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Soprano Asmik Grigorian has been a star of London operatic stages in the 2020s, and listeners hungry for recordings from her propelled this release onto classical best-seller charts in early 2024. The singer's reputation for originality is upheld here; the piano versions of Strauss' Four Last Songs by Max Wolff and John Gribben (on Im Abendrot) have been performed from time to time, but putting them together with the original orchestral versions seems to be new. The graphics on Grigorian's release are wacky, festooned with nonsense equations and a picture of the singer with sunglasses hanging from her mouth. This seems uniquely unsuited to the material here. The attitude continues with her justification that "'one is never enough for me," but she also points out that the versions require quite different interpretations, and in this, she is correct. Grigorian fills in the additional space offered by the sparser piano accompaniment, resulting in slower performances that have a melancholic feel. All four songs are slower in their piano versions, and accompanist Markus Hinterhäuser gives Grigorian room to work. Sample the two versions of September, with the piano version nearly two minutes slower than the orchestral and Im Abendrot almost as divergent. Grigorian's interpretations of the orchestral versions are unobjectionable but less distinctive on the whole; the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Mikko Franck offers rich support. The piano versions were recorded at the Herkulessaal in Munich, which might have worked better for the orchestral versions; intimacy is lost. None of the issues here, however, are likely to dissuade fans of this singer, who is looking like a real original.
© James Manheim /TiVo
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Four Last Songs, TrV 296 (Richard Strauss)
Richard Strauss, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hermann Hesse, Lyricist - Mikko Franck, Conductor, MainArtist - Asmik Grigorian, Soloist, MainArtist - Franck Jaffres, MasteringEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator, ExecutiveProducer - Louise Burel, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Radio France & Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Richard Strauss, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hermann Hesse, Lyricist - Mikko Franck, Conductor, MainArtist - Asmik Grigorian, Soloist, MainArtist - Franck Jaffres, MasteringEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator, ExecutiveProducer - Louise Burel, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Radio France & Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Richard Strauss, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestra, MainArtist - Hermann Hesse, Lyricist - Mikko Franck, Conductor, MainArtist - Asmik Grigorian, Soloist, MainArtist - Franck Jaffres, MasteringEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator, ExecutiveProducer - Louise Burel, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Radio France & Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Richard Strauss, Composer - Joseph Von Eichendorff, Lyricist - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, Orchestra, MainArtist - Mikko Franck, Conductor, MainArtist - Asmik Grigorian, Soloist, MainArtist - Franck Jaffres, MasteringEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator, ExecutiveProducer - Louise Burel, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Radio France & Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Four Last Songs, TrV 296 (Arr. for Piano and Soprano by Max Wolff) (Richard Strauss)
Richard Strauss, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Hermann Hesse, Lyricist - Markus Hinterhäuser, MainArtist - Max Wolff, Arranger - Asmik Grigorian, Soloist, MainArtist - Franck Jaffres, MasteringEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator, ExecutiveProducer - Louise Burel, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Radio France & Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Richard Strauss, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Hermann Hesse, Lyricist - Markus Hinterhäuser, MainArtist - Max Wolff, Arranger - Asmik Grigorian, Soloist, MainArtist - Franck Jaffres, MasteringEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator, ExecutiveProducer - Louise Burel, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Radio France & Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Richard Strauss, Composer - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Hermann Hesse, Lyricist - Markus Hinterhäuser, MainArtist - Max Wolff, Arranger - Asmik Grigorian, Soloist, MainArtist - Franck Jaffres, MasteringEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator, ExecutiveProducer - Louise Burel, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Radio France & Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Richard Strauss, Composer - Joseph Von Eichendorff, Lyricist - Copyright Control, MusicPublisher - Markus Hinterhäuser, MainArtist - Max Wolff, Arranger - Asmik Grigorian, Soloist, MainArtist - Franck Jaffres, MasteringEngineer, SoundEngineer, SoundEditor - Didier Martin, AAndRAdministrator, ExecutiveProducer - Louise Burel, AssistantProducer
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Radio France & Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
Album review
Soprano Asmik Grigorian has been a star of London operatic stages in the 2020s, and listeners hungry for recordings from her propelled this release onto classical best-seller charts in early 2024. The singer's reputation for originality is upheld here; the piano versions of Strauss' Four Last Songs by Max Wolff and John Gribben (on Im Abendrot) have been performed from time to time, but putting them together with the original orchestral versions seems to be new. The graphics on Grigorian's release are wacky, festooned with nonsense equations and a picture of the singer with sunglasses hanging from her mouth. This seems uniquely unsuited to the material here. The attitude continues with her justification that "'one is never enough for me," but she also points out that the versions require quite different interpretations, and in this, she is correct. Grigorian fills in the additional space offered by the sparser piano accompaniment, resulting in slower performances that have a melancholic feel. All four songs are slower in their piano versions, and accompanist Markus Hinterhäuser gives Grigorian room to work. Sample the two versions of September, with the piano version nearly two minutes slower than the orchestral and Im Abendrot almost as divergent. Grigorian's interpretations of the orchestral versions are unobjectionable but less distinctive on the whole; the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Mikko Franck offers rich support. The piano versions were recorded at the Herkulessaal in Munich, which might have worked better for the orchestral versions; intimacy is lost. None of the issues here, however, are likely to dissuade fans of this singer, who is looking like a real original.
© James Manheim /TiVo
About the album
- 1 disc(s) - 8 track(s)
- Total length: 00:44:08
- 1 Digital booklet
- Main artists: Asmik Grigorian
- Composer: Richard Strauss
- Label: Alpha Classics
- Genre: Classical
2023 Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France 2023 Radio France & Alpha Classics / Outhere Music France
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