Die Schone Mullerin

"Following their exceptional Winterreise and now this equally fine Die schöne Müllerin, tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Paul Lewis may be on their way to cornering the Schubert Lieder franchise for the foreseeable future. Besides being the most lyrically beautiful modern rendition of this oft-recorded cycle, the recording is a model of clear, natural presentation of voice and piano in a very complementary acoustic." (10/10 ClassicsToday)

"It is good to see the excesses of some recent versions avoided - "Der Jäger" is not reduced to a venomous scurry or "Die Liebe Farbe" to a numbing slowness. As in the Winterreise, singer and pianist form a sympathetic union of distinct individuals. Lewis establishes absolute confidence from the start" Gramophone Magazine, September 2010

"Singer and pianist are perfectly matched in temperament and musicality, and every note has been lovingly considered...The reflective melancholy of "Die liebe Farbe" is ravishingly painted" The Telegraph, 4th August 2010 ****

"This recording of Schubert's first great song cycle is full of good things...Paul Lewis...plays the hyperactive accompaniment...with force, clarity, precision and a reasonable amount of variation of colour and volume in the long strophic songs." BBC Music Magazine, October 2010 ***

After their much lauded recording of Winterreise, Mark Padmore and Paul Lewis turn to Schubert's first song-cycle, Die schöne Müllerin, which follows a lovelorn young man on a melancholy journey of false hope. Two great artists at the zenith of their careers.

"Padmore characteristically plundered each poem for every last ounce of emotion from virile ecstasy to blank sorrow. In the final Des Baches Wiegenlied (The Brook's Lullaby), singer and pianist perfectly expressed the music's caressing invitation to sink into the watery sleep of oblivion. It was breathtaking. Schubert couldn't be better served." Evening Standard, 20/5/2008

Recorded September 11th-14th, 2009 at Air Studios, Lyndhurst Hall, London