Beethoven: Lieder und Gesange

"…the wonderful Roderick Williams… animates and energises everything he does. He sings with relish, makes the most of the words… and infectiously communicates a pleasure that it can't always have been easy to feel…" BBC Music Magazine, January 2009 ****

"Two thirds of the numbers on this pair of CDs go to Roderick Williams, whose clean, mellifluous timbre, firm legato and expressive diction are well nigh ideal." Gramophone Magazine, February 2009

This disc is the first of two collections of Beethoven songs with Iain Burnside, with the second, sung by John Mark Ainsley, due to be released in January (which will be advertised with this release). It will be supported by three concerts by Iain Burnside with Roderick Williams; two at King's Place, London (1st and 5th October) and one at Clare College, Cambridge (1st November). Further concerts with John Mark Ainsley are also planned for early next year in time for the second disc. Iain Burnsides' recital discs have always received positive reactions from fans and critics; his most recent, with Mark Padmore and Susan Gritton performing songs by Britten, received 5 star reviews from both The Guardian and BBC Music Magazine.