Magdalena Kozená – Love Songs (Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu)
The composers Antonín Dvorák, Leos Janácek, and Bohuslav Martinu might not be the names that first spring to mind when love songs are mentioned, yet this fascinating collection gives us a taste of what delights we have been missing. They range from seven Moravian folk songs, collected by Janácek at the turn of the century, to songs written by Martinu in the U.S. in 1942. There’s also early Martinu–including songs he collected in Slovakia in 1920–plus the world-premiere recording o
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Review by for Magdalena Kozená – Love Songs (Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu)
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One can only welcome a disc of little-heard Czech songs sung in the original language (not the more frequently encountered German) by a native speaker. And on DG! All hope is not lost. This is beautiful, often touching music that relies heavily on folk melodies. Czech composers preserve the rhythms of their spoken language in their music; it lends Czech song an immediate, unmistakeable sound that you’ll recognize from the first track. The neglected Dvorak “Love Songs” are elegantly passionate. I also particularly liked the unusual Martinu selections. His are refereshingly direct and brief songs, often structured on a single melodic idea, and they keep your attention. This disc (along with others, particularly a recent Dvorak song disc by Eva Urbanova and some older recordings by Lucia Popp) should awaken any song lover’s interest in the Czech tradition.I have reservations, however, about the singer. Her voice is accomplished enough on its own terms: bright, tight vibrato, forwardly placed, and pretty in a pale sort of way. But’s she’s awfully young (27) and the voice has not matured enough to sustain interest over some 70 minutes of music. It is small in scale and lacks low notes and a strong middle voice, although her upper register is beautiful. Most damagingly, her voice’s colors haven’t developed, resulting in a tonal monotony that is not the music’s fault. Neither has she matured as an interpreter. She sings all forty-two of these songs with more or less the same emotional face: youthful eagerness. The song texts suggest that a more varied set of responses is in order. I also wonder if this voice is best described as a mezzo; she actually sounds uncannily like Lucia Popp. Johnson is excellent, although it’s hard to notice since the piano is distressingly recessed. Perhaps the disc is better heard in twenty-minute sessions than in one long sitting. I would recommend this disc for the repertoire and for a chance to year a nice young voice. But find Urbanova and Popp in this repertoire to hear sounds that bring the full palette of colors this repertoire to vivid life.
Review by for Magdalena Kozená – Love Songs (Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu)
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This is the 2nd album of Magdalena Kozena. Her 1st album is Bach Arias from Archiv, and I have noticed her since this 1st album released. I guessed her 2nd album would be a lieder album, but I never dream of lieder by Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu. However, I found them very interesting. I’ve never heard of these songs because there is few recordings of them. So all of them were new to me. Although each of them are not longer (the longest one is about 4 minutes!), they are beautiful and charming. If you love lieder, I’m sure you’ll love it. And there is also world premiere recording. (“Melodies pour une amie de mon pays”, that is to say, “Melodies for my friend in my homeland” by Martineau)Speaking of Kozena, I just love her voice. It reminds me of the lovely Frederica von Stade’s voice. And it’s hard to believe she was 25 years old when she recorded it. Somebody, wrote a review below, said her voice had not so matured that it’s too early for her to record them. I agree with him in that her voice had not matured. But I suppose it’s lucky for us to hear her voice maturing year by year. So I’m looking foward to hearing her next solo album.There are many mezzo-sopranos in our days: Cecilia Bartoli, Olga Borodina, Susan Graham, Angelika Kirschlager, Anne Sofie von Otter, to name but a few. Now we must keep an eye to: Magdalena Kozena.Well done, Ms. Kozena and Mr. Johnson!
Review by Mr. Matthew J. Williams for Magdalena Kozená – Love Songs (Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu)
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Magdalena Kozena is suddenly known around the world, thanks to this stunning disc of 42 lieder from her Czech homeland. Most of the songs are short – some come in under a minute, the longest 3-4 minutes. Each is a little gem and many have never been recorded before.
Kozena’s voice is sheer delight. She does have resonances in her voice which are reminiscent of her compatriot, Lucia Popp, but is certainly a mezzo – although she has chosen her repertoire well so we hear no strain at the top. Her low resonances are delightful and consistent with her head voice. To compare Kozena’s voice to that of the late diva (Popp), it is more pure, more consistent in tone from top to bottom, and doesn’t have so much of the `squeezey’ quality which Popp used to great effect in evincing the passion of her characters. Kozena can empty her voice of vibrato or let it out rich and full, and uses all her vocal resources to great effect in contrasting the individual songs. She has astoundingly mature lieder-singer’s technique for such a young singer.
This recording rightly won a Gramophone award this year. Kozena deserves all the accolades she receives for this – doubtless all listeners will develop their own favourites from these delightful miniatures.
Review by Grady Harp for Magdalena Kozená – Love Songs (Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu)
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Combing the recorded literature to find CDs that showcase singers who not only own brilliant vocal gifts but who also possess the intelligence to program recordings of lesser known works in a sequence that makes for intelligent recitals, it is becoming more obvious that there are many singers who opt for purity of purpose rather than ‘salesmanship’ of careers in the PR arena. Magdalena Kozená is one of these gifted singers whose intelligence and sensitivity match her physical and vocal beauty.
LOVE SONGS is a tastefully selected panorama of lesser-known songs by Kozená’s fellow countrymen (Czech) Antonín Dvorák, Leos Janácek, and Bohuslav Martinu. And while many of the Dvorák and Janácek songs have been occasionally heard in recitals, the Martinu “Songs for a Friend of My Country”, an exquisitely beautiful work written in 1940, here receives its World Premiere recording. Kozená’s voice is in prime condition for these songs and she is ably accompanied by pianist Graham Johnson. The special flavor of these Slavic emotions and songs has rarely been so well captured.
But over and above the beauty of Kozená’s performance of these neglected masterpieces shines the glow of her sensitive programming. Recordings such as these are rare and should be included in the libraries of those who appreciate the lieder genre. Highly recommended. Grady Harp, May 05
Review by for Magdalena Kozená – Love Songs (Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu)
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This is simply a magnificent recording. I like it better every time I put it on. The voice is fresh, supple, and expressive. I even find myself trying to learn some of the Czech words (from the translation in the booklet) they sound so nice. Both Kozena and the brilliant piano contributions by Graham Johnson are faithfully caught on the recording. There is enough variety and contrast that one doesn’t tire in the least (over the generous 67 minutes of playing time) of hearing these playful, sometimes poignant, songs. One of the best discs, in terms of programming, performance, and sound quality, of the past couple of years.