Customer Reviews

A Romantic Songbook

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I may just be a sucker for these songs, but I really think this is the best solo recording Quasthoff has made so far: some of his other recordings suffer from an improper balance between piano and voice (like his WINTERREISE or SCHWANENGESANG), but here, Justus Zeyen's contribution feels an equal partner; each interpretation is fresh and vivacious; and the program is put together well. This is also the first time I've felt a recording comes close to the electric experience of hearing Quasthoff live; the sound quality captures everything very intimately.

Then again, this might be my personal love of these song talking. One review I've read of this recording refers to it condescendingly as a "Lieder's greatest hits" CD with "all dessert and no meat". But who cares: Schubert's "Im Fruehling" and "Ungeduld"; Schumann's "Belsatzar," "Widmung," and "Du bist wie eine Blume"; and Strauss' "Zueignung" and "Morgen!" are at the top of my list of favorite songs of all time, and to have them all sung so beautifully on one CD makes this a great CD for me. Plus, these "greatest hits" are also songs that ideally suit Quasthoff's artistry--so what's wrong with a CD that shows a singer's mastery in this repertoire?

Thomas Quasthoff has set the highest standards for himself in lieder singing, challenging the dominance, on records, of Schwarzkopf and Fischer-Dieskau. Here he seems to soar even above those exalted artists, because of his thrilling range, total commitment, deep insisght, and complete lack of artifical "personality." The arc of his mastery has risen from his fine RCA years to reach this peak, and now he has no one to surpass but himself. It's a humbling experience to hear an artist of this greatness...perhaps the last living exemplar of a great German singing tradition.

special mention must be made to his pianist, Justus Zeyen, who stands with Malcolm Martineau as the best accompanist on the current scene. How doubling satisfying that they have formed such a great partnership.