COLLABORATIONS

BENJAMIN LUXON, NARRATOR

One of the world's great performers, Benjamin Luxon's varied activities make him hard to categorize. As a baritone, he was equally at home singing folk songs as he was performing opera or lieder. Recently, Luxon has embarked on a new musical journey which combines his knowledge of poetry and literature, his mesmerizing dramatic performing style, his deep musicality and his rich resonant voice.

There is a surprisingly large body of music for narrator with musical accompaniment. Much of it is for narrator and piano, Luxon and Moyer have begun their foray into this repertoire with the recent recording of Enoch Arden, melodrama for speaker and piano with poetry by Alfred, Lord Tennyson and music by Richard Strauss. Enoch Arden first came to international attention with a recording by Claude Raines and Glenn Gould but has since drifted back to obscurity. This is a work that both Luxon and Moyer have loved for many years. The poem is immediately accessible to any audience and tells a heart-wrenching story of friendship, love, separation and sacrifice. Strauss's masterful score creates a powerful soundtrack to the saga.

ABOUT BENJAMIN LUXON

Benjamin Luxon was one of Great Britain's major international singers. His career of some 30 years displays an unusual versatility and he was equally renowned as recitalist, concert, and opera singer.

His career began as a member of the English Opera Group, the company formed by Benjamin Britten for the performance of his own and other contemporary operas. He quickly became one of Britten's key singers culminating with Britten composing the role of “Owen Wyngrave“ (his television opera) specifically for Luxon's voice. Then came many years as a regular guest artist at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden and Glyndebourne, from there to European opera houses; Amsterdam, Paris, Brussels, Frankfurt and on to Prague, the Metropolitan, Vienna State Opera and La Scala Milan. Luxon was a major exponent of such roles as Eugene Onegin, Wozzeck, Falstaff, Don Giovanni and Papageno in “Die Zauberflöte“.

He worked with most of the world's major conductors and orchestras and made well over 100 recordings ranging from Early Music to Contemporary, including light music, musicals, Victorian ballads and music hall and his notable folk singing partnership with banjo player Bill Crofut. His work was graced with a high musicality, honesty and a very fine acting ability. He was a great champion of British song as witnessed by his recordings for Chandos records. In 1986 he was made a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) for his service to British Music.

In 1990 his career was jeopardized by sudden hearing loss and although he returned in 1992 to the major international music scene, in face of continued hearing fluctuation and deterioration he ended his singing career in the mid-90's. Since that time he has been involved in narrating works with Symphony Orchestra, giving master classes, directing opera and presenting a one-man show of poetry readings experienced through his long career as a singer. 

LUXON/MOYER DUO DISCOGRAPHY

• JRI Recordings (J116)
• SCHUBERT: Die Schöne Müllerin 
• with Benjamin Luxon, Baritone
• Recorded live in concert at the Tanglewood Music Festival July 30, 1986  
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• JRI Recordings (J114)
• Poetry by Alfred, Lord Tennyson 
• Music by Richard Strauss 
• with Benjamin Luxon, Speaker.

REVIEWS OF THE LIUXON/MOYER DUO

“Every so often there's a concert somehow so special as to banish critical reservations to the background... Such a concert was baritone Benjamin Luxon's performance of the Schubert song-cycle, Die Schöne Müllerin, presented in the Tanglewood Concert Hall last Wednesday... a performance of devastating intensity, much abetted by the strongly characterized collaboration of pianist Frederick Moyer. At the end of the concert, after the final wrench of 'Des Baches Wiegenlied,' there was the longest pre-applause silence I've ever witnessed in the concert hall.”
Times Union (Albany)

“They sound joined at the hip as collaborators. Luxon's colourful, poignant declamation of the text is matched with superb fluency of gesture and detail by Moyer, who brings an almost Schumannesque sense of dark, light and rapture to Strauss's prismatic score. The performance draws you into the tale with the kind of wonder millions experience while immersing themselves in the adventures of Harry Potter.” Gramophone

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“At the end of the concert, after the final wrench of 'Des Baches Wiegenlied,' there was the longest pre-applause silence I've ever witnessed in the concert hall.“

TIMES UNION (Albany)