The Oxford International Song Festival announces its 2026 lineup.

Magdalena Kožená opens the year by performing Schumann’s “Dichterliebe” with pianist Malcolm Martineau.

Performance Date: January 10, 2026

Alexandra Flood and pianist Sholto Kynoch perform a program dedicated to Schubert’s 229th birthday.

Performance Date: January 31, 2026

Felix Gygli presents Shakespeare settings by Korngold, Quilter, and Rautavaara, Jonathan Dove.

Performance Date: February 26, 2026

The annual Spring Song weekend features recitals by Mark Padmore and Libby Burgess,
Harriet Burns and Ian Tindale, and Raphael Fingerlos with Sholto Kynoch. There will also be audition recitals for Oxford Song’s next cohort of Young Artists, a showcase recital in partnership with the Zeist International Lied Festival, and a study event on Britten and English song during the weekend.

Performance Dates: March 13–15, 2026

Theano Papadaki performs a Mediterranean program inspired by Greek and Italian musical traditions, from Monteverdi and Strozzi to Italian folksongs arranged by Luciano

Performance Date: May 14, 2026

Carole J Bufford performs songs from the “Great American Songbook” with pianist Rossano Sportiello.

Performance Date: June 14, 2026

Dame Sarah Connolly and pianist Joseph Middleton present songs by Mendelssohn, Brahms, Debussy, and Errollyn Wallen, celebrating the Festival’s overarching theme of “Love Songs.”

Performance Date: October 9, 2026

Roderick Williams presents a recital tracing the stories of courtly love from medieval poetry by Guillaume de Machaut, through Romantic imagery of ruined castles and mystic knights by Eichendorff, to 20th-century songs by composers including Ina Boyle and Ralph Vaughan Williams.

Performance Date: October 14, 2026

Juliane Banse collaborates with dancer István Simon and pianist Alexander Krichel in a program featuring some of Mozart’s most beloved songs.

Performance Date: October 23, 2026

Helen Charlston returns with her “Knight’s Dream” program.

Performance Date: November 26, 2026