Internationally renowned British lyric tenor Toby Spence has long been acclaimed in an astonishingly wide range of music, from the Baroque through to contemporary works, and admired for the passion and insights of his powerfully expressive interpretations.

He opens his recital with Beethoven’s stormy An die ferne Geliebte (‘To the Distant Beloved’), a cycle of love songs to a faraway lover that are full of heartfelt longing and inner turmoil. After five striking Lieder from Mahler’s Des Knaben Wunderhorn, Spence concludes with one of the best-loved song cycles in the repertoire: Schumann’s Dichterliebe, ‘A Poet’s Love’. A poignant work that follows a journey from passion to disillusion as a young writer realises his love is not returned, it contains songs of the utmost delicacy and of blazing youthful ardour.

It is just the piece to showcase Spence’s vivid characterisation, and its prominent piano part is delivered by his regular recital partner, British pianist Julian Milford.