Richard Strauss
Lieder
Vocal
Booklet with liner notes in English, German and Finnish and the song texts in the original German and in English
CD
Released:
October 2011 (Finland)
November 2011 (Germany)
January 2012 (internationally)
Catalogue No.:
ODE 1187-2
EAN/UPC Code:
0761195118726
Soile Isokoski offers a rare treat in terms of vocalism. Seldom today does one hear a singer offering such pure tone and stylistic poise, articulating the text with unaffected clarity and blooming in the silvery top register that Strauss exploits so lovingly.
Rupert Christiansen, The Daily Telegraph, 11.2.2012
Ihr Einfühlungsvermögen, ihre Ausdruckswärme, ihr feines Empfinden für Lyrik, dazu ihre reiche Musikalität - all das stellt sie auf eine hohe künstlerische Stufe. Ihr Solokonzert mit Liedern von Richard Strauss ist ein echter Schatz, ja geradezu ein Votum für die Kunstform Lied. Soile Isokoski kann ihre Stimme strahlen und blühen lassen (vor allem in der Höhe), sie vermag die berühmten „Bögen" der Strauss-Melodien wunderbar nachzuformen, sie ist in Musik und Dichtung ganz „drinnen" - und das kann man nur von ganz wenigen Sängern sagen.
Clemens Höslinger, Klassik Heute, 8.2.2012
This CD features Finnish star soprano Soile Isokoski and her longstanding duo partner, pianist Marita Viitasalo, with a selection of Lieder by Richard Strauss. Included are such popular songs as Zueignung, Cäcilie, Morgen!, and Allerseelen. Along with the cycle of 3 Ophelia-Lieder and Strauss's final complete composition, Malven, this collection spans 65 years of Strauss' writing.
The music of Richard Strauss has been a cornerstone of the singing career of Soile Isokoski: "His music just sits so well in my voice, in terms of both its range and its lyrical quality." Her earlier CD release of Strauss Orchestral Songs and Vier letzte Lieder (ODE 982-2) became a major commercial success and earned her a Gramophone Award.
Soile Isokoski is hailed as one of the finest singers in the world ("Isokoski's lyric soprano is like liquid gold." - David L. Kirk, Fanfare Magazine, March/April 2009) whose recordings have been praised as top-choice and garnered the highest distinctions at the BBC Music Magazine Awards, Gramophone Awards and MIDEM Classical Awards.