Liszt: The Complete Songs Volume 2

'Finding a wide palette of colours within her naturally warm mezzo, Kirchschlager is in her element … This recital should open many ears to the richness and variety of Liszt's songs. Recording and presentation are first-class' (Gramophone)

'The more one hears of Liszt's songs, the more one wonders why they have been so rarely performed … Kirchschlager's rich, resonant mezzo finds beauties everywhere on this disc, from heights of drama to intimacies of reflection, and at every turn Drake is with her' (BBC Music Magazine Awards 2013 Vocal WINNER)

'The high expectations roused by Volume 1 of Hyperion's compete Liszt songs … are more than met with this second instalment … The programme is excellently chosen to showcase Liszt's versatility as a master of Romantic song … Kirchschlager's extraordinary dramatic gifts are displayed in the two longest songs here, Jeanne d'Arc au bucher and Die drei Zigeuner … Rich new levels of meaning are revealed … Kirchschlager and Drake deliver performances that set the beauty and inventiveness of each song in high relief … Not to be missed' (International Record Review)

'Hyperion's retrospective of Liszt's complete songs [is] one of the most important recording projects of recent years … Kirchschlager is exquisite and intensely dramatic by turns … Drake is outstanding throughout' (The Guardian)

'This is a fascinating and rewarding recital, which explores Liszt's oeuvre from the 1840s to 1870s … The grainy and distinctive timbre of Kirchschlager's vivid mezzo-soprano is well suited to this highly charged emotional world, and Drake's playing is eloquently impassioned without sinking to fortissimo ham' (The Daily Telegraph)

"The quality of this CD is stunning from every point of view...[Kirchschlager] has the ability to make the hairs on the nape of my neck rise...Drake makes a sensitive accompanist who is perfectly at home with both the exuberant and complex piano parts as well as the more thoughtful."
(MusicWeb)