The Fourteenth Oxford Lieder Festival – Singing Words: Poets and their Songs – will run from 16-31 October 2015 and will once again bring a glittering array of musicians to Oxford in a diverse and enticing programme. It will focus on poets and the words that shape songs, with many programmes devoted to specific poets and a series of related cultural events.

The opening recital of the Festival will be given by superstar duo Sarah Connolly and Graham Johnson (16 Oct), who perform Schubert, Brahms and Wolf. Sophie Kartäuser and Eugene Asti (17 Oct) will explore Mörike and Éluard via the music of Wolf, Schumann and Poulenc. Former BBC Cardiff Singer of the World winner Katarina Karnéus and Stephan Loges join Festival director Sholto Kynoch for an evening devoted to settings of Goethe (18 Oct). Other recital highlights include performances given by Elizabeth Watts and Julius Drake (20 Oct), Matthew Rose (30 Oct) and Christoph Prégardien and Roger Vignoles (31 Oct). Anna Stéphany and Sholto Kynoch perform a major new song cycle commissioned by Oxford Lieder from Rhian Samuel (28 Oct), and John Mark Ainsley and Catherine Hopper perform a programme of Shakespeare in Music (21 Oct). The Festival will also feature an event devoted to Mary Stuart, with music by Schumann and new works by Judith Bingham, Eddie McGuire and Dee Isaacs. Imogen Cooper will be Artist in Residence, giving recitals with Wolfgang Holzmair and Henk Neven, as well as a solo performance and masterclasses.

A lunchtime recital series will feature the complete songs of Gabriel Fauré (paired with Schubert songs), with artists including Lucy Crowe (27 Oct) and James Gilchrist (20 Oct). This series will be launched at a lecture-recital weekend withGraham Johnson (17 & 18 Oct), whose series Schubert’s Life & Times was a Festival highlight for many in 2014. There will be a study day on the life and songs of Hector Berlioz (24 Oct), with speakers to include the author of the definitive Berlioz biography, David Cairns.

Chamber, instrumental and choral works, with artists including the Doric String Quartet (20 & 26 Oct), the Phoenix Piano Trio (22 Oct) and Tom Poster (23 Oct), will be heard throughout the Festival, in addition to a wide range of talks, readings, and other events. Masterclasses will be given by artists including Robert Holl, Ann Murray and Roger Vignoles. Oxford Lieder continues to develop its well-established programme of projects in local schools and opportunities for people of all ages and abilities to participate in the Festival.