As recent recipients of the Academy’s Bicentenary Scholarships, Cassandra and Hadewych have both recorded albums as part of this ongoing series with Linn Records, which since April 2020 has issued 18 digital releases.
Soprano Cassandra Wright graduated from the Academy’s Opera course last year with an Advanced Diploma. During the summer of 2023 she was part of the Glyndebourne Festival Chorus, and she currently is a member of the ensemble at Theater Freiburg, where she has sung the roles of Anne Trulove in The Rake’s Progress and Tebaldo in Don Carlos, amongst others.
For her debut album In the Twilight, Cassandra is accompanied by fellow Academy graduate Harry Rylance, and together they present a varied selection of song repertoire from the late -19th and 20th centuries. Cassandra’s initial inspiration for the album was Samuel Barber’s 1947 work Knoxville: Summer of 1915, which evokes the innocence and wonder of childhood through a description of a carefree summer evening. The recording goes on to explore nocturnal themes through two further works by Barber, alongside songs by Marx, Debussy, Greig and Korngold.
'This album feels like the perfect way to officially mark the end of my time at Academy, as I first performed a lot of these piece during my time there. It was very special to be able to record Barber's masterpiece Knoxville: Summer of 1915 and I'm really proud of this. I think Barber's modern romantic style pairs well with the other lush art song on this album and all of the pieces seem to evoke yearning and nostalgia. I'm so grateful to the Academy for this opportunity.'
Cassandra Wright
Cellist Hadewych van Gent’s debut album is released just three weeks after she graduated from the Academy with an Advanced Diploma. In Voice, Hadewych uniquely pairs singing and cello playing, a combination that she showcased in a concert alongside Academy alum Sheku Kanneh-Mason in 2022, described in The Times as ‘an intoxicating invocation’.
The album opens with Hadewych’s own take on Colla parte by Ernst Reijseger, an early musical inspiration for Hadewych, who invited her to perform at Muziekgebouw aan ’t IJ after they played together in a masterclass. Academy alum Yupeng He joins Hadewych for Rebecca Clarke’s passionate Sonata, which was originally composed for the viola; Hadewych is one of the first cellists to record the work. The album ends with the second movement of Grāmata čellam by Latvian composer Pēteris Vasks, which again combines singing with cello playing.
'The opportunity to record with such high level sound engineers and to graduate from the Academy with your debut album made is a very special thing.'
Hadewych van Gent
Bicentenary Scholars are outstanding young musicians selected each year by the Academy. They are offered significant funding as well as artistic development opportunities which are designed to meet their individual needs and ambitions as they prepare for professional careers. Some are able to record with Linn Records, who the Academy has partnered with since 2012. For over 25 years, recording experiences have been an intrinsic part of Academy life; many young Academy artists take these skills into their career and form alliances with major labels.
The Academy looks forward to its next release on Linn Records this autumn; an all-Stravinsky recording with students from Juilliard School, conducted by Reinbert de Leeuw Professor of Music Barbara Hannigan.