There’s a gleam to Richard Strauss’s music for the soprano voice that’s captured wonderfully here by Kateřina Kněžíková, with Jakub Hrůša appearing as both conductor and, unusually, pianist. Their chronological selection of piano-accompanied songs begins in 1885 with Zueignung and ending with 1933’s Das Bächlein. Highlights on the way include a sparkling Ständchen, a performance of Waldseligkeit full of impossibly long vocal lines, and one of Morgen in which the simple eloquence of Hrůša’s piano playing in the postlude is enough to make time stop.
Then there’s the Four Last Songs, captured in concert, with Hrůša conducting the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra in an interpretation that’s genuinely distinctive. Kněžíková sounds more youthful than many interpreters, her lower notes open and natural where others might aim for velvety introspection. Frühling is indeed springlike, the orchestra surging briskly and light on its feet, Kněžíková radiant above. September is richly woven yet delicate, and Beim Schlafengehen moves irresistibly onwards; even Im Abendrot seems to flow without being dragged back by its emotional weight – the piccolos at the end sound more like birdsong than ever. It’s not the most obviously profound performance of these songs on record, but it’s appealingly hopeful.
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