Mahler's 2nd Symphony with Vladimir Jurowski and the London Philharmonic Orchestra and with Hugh Wolff and the Belgian National Orchestra; Haydn’s Harmoniemesse in Eisenstadt with Fabio Biondi; her Wigmore Hall debut together with pianist Iain Burnside and appeared at Middle Temple Hall with Julius Drake and Roderick Williams. Fomina was also invited to perform the role of La Comtesse Le comte Ory with Teatro Nacional de São Carlos, and a recital with Roger Vignoles at deSingel International Arts Campus in Antwerp.

Recent operatic successes include her US Operatic debut as Rosina Il Barbiere di Siviglia at Seattle Opera, Musetta La bohème at the Festspiele Baden-Baden with Teodor Currentzis, and Gilda Rigoletto, Olympia Tales of Hoffmann and Jemmy Guillaume Tell at Royal Opera House; her debut at Opéra de Paris as Blondchen in a new production of Die Entführung aus dem Serail; Berthe Le Prophète at Théâtre du Capitole de Toulouse; Oscar in a new production of Un Ballo in Maschera, Blondchen and Adele Die Fledermaus at Bayerische Staatsoper; and Aquillo in a concert performance of Adriano in Siria at Theater an der Wien.

On the concert platform her recent engagements include Mahler’s 8th Symphony with the Danish National Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Fabio Luisi, Woglinde Das Rheingold with the London Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Vladimir Jurowski, the 2017 Deutsche Aids-Stiftung Operngala at Deutsche Oper Berlin, Marzelline in a concert version of Fidelio at the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and in London with the London Philharmonic Orchestra; Carmina Burana in a New Year Gala Concert with the Czech Philharmonic and Jakub Hrusa; Mussorgsky’s The Nursery and Mahler’s Symphony No.4 on tour in Ferrara, Bologna and Frankfurt with the Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Gerald Finley and Vladimir Jurowski; Nanetta in a concert version of Falstaff with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra conducted by Edward Gardner; a New Year’s Gala Performance with Orchestra dell’ Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia; Mahler’s Symphony No.8 and Mahler’s Symphony no. 4 with the London Philharmonic Orchestra in London, Madrid, Valencia, Alicante, Dresden and New York; and Mahler Symphony No. 2 in Toledo Cathedral with Orchestra of Teatro Real.

Born in Russia, Fomina studied at the Orlovsky Music College and the Gnesin Academy of Music, Moscow. Her career began at the Novosibirsk Opera Theatre, where she sang roles including Despina Così fan tutte and Susanna Le nozze di Figaro. She later joined the ensemble of the State Theatre of Saarbrucken where she sang roles including Queen of the Night Die Zauberflöte, Giulietta I Capuleti e i Montecchi, Zerbinetta Ariadne auf Naxos, Rosina Il barbiere di Siviglia and Gretel Hansel und Gretel. From 2013 to 2015 she was a member of Frankfurt Oper where her engagements included Onoria in a new production of Gluck’s Ezio, Nanetta in a new production of Verdi’s Falstaff, Queen of the Night, Sophie Werther, Blondchen, Zerbinetta and Musetta. In 2010 she was awarded a grant by the Wagner Association in Bayreuth and received an invitation from Vladimir Jurowski to perform Janáček’s The Eternal Gospel with the London Philharmonic Orchestra at the Royal Festival Hall, which launched her international career.

Booklet for Medtner: Songs