American soprano Julia Bullock and pianist Bretton Brown perform songs that span a broad spectrum of eras and genres – from Wolf to Weill. The concert culminates in music by blues pioneers Lovie Austin, Billie Holiday and Nina Simone.

Bullock is acclaimed for communicating ‘intense, authentic feeling, as if she were singing right from her soul’ (Opera News). Nowhere is this soulful authenticity more apparent than in her choice of repertoire for this recital. These songs are empowering and provocative, amplifying the voices of women from Schubert’s Suleika to Connie Converse, whose hauntingly beautiful songs are heard in new arrangements by another of Bullock’s collaborators, Jeremy Siskind.

With Bullock’s rich, agile voice and Brown’s sensitive pianism, this is an inspiring celebration of diverse styles and perspectives, unified by the power of song.

This concert will be featured on BBC Radio 3 on 22 August.