Lenneke Ruiten
With her versatile voice and intense musicality, Lenneke Ruiten has secured a permanent place on international stages, from La Scala in Milan to the Salzburg Festival. She is also internationally acclaimed as a concert and lied singer. In 2023, Ruiten was awarded the prestigious Elly Ameling Ring, an award for exceptional achievements in the lied repertoire. Virtuosity, lyricism, and dramatic expressiveness come together in Ruiten's performances that truly let the music speak.
Brahms
Brahms is best known for his symphonies and chamber music, but songs make up more than half of his work. Together with Schubert and Schumann, he elevated the German Lied to an exceptionally high level. In his more than two hundred songs, text and music are closely intertwined: sometimes the accompaniment sounds intimate, but more often symphonic. Within this vocal body of work, the Gypsy songs occupy a special place. They burst with energy: Brahms himself called them 'extraordinarily cheerful'. His love for dance and folk music can be heard in his more serious compositions.