Schubert: Abschied von der Erde, D829

“An attractive compilation from EMI's 2001-02 series of Schubert Lieder and piano music. Here, it's predominantly Lieder, with just three piano fragments; but with both artists at their relaxed and creatively focused best.” BBC Music Magazine, December 2008 ****

“...from Bostridge you have intelligent word painting, effortless sense of line, langorous phrasing, and a vocal quality that is as sonorous in the upper register as it is mellow in the lower. Andsnes more than accompanies, he pushes the beauty and depth of the piano writing to the fore, whilst never unbecomingly stealing the show.” Charlotte Gardner, bbc.co.uk, 11th July 2008

“Ian Bostridge is one of the most effective Schubert voices in Europe today” The Times

'A wondrous addition to this unique venture, it is hard to know where to begin in its praise' (Gramophone)

“It's hard to know where to begin in praise of this disc. It has several centres of excellence, the first being Schäfer's beseeching, urgent account of the Mignon settings from Goethe's WilhelmMeister that make plain her pre-eminence today among sopranos in Lieder. Next comes Ainsley's winningly fresh account of An Silvia. You may be surprised at how wholly new-minted Ainsley's ardent tones and Johnson's elating piano manage to make of such a hackneyed song. Schäfer and Johnson do the same service for Horch,horch! die Lerch'. Then comes the extraordinary discovery of this volume. As a rule, Johnson has excluded unaccompanied vocal pieces from his project; happily, he has made an exception in the case of the astonishingly original Seidl setting Grab und Mond, which touches on eternal matters, or rather the permanence of death, a message starkly expressed in typically daring harmony. The London Schubert Chorale gives it a spellbinding interpretation and also contributes positively to a performance of another Seidl setting, the better-known Nachthelle, where the high-lying tenor lead provides no problems for Ainsley. There have to be reservations over the work of Richard Jackson; his tone is inadequate to the demands of Der Einsame, the unjustly neglected Totengräberweise and Der Wanderer anden Mond, which call for a richer sound-palette.
Throughout, Johnson's playing is a source of pleasure and enlightenment. The recording is well-nigh faultless.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

“Ulrich Eisenlohr gives excellent support and interpretive depth to the songs, as he has done for many other singers in this series.” Classics Today