Soile Isokoski masters another genre
Grady Harp | Los Angeles, CA United States | 11/28/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Finnish soprano Soile Isokoski has graced the concert and opera stage as a superior interpreter of the works of Strauss, Mozart, and Wolf, giving evidence of one of the rare voices that can soar over huge orchestras and maintains a tone of glowing beauty. Here she turns that focus to the songs of Jean Sibelius and the result is a CD collection that should gain her wide, glowing attention.
In collaboration with Leif Segerstam conducting the Helsinki Philharmonic Orchestra Isokoski sings Sibelius' works for voice and orchestra with penultimate ease and beauty of tone and phrasing. Hers is a voice not only of lustrous timbre but one of great interpretative and technical intelligence. The recital includes some Sibelius songs written for voice and piano and here the orchestrations by such composers as Jussi Jalas are a bit thicker and less sensitive than the majority of the songs using Sibelius' own orchestration.
But there is not a weak band on this CD. The songs have a beauty that is suggestive of Richard Strauss and Gustav Mahler without being imitative. Isokoski simply overwhelms with her interpretations. The sound as engineered by Ondine is stunning. This is a recording that should garner prizes when it comes to Grammy Awards. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, November 06"