Asmik Grigorian (soprano), Markus Hinterhäuser (piano); Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France/Mikko Franck
Alpha Classics ALPHA1046 44:15 mins
There are so many fascinating but ultimately self-defeating anomalies about this odd release. The only constant is Mikko Franck’s painstaking but winged guidance of the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France, including an especially singerly and nuanced violin solo in ‘Beim Schlafengehen’.
What a pity that Asmik Grigorian doesn’t blossom for him as often as she does in the piano version (the arrangements are not by Strauss, who conceived these exclusively as songs with orchestra). Words are too often unclear, tone reined in until such moments of tantalising opulence on words like ‘Tausend’ and ‘Frieden’.
How much brighter and more open the voice sounds against Markus Hinterhäuser’s lacy piano part (courtesy of arrangers Max Wolff and John Gribben); but sadly this turns out to be an indulgence. ‘September’ takes nearly two minutes longer than the orchestral track, and loses its line and soaring as a result . (Whose idea – the soprano’s or her pianist’s?)
Grigorian’s justification for the two versions side by side is that ‘they each require different colours’, and that turns out to be the case. But wouldn’t we have been better off with, say, the final scene from Salome as companion? Grigorian was so riveting and luminous in the role in a crazy, unfathomable Salzburg production in 2018; has something been lost since then? The recorded sound, at least, is admirable throughout. I wanted this to succeed, as I did Lise Davidsen’s and Rachel Willis-Sørensen’s recorded forays; but the only relatively recent success story in these demanding songs has been that of Anja Harteros.
