Search - Franz Joseph Haydn, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Ludwig van Beethoven :: Wolfgang Holzmair sings Beethoven: An die ferne Geliebte (song cycle), Adelaide / songs of Mozart and Haydn

What a sweet voice, fresh and earnest performance.

Sen Peng Eu | Kaohsiung, Taiwan | 08/11/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Holzmair gives us a very sweet and fresh performance here. His interpretation of some famous lieder( for example, Beethovan's An die ferne Geliebte ) gives new insight, and always in a delicate mood .In fact this is the best An die ferne Geliebte I've listened to. While with great Beethovan and fair Mozart, In my opinion the most outstanding part in this cd is Haydn's lieder. These sweet songs are almost forgotten by singers, and very few listeners know THERE WERE Haydn's lieder. Holzmair sings these songs with earnest and true understanding. And I think, If Holzmair could focus on words more, brings out the deep insight and power of every word in lieder, he will and must be a shining star in the lieder-singer world .Cooper's piano is excellent, the acostics balanced as well ."

What a beatiful cd by holzmair

joni chu | jakarta utara, jakarta Indonesia | 06/14/2000

(5 out of 5 stars)

"holzmair with his new cd's make me love him more. his voice are very beatiful. Holzmair's plangent, tenorish, gently vibrating voice just the right combination to all of this songs.The interpretations themselves abound in verbal and musical perceptions yet nothing is ever in the least exaggerated. this will be certainly one of my favorite cd's of the year."

Like it but better out there

Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 08/25/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"I very much enjoy Wolfgang Holzmair and enjoyed his Beethoven and Haydn songs. They are not the last word in this music, however. Recordings of Beethoven's "An die Ferne Geliebte" by Thomas Allen and, especially, Stephen Genz, sweep away the Holzmnair version.



Both the Englishman Allen and the German Genz have bigger voices they use to greater advantage than Holzmair in the raw emotional sections of Beethoven's only song cycle. In addition, the Genz CD contains 18 of Beethoven's German songs and Allen's contains a wonderful concert recorded by British radio that includes songs by Haydn, Beethoven and Wolf.



Allen does not have Holzmair's sensitivity but he more than makes up for it by blowing the top of the building he sings in. His immense vocals are overpowering but still no match for Genz, one of the most brilliant young singers to come around in many years. He matches Allen's vocal power and exceeds Holzmair's sensitivity to the text.



Fans of Holzmair can hear him at his very best in the Schubert song cycle "Schwanengesang" on Philips, if it is still in print. This is a venue that is most well suited to Holzmair's voice, style and delivery and is a cycle where he can excel against all comers. In Beethoven, I'm afraid he is of the second rank."