Listener, Magazine, New Zealand, April 19-25 2008

by Ian Dando

STRAUSS: LIEDER

Jonas Kaufmann (tenor), Helmut Deutsch (piano) Harmonia Mundi HMC 901879

Kaufmann’s voice, “velvety round the edges but steely in the core” (according to the sleeve), is well suited to the soaring vocal lines you get in Strauss’ many rhapsodic expressions of love, as in his popular Zueignung. His tones nestle warmly into those introspective ones such as the soft Befreit, depicting the tenderness of a husband addressing his dying wife. Deutsch’s billowing playing encompasses the rich sonorities of Strauss’ piano writing. Kaufmann shows his versatility in the many moods of these 28 lieder. This is an impressive debut from Germany’s young tenor.