Reimer Robert

The tenor Julian Prégardien joins Alpha for several recording projects that will showcase every facet of his talent, notably lieder and oratorio. His first album on the label is devoted to one of the greatest masterpieces in the history of music, Winterreise, but in a version with orchestra composed by Hans Zender in 1993. He scored the work for orchestral forces very different from the ensembles used in the nineteenth century (including, for example, a soprano saxophone, an accordion, a harmonica, a wind machine, a guitar and a very large percussion section).

With A Romantic Songbook, Thomas Quasthoff attempts to re-create the spirit of a live recital in a studio recording. It certainly looks like a recital program: an assortment of lieder composers, each represented by a handful of favorite songs, with a few unfamiliar numbers thrown in to keep things interesting. There's even an encore – the traditional "Danny Boy." With the exception of Schumann's Belsatzar, the bass-baritone hasn't recorded any of these songs before, and, in fact, this is his first recording to include any songs by Mendelssohn, Carl Loewe, or Richard Strauss. This stylistic variety gives the album a breezy, cheerful disposition that matches Quasthoff's personality.