Search - Hugo [Composer] Wolf, Gerald Moore, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf :: Wolf: Lieder (Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Gerald Moore)

A flood of great art from Schwarzkopf at her best

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 03/10/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Let me say without hesitation that I consider Schwarzkopf an incomparable artist, so this review holds no reservations about her vocal style, which is ultra-detailed, sophisticated, and impeccable. She was at her best in the demanding lieder of Hugo Wolf, which extracted every ounce of her musical intelligence, and these 62 songs, a veritable flood of genius, are almost smothering in their intensity. Wolf (and the listener) is fortunate that Schwarzkopf's silvery soprano allows his fervent, ambiguous expression to be uttered with such beauty.



The dedicated lieder collector will already know that Schwarzkopf made many Wolf recordings, including live recitals from Salzburg, and the material on this double CD comes from scattered sources. The most immediately apapealing are the Goethe songs on CD 1, which date from the early to mid-Sixties. The hardest to listen to are the intense vignettes extracted from her complete Italian Songbook with Fischer-Dieskau--they glitter like diamonds but are piercingly emotional. I am less sure what to say to anyone who doesn't yet know Wolf's lieder, except to assure them that this set constitutes some of the greatest lieder singing ever recorded. A must-listen in any case.



P.S. - After writing this review I learned that the Italian Songbook selections are a different version from the complete set with Fischer-Dieskau.



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Beautiful Music Making!

Rev. Ben Cox | Orlando, Florida | 04/19/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have listened to recordings of Schwarzkopf since I was a child. (I am 59). She was possessed of a beautiful, clear, warm soprano voice that was capable of astounding subtlety of utterance. In opera, her Marschallin was marvelous and unforgettable, but in Lieder- OH, MY! That beautiful shimmery sound wrapped itself around the texts and we understood every word, every emotion, and her dynamic range was amazing. She could reach from soaring Straussian phrases to whispered, almost string like sounds in the pianissimo level. I remember at University, being impressed with Wolf's songs and thinking that Schwarzkopf would be an ideal voice to sing his music and this album is living proof. I am also a professional accompanist, and Gerald Moore was always my role model. His contribution to this partnership (for he is far more than accompanist) is quite simply amazing to me. He could have easily been a concert pianist, but chose to spend his career as quite possibly the greatest accompanist ever. This album is to be savoured and lingered over, with a cup of Viennese coffee, if possible!"

Simply Outstanding - worth every penny!

Max-Factor | Los Angeles, CA USA | 12/03/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Can not agree more with the previous reviews. This was my introduction to Hugo Wolf and I thoroughly enjoyed this material. Schwarzkopf is an incredible talent. Her control and expressive qualities is a jaw dropper. Gerald Moore complements the soloist extremely well - it's a match made in heaven. Certain tracks are recorded from different years but the audio quality is consistently good throughout the entire package. After listening the first disk, I felt very good about my purchase."