Ravel Histories Naturelles
Ravel Deux mélodies hébraïques
Ravel Chansons madécasses
Haydn Ariana a Naxos
Bartók Village Scenes

Magdalena Kožená mezzo-soprano
Malcolm Martineau piano
Kaspar Zehnder flute
Tomas Jamnik cello

Magdalena Kožená’s steady rise to fame turned meteoric a couple of years ago. By 2010, she was likened by The Times to Barack Obama: ‘Everyone wants a piece of her’ said the newspaper of the mezzo whose mellifluous, pliable voice is as enchanting in Vivaldi as it is in Mahler. Powerful and virtuosic, with its glinting upper register and dark, brooding lower one, Kozena’s instrument has become one of the treasures of the vocal world. Here she brings her technical assurance and gifts for intuition and colour to the Barbican for a recital with her regular collaborator, pianist Malcolm Martineau.