Posts tagged as "elisabeth-soderstrom"

A Chopin Songbook

April 29, 2016

The Swedish-Russian soprano, Elisabeth Söderström, made several landmark recordings for Decca – operas by Janacek, the complete songs of Rachmaninov and Sibelius both of which were recorded with Vladimir Ashkenazy. With Ashkenazy too she recorded songs by Chopin and her lyric/dramatic soprano fully captures the range of these songs, from tenderness to pathos. Ashkenazy is […]

Elisabeth Söderström – The Russian Songbook

April 20, 2016

Elisabeth Söderström was a born storyteller. She told stories not just in music, but also peppered her recitals on stage with tales and anecdotes. It made her a perfect interpreter for the collection of children’s songs by Mussorgsky, Prokofiev and Gretchaninov that she recorded with Vladimir Ashkenazy in 1977–78 and which appear on CD2 of […]

Richard Strauss Heroines

April 19, 2016

It is often said that Richard Strauss had a lifelong love affair with the soprano voice, and it is certainly true that many of his finest operatic roles were written with that voice in mind. In addition, the quality of his writing for sopranos regularly shows their instruments off to maximum advantage. Sopranos have genuine […]

Strauss: Der Rosenkavalier (highlights)

March 22, 2016

It is a pity that one of the most acclaimed recordings of ‘Rosenkavalier’ was only recorded as excerpts but at over an hour and including some of the absolute plums of scenes from the opera, it is rightly regarded as a gem among great recordings of Strauss’ music. Included are the Marchallin’s Act I Monologue, the […]

Beethoven: The Nine Symphonies

March 7, 2016

Monteux’s Beethoven has been described as visionary. Respect for the spirit of the score, directness of expression, exceptionally well-drilled playing and a sense of untainted idealism that lay at the very heart of the composer’s vision – these are the qualities that typify Monteux’s interpretation of Beethoven. Eight of the symphonies were recorded for Decca; […]