How do you characterize a voice like this? The "official" description is "contralto", but no way is Richard Tucker Award-winner Stephanie Blythe a contralto in any conventional sense. This is a voice so versatile that in her opening "Ombra mai fu" (and in many other places) you'd swear that you were listening to one of today's new breed of countertenors–specifically David Daniels, who coincidentally records for the same label and appears on this program in a duet from Handel's Giulio Cesare. (In fact, their voices are so perfectly matched that when they sing together it's nearly impossible to tell them apart.)
Taiwanese-American pianist Stephanie Shih-yu Cheng has performed at major music centers across the world to critical acclaim, including Weill Recital Hall at Carnegie Hall in New York, Dame Myra Hess Concert Series in Chicago, Opera City Hall of Tokyo, National Gallery of Art in Washington D.C., and National Concert Hall of Taipei. She frequently appears in recitals with pianist Sara Davis Buechner and has collaborated with conductor Leon Fleisher, and has been featured on National Public Radio, WFMT in Chicago, Chicago Loop Cable Channel 25, Radio Video Mediterraneo in Italy, Living & Travel Section of msnbc.com, and Nippon Television in Japan. She can be heard on the Summit label and her solo album Ravel: Masterworks for the Piano is due to be released in spring 2023 on the Centaur label.
For her debut album, Swiss soprano Stephanie Bühlmann went in search of clues: based on personal encounters with works by her compatriots, she discovered musical treasures off the beaten track of the standard vocal repertoire. This is how the idea of an album of unknown songs by Swiss composers was born, most of which were recorded for the first time for the album 'Zauberluft'. Magic, air, love, nature, soul, peace and home are the themes of the songs, set to music in enchanting, airy, touching, stirring and comforting melodies in the late romantic tradition. The life dates of the five composers Richard Flury, Urs Joseph Flury, Paul Miche, Peter Mieg and Daniel Behle, who set texts in German and French, go from 1896 to the present day. Stephanie Bühlmann studied at the conservatories of Zurich and Lucerne. She deepened her studies in 'Lied singing' in the Liedduo class with Hartmut Höll and in collaboration with Daniel Behle. As a sought-after soloist, she can be heard regularly in opera and concert. Together with her lied partner Benjamin Engeli she presents with 'Zauberluft' a series of fascinating first recordings.
Stephanie Kirkham's debut is a collection of nicely appointed folk-pop tunes, her whispery lilt and acoustic strum accompanied nicely by subtle electronic programming. The single "Inappropriate" fortifies that formula, weaving Kirkham's charmingly accented flutter and the layers of backup harmonies around a piano hook break and rambling electric guitar…
Franz Liszt’s art songs form a fascinating repertoire. His lieder served as a vehicle for his own artistic and aesthetic development, but also as inspiration for his contemporaries, who soon followed in his footsteps in composing songs for voice and orchestra.
Princess Stéphanie of Monaco, Countess of Polignac, she has been a singer, swimwear designer and fashion model. She had hits as a singer in 1986 and 1987 with the singles "One Love To Give" (French release: "Flash") and "Irresistible" (French release: "Ouragan"). She is the youngest as 3rd child, daughter of Grace Kelly with Rainier III, Prince of Monaco and the sister of Alberto Di Monaco.