Richard Strauss: Songs

Richard [1] Strauss (Composer), Graham Johnson (Performer), Felicity Lott (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Graham Johnson, Felicity Lott
• Composer: Richard [1] Strauss
• Audio CD (November 25, 2003)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Asv Living Era
• ASIN: B0000CE0ZI
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #526,962 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com

This is an enchanting record: 26 songs, most of them familiar favorites, loosely arranged in categories by textual content, all vintage Strauss and intoxicatingly beautiful, performed with consummate artistry. Felicity Lott's voice is perfectly focused, flexible, warm, clear as a bell over a range of more than two octaves. It can float with disembodied purity and glow with rapturous ardor; she phrases with words and music so that they naturally extend and enhance each other. A seasoned Straussian in opera and concert, Lott brings to these songs a deep affinity for every mood, feeling, and expressive nuance. Graham Johnson, surely one of our greatest accompanists, aids and abets her all the way, seeming to share and anticipate her every thought. His preludes and postludes provide a perfect framework for atmosphere and character. For example, the filigree arpeggios in "Ständchen" (No. 3) descend like a delicate, rippling shower of gold. Strauss is without peer in creating ecstatic climaxes, and there are plenty of them in this program: listen to "Zueignung" (No. 18), "Cäcilie" (No. 21) or "Blauer Sommer" (No. 10). Equally magical are his intimate, inward songs: "Waldseligkeit" (No. 1), one of many dedicated to his wife, "Wiegenlied" (No. 16), or "Leises Lied" (No. 4). It is hard to pick out highlights in this cornucopia of riches; listeners will find their own favorites. One cavil: in the final song ("Morgen") the original violin obbligato is sadly lacking; even the best pianist cannot sustain the long melody notes that weave like a thread of shimmering sunlight through the prosodic vocal line. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars *** 1/2 An older singer's mature-sounding Strauss, but nicely done, July 5, 2006

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Richard Strauss: Songs (Audio CD)

Felicity Lott, who makes no bones about being over fifty in the cover photograph, has built a good deal of her career around both Richard Strauss and lieder. When she made her classic accounts of Strauss's orchestral songs with Neeme Jarvi fifteen years ago, her full, warm soprano was at its peak, so much so that she rivalled Schwarzkopf and Della Casa for sheer beauty. Luxurious sound rather than pointed interpretation was Lott's forte, so how does she fare now that her voice is mature?

The Amazon reviewer raves to excess--the voice is in fine shape but doesn't possess the purity and contorl it once had. That's only natural and not a flaw. Her mature readings of these 16 songs are artistic and mostly satisfying. Unlike Schwarzkopf, Lott doesn't have enough charisma to make the deepest impression. I'd also point out that the singer's close friend Graham Johnson is a routine accompanist, careful in detail but not inspiring (British critics continue to extol him for reasons I can't fathom). Whether because of him or on her own, Lott is too placid at times and hasn't the voice left to soar to the heights, which is ultimately what a great Strauss voice must do. Even so, this is a lovely recital and a boon to anyone who loves these gorgeous, sensual songs.

P.S. 2011 -- I heard Lott and Johnson at Wigmore Hall and was impressed by the beauty of her voice and the wisdom in her interpretations. the microphone diminishes a remarkable singer.