The lustrous voice of Finnish soprano Soile Isokoski graces the work of Richard Strauss on this album of his lieder. Isokoski is accompanied by Marita Viitasalo, her longtime accompanist who is a fine match. Isokoski's voice is full yet clean and cool; there is a crispness to her resonance. Her diction is always clear, as is exemplified in "Gute Morgen"; German is a natural match for her (though she does not pronounce her ending Es as a schwa, as is more commonly done). "Allerseelen" begins with a tender piano introduction, ...
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The lustrous voice of Finnish soprano Soile Isokoski graces the work of Richard Strauss on this album of his lieder. Isokoski is accompanied by Marita Viitasalo, her longtime accompanist who is a fine match. Isokoski's voice is full yet clean and cool; there is a crispness to her resonance. Her diction is always clear, as is exemplified in "Gute Morgen"; German is a natural match for her (though she does not pronounce her ending Es as a schwa, as is more commonly done). "Allerseelen" begins with a tender piano introduction, and one senses the directness of the soprano's intentions. This piece, as well as others like "Ständchen," reveals a need for more legato, for her delivery is slightly clipped. It is the vocal equivalent of hearing the piano play without the echo pedal. However, this could be the result of the recording quality, which does not have a lot of reverb. "Die Nacht" demonstrates Isokoski's connection to the text and emotions and shows off the subtlety of her phrasing. The same could be...
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