Strauss, R: Des Dichters Abendgang, Op. 47 No. 2

“Stotijn confronts [Kindertotenlieder's] emotions with acute sensitivity, and then leaves us with the benediction of Strauss’s “Morgen!”. A connoisseur’s recital.” The Telegraph, 2nd December 2011 ****

“Stotijn's latest well-earned recital disc takes the imaginative high ground right at the start...In the booklet-notes, Stotijn eloquently explains why they travelled to Schiermonnikoog (or 'Grey Monk Island') for the shoot, and how she chose the programme. The programme matters most, of course, though all the incidentals help make this a winner. The Richard Strauss sequence has its own logic of lively versus reflective” BBC Music Magazine, February 2012 *****

“a singer whose voice and intelligence melded seamlessly with words, vocal line and whatever dramatic concert was at hand...Stotijn's vivid performances make you examine the texts anew just to appreciate her sudden burst of vocal colour ('Zueignung' goes into the Jessye Norman zone) or her onomatopoeic effects, which give the characters within the songs a near-physical presence....Stotijn is God's gift to Christa Ludwig admirers.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2012

“Always there is delicacy and an absolute respect for the silky legato that Strauss demands from his soloist. Damrau finds drama in these songs too...the songs that demand diamond-bright coloratura, runs and trills to affright a Zerbinetta hold no terrors...Thielemann has a very special affinity with singers. He also coaxes some fine playing from the Munich orchestra.” International Record Review, January 2011

“What wins this disc the five stars are the facts that Damrau, singing in her native German, is poised ideally between dreamy haze and Schwarzkopfian fussiness...her hallowed pianissimos allow the exquisite detail Thielemann draws from his Munich players to shine...the ineffable balance between voice and orchestra, subtly assisted by the engineering, is a treat throughout.” BBC Music Magazine, February 2011 *****

“Secure in technique, gifted in projecting drama and emotion, Damrau is a peach of a singer...The haunting music; the lyrical voice; the orchestra’s dappled array, with woodwinds curling like climbing roses and violins wafting with fragrant perfume: poesie indeed, in small doses.” The Times, 28th January 2011 ****

“With a creamy-voiced soprano such as Renée Fleming, say, the results could be an excess of musical cholesterol, but Damrau’s diamantine timbre brings a welcome edge to the mix...She’s the leading Strauss soprano of the day, and her singing here shows exactly why.” Sunday Times, 30th January 2011 ****

“her voice is not ideally voluptuous for Strauss, but she makes up for it by her exceptional musicality, investing every song with meaning, and her clarity of diction. The Munich Philharmonic under Christian Thielemann are splendid partners on a CD that must now be regarded as the best modern introduction to Strauss's songs” Mail on Sunday, 30th January 2011 ****

“Her singing is consistently accurate and expressive. I particularly liked her 'Traum durch die Dämmerung', which caught the atmosphere of a secret tryst perfectly...She joins the group of younger sopranos such as Angelika Kirchschlager and Anne Schwanewilms among the leading lyric Strauss singers of the day.” Sunday Telegraph, 30th January 2011 ****

“she is not merely a fair-weather soprano. Darker shades, more serious tones lie within her expressive scope than one might at first suppose...Familiar songs such as "Ständchen" gain new life with a smiling intimacy of approach in the first verse and an enriched suggestiveness as dusk falls in the third.” Gramophone Magazine, March 2011

“there are performances of such favourites as Morgen, Allerseelen and Wiegenlied, where her hovering, silvery soprano is heard to perfection...Not all the orchestrations are by Strauss: Christian Thielemann and the Munich Philharmonic really bring home just how marvellous his own instrumentation sounds when placed beside that of some of the other composers” The Guardian, 10th February 2011 ****

“When did a German coloratura soprano last handle Richard Strauss’s orchestral songs with such grace and aplomb?...Damrau’s artistry is a combination of vocal noblesse, emotional warmth and instinctive intelligence.” Financial Times, 19th February 2011 ****

“This gloriously romantic collection of orchestral settings of Strauss’s songs... shows [Damrau] at her stunning best. Outstanding tracks include Amor, with its airy, witty coloratura, and a magically slow yet gloriously alive Wiegenlied. The accompaniments, as might be expected from Thielemann’s baton, are quite superb.” The Telegraph, 25th February 2011 *****

“These songs demand a variety of vocal weights and colours, and Damrau seems to have it all...Thielemann and the Munich Phil revel in the rich orchestral colours and can be as light as air when required...Damrau brings effortless technique, beautiful tone and unfailing musical instinct to these songs.” Classic FM Magazine, April 2011 *****

“This fourth volume of songs in the Hyperion series matches Strauss's masterpieces to weaker offerings, all given equal shrift by the pianist Roger Vignoles and his singers. Maltman has the lion's share, his molasses-rich lower range and walnut-polished upper melting into the ethereal Am Ufer and finding gruff humour in Das Lied des Steinklopfers. Alastair Miles's robust, sensitive bass excels in Im Spätboot, perfectly capturing the eerie, dark atmosphere of Strauss's weary boat passenger.” The Times, 14th February 2009 ****

“Maltman and Vignoles strike the right note of hard-won simplicity for Goethe's 'Gefunden' and Heine's 'Mit deinen blauen Augen'. Miles then signs in with the wonderful night-boat meditation of Op. 56 No. 4, underlining the need for a true bass with the last low D flat. ...his imposing timbre fits the operatic scope of the three Rückert settings.” BBC Music Magazine, May 2009 ****

“With one possible exception, these are all among Strauss's more rarely performed songs, and quite undeservedly so. Most are highly characteristic and clearly written with affection, while those that may not immediately proclaim the composer's identity ('Das Lied des Stein- klopfers' for instance) are among the most interesting.
Perhaps that sense of a structured improvisation may (as in the Rückert setting 'Und dann nicht mehr') call for a restraining hand, but more often it is such an appealing personal quality that complaint would be sourly puritanical.
Indeed some of the joy arises in just those moments, such as the inspired passage between verses in 'Des Dichters Abendgang', when Strauss the pianist takes over and claims his composer's freedom.
Roger Vignoles captures well the expansiveness and generosity of the writing for piano. He is also a sensitive accompanist in songs where the piano part is relatively simple. “Heimkehr”, the last song of Op 15, is one of these, and this is also the exception to the songs' general unfamiliarity.
It is well sung, with finely controlled high pianissimi, by Christopher Maltman, who has all but the last five songs (mostly Op 81), which are written specifically for bass. It must be said that with the first sound of Alastair Miles, one is immediately aware of a change, not merely in the quality and nature of the voice, but in its production too. Maltman is a valuable artist in many respects, but recording exposes an unevenness of emission which his art is usually able to render inconspicuous 'in the flesh'. Miles impresses deeply, down indeed to the depths of his low D flat.” Gramophone Classical Music Guide, 2010

'She [Felicity Lott] never loses sight of what the words are about; her vocalism is consistently poised and centered; and its no wonder that the wealth of commitment and knowledge shes brought to Strauss music over the years has made her a prime exponent of this repertoire.' Fanfare

“Lott was still at her peak when these recordings were made in 2002, and has a background of great affinity with the Strauss muse...Her voice and phrasing are still at their glorious finest, and so is her partnership with Johnson. The result is a magical recital, naturally recorded.” Gramophone Magazine, October 2012

“With Johnson's charmingly modest and unfailing attendance, this is a recital peppered with exquisite moments of Olympian power and heroic breath control from Lott. These qualities give the lie to the fact that her remarkable voice is into its sixth decade! It is almost ideal for Strauss here: warmly lyrical, clear, lithe and sensuously intoned, majestic in its dynamic and emotional colourings.” MusicWeb International, August 2012