Brahms, Liszt: Lieder

This is an extraordinary record; the emotional impact, both of the music and the performance, is almost overwhelming. Thomas Quasthoff's voice is uniquely, incomparably beautiful, unfailingly pure, dark and warm as velvet. His breath is endless, while his range of dynamics, color, and inflection seems infinite. Quasthoff's diction is clear, and he melds words and music to reach into the heart of every song, drawing the listener into the changing moods with riveting intensity, but also with the utmost simplicity and immediacy of expression. The 19 Brahms songs are grouped by opus numbers. Most are relatively unfamiliar and, with a few exceptions, somber and gloomy; Quasthoff brings out their melancholy, tenderness, yearning, despair, remorse, and turbulence, creating shades of darkness with vocal and musical subtlety. Liszt's Three Petrarca Sonnets are miniature Italian operas, with dramatic recitatives and meltingly lyrical, romantic arias. The piano introductions and interludes are true Lisztian virtuoso pieces. They are sung and played by pianist Justus Zeyen to the hilt but without histrionics. Then comes the surprise: a lovely ballad on the famous poem "The Lorelei," and a touching love song that later became the famous "Liebestraum." The program ends with another beautiful, serene love song. --Edith Eisler