Customer Reviews

Anne Sofie von Otter - Johannes Brahms Lieder

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I don't know if I would consider this singer the best out there--how can one truly know??--but I DO consider her to be one of my very favorite singers after hearing this album. I admire her artistry and that beautiful, honey-toned voice that envelops you in the drama of Brahms' exquisitely crafted, haunting music. It has been awhile since I listened to this CD but I am overdue. She is an intelligent and very emotionally/mentally aware singer, and it is hard to find any vocal or dramatic limitations on this CD. I am waiting for the day when I can see her live (and maybe sing on the same stage next to her!) This album is very worth its price, but prepare for a very dramatic journey--this is not easy, light, or background music--this music will make you feel intensely if you let it. (Also, for a very different interpretation and equally valid, in my opinion, check out the darker and thicker contralto voice of Mitsuko Shirai/Hartmut Höll in Brahms: 21 Lieder.)

Ms. von Otter, with her enormously expressive voice and carrying power of emotion, add to these Brahms lieder a whole new aspect.
She brings out the emotions in every song without a streak of sentimentality. In "Von ewiger Liebe", she does not make an artificially dramatic contrast between the boy's words and the girl's, which sounds more natual than most of the other interpretations out there. von Otter's light and lively voice is just right for such songs as "Dort in den Weiden", "Roeslein dreie in der Reihe". The same voice makes "Die Mainacht" sounds bleak and touching(Listen for "...suche dunklere Schatten..."). When I heard her "O Kuehle Wald" and "Gestillte Sehnsucht", I was completely carried away. Forsberg's playing is unforgettable too. His characteristic dynamic playing is best demonstrated in "Meine Liebe ist gruen".

In short, I believe this album will become one of the Lieder classics in the years to come.

Rarely is there a voice like Anne Sofie von Otter--The Brahms' CD sounds so new and so perfect, without the sterility of machine perfection. It could be argued AVSO is the best singer in the world alive today, and this is one of her very best recordings.

I just wanted to add my voice to the chorus of praise for this CD. My introduction to Brahms lieder was through a recording by Jan DeGaetani. Through that CD, I learned enough to know that it was worth my while to acquaint myself with this music. Despite my familiarity with some of this music, I did not anticipate how much of an impact this disc would have on me.

If you have found your way to Brahms' music, you must know how effectively he communicates a wide palette of feelings ranging from the experience of pain (loss, sadness and resignation) through yearning bittersweetness and on to festive joy. If you have not yet experienced his music in the form of lieder, you may be surprised to discover how much the lyrics add to the experience.

By way of example, consider one of my many favorites from this CD. Mädchenlied Op. 107 No. 5 is a short song about a girl who feels left behind as all the other village girls are happily becoming engaged to the village boys. The song ends in painful and anxious tears. Even if you had only listened to the music and heard none of the lyrics, you would still recognize all the associated feelings. The lyrics become a special conduit through which this set of feelings is delivered, at once both embodying and clarifying the feelings. I cannot listen to this song without welling up in tears through empathic association.

This CD far surpasses the Jan DeGaetani CDs that introduced me to this music. Ms. Von Otter benefits from beautifully recorded digital sound. Her voice is like smooth velvet and her accompanist, Bengt Forsberg, is among the most skilled accompanists I've ever heard.

I have since obtained other recordings of Brahms lieder. In particular, I own a recording of Jessye Norman, but I have to say it does not rise to the level of impact that this recording had on me.

If you are not already familiar with Brahms lieder, you owe it to yourself to obtain this CD. I believe this CD should be in every Brahms lover's collection.

She is electrifying in this recording. She is definately one of my favorite singers!!! The "Von ewiger Liebe," is absolutely incredible...Bengt Forsberg's accompanying is also incredible. This entire album is wonderful. Her voice is so expresive and so lyrical. She also has a way with dramatic interpretations, like "Von ewiger Liebe," and "Meine Liebe ist gruen." Lovely recording!!!

I'm rather disappointed by the Zigeunerlieder collection at the start of this CD which is recorded as if the voice were quite far away, and I dont find the interpretation very moving.
For interpretation I suggest you try Monica Groop's recording
(Ondine). You can listen to the latter on the Naxos website.

What follows is very good though, even if there are Brahms singers I prefer.

'Johannes Brahms - Lieder' is yet another really delightful offering from mezzo-soprano Anne Sophie Von Otter. And, while I think Fraulein Otter does German romantic Lieder much better than she does modern French chansoms or even 20th Century German works by Kurt Weill, I would not quite go so far as the comments of some of the other reviewers that this is a 'greatest' album or 'sure to be a classic'.

What this album does for me more than anything else is to bring out the differences between Brahms (often lumped together with Bach and Beethoven as the three B's) and Shubert as Lieder composers. When you listen to the same excellent artist do both composers' works, you can appreciate why Shubert is the superior writer of Lieder. Not that Brahms was a slouch, but he just didn't seem to have quite the same light touch as Shubert.

To my ear, while Shubert's songs, at least the ones done by Ms. Otter, are written for the salon (except for Ave Maria, which is best done in a church) while Brahms' songs seem most suited for the stage, and not just the concert stage. Some almost seem suited to the cabaret, except, of course, for his famous bedtime lullaby.