Elizabeth Watts, Roderick Williams & Malcolm Martineau - Edinburgh International Festival: Chamber Music Highlights 2021 - Edinburgh Music Review

Elizabeth Watts is a wonderful musician. I was impressed at Paxton with the increased power in her voice. Here she seems to get the measure of the tricky Old College acoustic early on, and her voice soars through the auditorium. All credit to her too in singing without a score. She’s a wonderfully expressive singer, committed to engaging with the audience. Roderick Williams keeps a folder to hand as an aide-memoire, but rarely consults it, making eye-contact in the best Lieder tradition. His songs are often heroic numbers, which he sings powerfully. One of the most charming arias is their duet ‘O hush thee my baby’ by Danish composer, Niels Gade, a touching lullaby, in which their voices blend beautifully. Malcom Martineau has put together an interesting programme, illustrating the international range of Scott’s influence on song over the last two centuries. His own contribution at the piano is as masterful as ever, obviously enjoying the collaboration with the string players as well as with the singers.