- The best living female conductors<\/strong><\/a><\/li><\/ul>
For our July 2024 issue, Barbara Hannigan spoke to BBC Music Magazine<\/em> about three memorable recordings: a finest moment, a fondest memory, and a work she’d like to revisit.<\/p>
Barbara Hannigan on her finest moment<\/h2>
La Passione<\/em><\/strong><\/p>
LUDWIG Orchestra\/Barbara Hannigan (soprano) Alpha Classics ALPHA586 (2020)<\/em><\/p>
La Passione<\/em> was truly a collaborative effort and is particularly special to me. I chose three works which were linked by themes of loss, grief and rebirth: Luigi Nono\u2019s Djamila Boupacha<\/em> for solo voice, Haydn<\/a><\/strong>\u2019s Symphony No. 49 and G\u00e9rard Grisey\u2019s Quatre chants pour franchir le seuil<\/em>. <\/p>
Each work makes intense demands both technically and emotionally; everyone has to dig deep. The Grisey is perhaps one of the most heartbreaking and powerful works I have ever encountered, a journey through death and beyond. And the Nono stretches the soaring vocal line from oppression towards hope.<\/p>
La Passione Barbara Hannigan Ludwig Orchestra<\/figcaption><\/figure> I was surrounded by a trusted team with whom I had worked for years, beginning with the musicians of the Dutch collective LUDWIG. We recorded the album in Holland at the end of several months of intense touring\u00a0 \u2013 we were a tight-knit group by then and working together was joyful. This was my third album with Alpha Classics, who have supported and understood my repertoire combinations and choices. <\/p>
Recording engineer Guido Tichelman was at my side not only for the recording, but also travelled to my home, where we spent days editing and mixing the album. We\u2019ve been friends and colleagues for over two decades and the ease and joy with which we work is precious to me. The cover image was from an unforgettable underwater photo shoot I did with Elmer de Haas.<\/p>
- Read our review of La Passione<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
Her fondest memory<\/h2>
Satie Socrate<\/em><\/strong><\/p>
Barbara Hannigan (soprano), Reinbert de Leeuw (piano) Winter & Winter 9102342 (2015)<\/em><\/p>
- The 20 greatest sopranos of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
Whenever I think of Reinbert de Leeuw, the pianist, conductor, composer and champion of contemporary music, I think of space and time, because his feeling for both is unlike anything I\u2019ve ever encountered. He has been a mentor and friend to me, and I still feel his presence strongly. This recording created a beautiful, delicate world and I think it helped me to find a very delicate vocal sound in the recording studio which I had not explored before.<\/p>
I had been working with Reinbert since 1999, but finally in 2015 we recorded our first album together for voice and piano. We combined some very early songs of Erik Satie<\/a><\/strong> with his last major work, Socrate<\/em>. The album was planned quickly, at the moment when Reinbert\u2019s health began to fail (he passed away in early 2020), and we knew we only had limited years left to work together.\u00a0<\/p>
![\"Barbara](\"https:\/\/c02.purpledshub.com\/uploads\/sites\/43\/2024\/09\/WinterWinter9102342_cmyk.jpg\")
Barbara Hannigan Reinbert de Leeuw Satie Socrate<\/figcaption><\/figure> Sometimes during the sessions I had to pinch myself, flooded with memories of listening to Reinbert\u2019s famous Satie records when I was a student in Canada, with no clue that he and I would become such close musical partners. Photographer Elmer de Haas captured probably my all-time favourite album cover with this shot through a window during a break \u2013 of Reinbert smoking his usual hand-rolled shag cigarette, with me in the background.<\/p>
- The 20 greatest sopranos of all time<\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>
- Read our review of La Passione<\/em><\/a><\/strong><\/li><\/ul>