Dmitri Hvorostovsky

Dmitri Hvorostovsky first came to international prominence as winner of the BBC Cardiff Singer of the World in 1989. Few who were present will ever forget the tangible sense of competition between Hvorostovsky and the Welsh contestant, Bryn Terfel. Even then this became the legendary battle of the baritones in which Terfel eventually took the Lieder Prize while Hvorostovsky carried off the main trophy.

However, it is fascinating to look at the way in which these two champions have continued to mesmerise their audiences both on the operatic stage and in recital, where they have to a large extent cornered very different areas of the repertoire.

Playing to his native strength, Hvorostovsky brings to Wigmore Hall a veritable harvest of lyrical expression from the two giants of Russian song composition.

Tchaikovsky’s often anguished introspection is nevertheless couched in near-Mozartian perfection, which contrasts vividly with the more unselfconscious romantic outpouring of his protégé Rachmaninov.