Joseph Freiherr Von Eichendorff

This important recording presents all of Hugo Wolf’s settings of the poetry of Eichendorff—26 songs in all, several of which seem never to have been recorded before (a fact which is hard to understand because they are very attractive). One of Wolf’s favourite writers, Joseph, Freiherr von Eichendorff (1788–1857) was the German Romantic poet par excellence and his poems are full of the sounds of nature, the beauty of landscape, religious faith, and much musical imagery, with references to minstrels and other musicians. He was the poet of Schumann’s Op 39 Liederkreis, though perhaps the most well-known Eichendorff setting is Im Abendrot from Strauss’s Four Last Songs.

Two great artists at the peak of their powers, the soprano Dorothea Röschmann and the pianist Dame Mitsuko Uchida perform songs by Schumann (Liederkreis, Op 39 and Frauenliebe und Leben) and Alban Berg (Seven Early Songs).

In recognition of his 40th anniversary with the label, Sony Classical is proud to present Murray Perahia: The First 40 Years. This limited- edition box set includes the artist’s complete recordings for Sony Classical on 68 CDs packaged in mini sleeves featuring the original album cover artwork.