Love and Longing (2012)

This album of three very different song cycles comes from a live 2012 recording Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozená made with the Berlin Philharmonic, led by Simon Rattle. It's a hugely successful recording by one the most multifaceted, expressive, and distinctive mezzo-sopranos of her time. From the first notes of Dvorák's Biblical Songs, Kozená warm, limpid voice and lyrical phrasing envelop the listener. The Biblical Songs are relatively reserved, understated settings of selections from Psalms that highlight the deeply ... Read More

This album of three very different song cycles comes from a live 2012 recording Czech mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozená made with the Berlin Philharmonic, led by Simon Rattle. It's a hugely successful recording by one the most multifaceted, expressive, and distinctive mezzo-sopranos of her time. From the first notes of Dvorák's Biblical Songs, Kozená warm, limpid voice and lyrical phrasing envelop the listener. The Biblical Songs are relatively reserved, understated settings of selections from Psalms that highlight the deeply personal, passionate interior focus the singer is capable of evoking. The songs may not be overtly showy, but they put Kozená's dark amber tone and the velvety seamlessness of her delivery on full display. Ravel's Shéhérazade and Mahler's Rückert Lieder on the other hand give Kozená the opportunity to cut loose and soar ecstatically over the orchestra. In the Ravel she sings with an appropriately Gallic transparency. She brings a sound to the Mahler that is both solid and refined and... Read Less