Leeds Lieder Striking The Right Note

In a landmark year for Leeds Lieder, Group Editor Andrew Palmer finds out what lies behind its success when he chats with Festival Director Joseph Middleton.

Joseph Middleton is spreading the love.

The Director of Leeds Lieder is excited about next month’s annual Festival, especially as it has grown from four days to nine.

Has something passed me by? As the classical music writer for p.ublished group of online newspapers, I have been hearing that song recitals are not well attended.

Middleton is incredulous at that idea, and I can see he wonders where I am picking up my intelligence.

"I'm told repeatedly that that song is a really hard sell, that it is a dying art form, and is old fashioned. I just cannot accept that, these are incredible pieces of art," he espouses.

I am just about to interject, but he continues without pause. I can see he is brimming with passion and enthusiasm.

"For me, it is one of the absolute pinnacles of what mankind can express; a single human voice communicating with a hall of people, depicting stories, and sharing poetry. It encapsulates the most important human things: love, nature, connection, relationships, sex, and death, everything we, as humans, have to contend with and try to make sense of.

"There's something so special about being in a concert hall. Two artists who, for one evening, give everything of themselves, expressing the most profound elements of the human condition. I hope somebody sitting there feels something by hearing these texts and amazing songs."

Middleton says he enjoys the psychology of working with other musicians and the thrill and challenge of being on stage together, taking risks, and being inspired.

Yes, I get it. He is, after all, preaching to the converted. His zeal and devotion as Artistic Director is strong, and it is easy to see why Leeds Lieder is on a growth trajectory.

This exponential growth is impressive, but ever the modest musician Middleton seems coy when I suggest it is down to his programming.

Quite simply, he puts it down to great artists singing and playing great works, engaging the audience with pre-concert talks, masterclasses, and the introduction of surtitles.

"People recognise quality; surely that's something all of us have inbuilt in us. You can’t get away from great art having an effect, whether it's going to the Tate, National Gallery, The Globe, or Opera North - there is an extraordinary quality that always shines through."

Middleton joined Leeds Lieder in 2014, and by 2019 audience numbers were up by 60%. So, I suggest, he must have been frustrated that COVID interfered?

"Yes, of course. However, we have such a small team that we were able to move very quickly and put all our work online. We were one of the first organisations to broadcast concerts, with help from our friends at Leeds Town Hall.

"They had this great space completely free, and our office was tucked behind the organ pipes - a great venue to live stream events. Also, when audiences were allowed back, we put our gigs on at the Town Hall, as it's such a barn of a place it was easy to socially distance audiences."

This has led to the extension of the Festival, but before we continue, he is quick to remind me not to forget to mention all the fabulous world-class artists who are coming. I promise I won't.

"We have performers that are rarely heard who will perform in Leeds. They come from Canada, Asia, Germany, Austria, France, and Spain. And by extending the Festival, it means that we've been able to move the education events to a more prominent position.

"It has also meant that our Young Artist scheme, which attracts singers and pianists under the age of 30 to the city, allows young musicians to study intensively with the finest singers and pianists of our time for longer.

"We also have a thriving scheme for schools whereby we take song projects into schools across Leeds and work with around 1000 schoolchildren every year, teaching them everything about song.”

For the second time during this interview, I am
astonished. Schoolchildren enjoying Lieder?

"Oh yes!"

"It’s thrilling to see. We have a fab and extraordinary team working hard behind the scenes who travel out to the school halls to perform the programmes. Nothing is dumbed down! The schoolchildren hear, sing, and play the exact same songs that a great artist will sing on our main stage.


"And the most extraordinary thing about this, is that, as we all know, you can’t fool or pull the wool over the eyes of kids; they can sniff out a fraud in one move".

I am moved to ask "What is the secret?"

"When our team goes in and performs Schubert, Fauré, Butterworth or Brahms they explain that these songs are basically pop songs of their day.

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"The fact that there's a guy that wrote down a song in 1820 that's about the exact same things that pop artists do today, is an enabler, allowing kids to see that brilliant connection.

"We put it into context; a thread that goes directly from them to the past and then from them into the future. We then get these young kids to write their own words to the songs, which culminates in a gig at Pudsey Town Hall (this year on Tuesday 13 June). It is a great day, and, as somebody who went to a local comprehensive school, I am incredibly passionate about it, because so much of what I had for free at my school has now been cut. It just doesn't exist, and unless organisations like us fundraise like crazy and get out and about in the community and expose these kids to this great art, they simply will never ever come into contact with it."

cq[ Nothing is dumbed down! The schoolchildren hear, sing, and play the exact same songs that a great artist will sing... ]

I am struck at how many times I hear these types of excellent outreach stories and how committed the arts sector is to ensuring young people do not miss out on cultural activities. There are so many artists like Middleton who are changing and enriching children’s lives.

"Andrew, I'm immensely proud of our outreach programme, for which we have won awards," Middleton proudly acclaims.

I venture to ask if this will be one of the indelible marks he will eventually leave on Leeds Lieder, a question he is quick to answer: "I have no interest at all in legacy or a personal mark. For me that is totally disinteresting. All I want is to see that the art form stays alive; that is the most crucial thing as far as I'm concerned.

cq[One of the biggest things art can teach is empathy]

"It’s especially important now, particularly as classical music is seen as this other thing: elitist, white, middle-class. It riles me so much; none of these incredible composers wrote these works thinking, yes, it should only be for a particular demographic, the whole point of our art is that it's for everyone and about everyone.

"I hope that in 100 years time there's somebody else sitting here. But who knows what the cultural landscape will look like, I hope it will still involve humans talking to each other, communicating, sharing, and finding empathy.

"One of the biggest things art can teach is empathy."

Middleton is certainly empathetic, and he, like the Festival, is unpretentious, friendly, and open hearted.

"There is a generous warmth if you attend a Leeds Lieder event; it is all about music, sharing, and honesty.

"That's an incredibly special thing. People come to a Leeds Lieder concert not to be seen there or because it's the right thing to do, they come because they deeply love the idea of poetry, music, and singing."

Middleton feels drawn to Schubert, Schumann, and 20th-century French repertoire, such as Ravel, Fauré, and Debussy, as well as a love for English, Spanish, and Russian song. "I love having new works written for me, I get a real thrill out of working with living composers, and it's something that we've always done a lot of in Leeds."

In fact, there is a new initiative for 2023 with the introduction of A Leeds Songbook – twelve composers from the UK’s leading conservatoires and northern universities have been paired with Leeds-based poets to create songs that will tell unique stories about the people of Leeds.

These new songs will be performed in concert by the 2023 Leeds Lieder Young Artists, postgraduate singers and pianists drawn from across the world.

It is all part of what Middleton describes as the “most ambitious, colourful, bold and thoughtful exploration of song we have mounted to date.

"There’s never been such a visceral need for the best quality live music-making here in the UK, and the joyous atmosphere that marks out the Leeds Lieder Festival as such a special event really does allow for a unique connection to be made in the concert hall.”

Having spent a short time with Middleton, I can feel the love radiating as he chats about Leeds Lieder, and when I ask about one message, he would like this interview to convey, as quick as a flash, he says: "I would urge anyone who's not been to one of our gigs to come along. It is such a friendly, open place, that is warm and welcoming. There’s nothing cliquey about Leeds Lieder!”