Richard Strauss composed a total of more than two hundred songs, most of them for a high female voice. He was repeatedly inspired by sopranos, and the fact that he married one of these ladies, Pauline de Ahna, is proof of his intimate association with this wonderful art.
Maria Bengtsson’s fine selection from all his compositional periods demonstrates the versatility of Straussian composition, and in Sarah Tysman she has a piano partner whose subtle interpretations far transcend mere accompaniment.
Maria Bengtsson meets these challenges with the natural magnificence of a virtuoso also schooled on Strauss’s theatrical accomplishments. And her teamwork with Sarah Tysman can be experienced in impressive transparency above all in the three-dimensional reproduction of this meticulously produced Super Audio CD.
Here is Maria Bengtsson in a sad scene from Mozart’s Magic Flute:
