Schwanengesang

"Tempos are generally slow and the emotional atmosphere introspective, imbuing even something as superficially cheerful as Ständchen with melancholy. Occasionally, as in Der Atlas, one longs for more power and colour than Padmore's light bright tenor can authentically provide, but this is a performance of undeniable musical integrity." The Telegraph, 2nd September 2011 ****

"Padmore's very English tenor voice, so clean in articulation, so carefully coloured, penetrates these songs of love's despair with memorable clarity. Subtlety, too...More than before, singer and pianist seem joined at the hip in thought and deed...Lewis spins his own poetry, whispering with the breezes, trotting his hoofs, whatever words and music indicate." The Times, 22nd September 2011 ****

"This is a wonderful recording, two supreme Schubertians working in perfect harmony. Odd as it might sound, I think that this disc is valuable above all for Paul Lewis's stupendous playing. Not only has he the technique - no mean feat, with some of Schubert's accompaniments - but he is also, with Mitsuko Uchida, one of the greatest Schubertians of our time. He has clearly immersed himself in these songs to an impressive degree" BBC Music Magazine, November 2011 ****

"Padmore's silvery, keen-edged tenor, grace of phrase and sensitivity to mood and verbal nuance are ideal [in Liebesbotschaft]; and how affectionately Lewis's left hand sings in gentle colloquy with the voice...In its fine balance of subtlety and devastating emotional directness, this is certainly a Schwanengesang in the Schreier-Schiff class, its attractions enhanced by the "bonus" items." Gramophone Magazine, Awards Issue 2011

Tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Paul Lewis conclude their acclaimed Schubert triptych with this revelatory account of Schwanengesang, the third and last of the great Schubert cycles, collected and published after the composer's death.

Auf dem Strom for tenor, horn & piano, and the gently hopeful song Die Sterne complete the programme.