Songs: Magdalena Kozena

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
By now, fans of this mezzo probably have realized that she could sing the telephone directory and make it sound both beautiful and meaningful. This CD is made up of music by Respighi, Ravel, Britten, Schulhoff and Shostakovich: in other words, songs in five languages from five countries. Unlike most song recital CDs, variety is also supplied by the accompaniments. The Ravel songs are backed up by flute, cello and piano, while the Schulhoff selections feature violin and piano, the Shostakovich and Britten are for piano alone, and the Respighi includes a string quartet. The whole CD is fascinating, but the lengthy Respighi cantata "Il tramonto" ("The Sunset," to a poem by Shelly) is a sensational centerpiece: just lovely, with hints of Straussian and Wagnerian harmonies. The Ravel songs are by turns gentle, wild/angry and then gentle again, the Shostakovich ones are witty satires, the Schulhoff songs are moody, and the Britten, rarely recorded, is strangely evocative. Kozena and the instrumentalists are ideal. --Robert Levine

Songs: Magdalena Kozena, Music, Magdalena Kozena, Jiri Barta, Benjamin Britten, Maurice Ravel, Ottorino Respighi, Erwin (Ervin) Schulhoff, Dmitry Shostakovich, Paul Edmund-Davies, Malcolm Martineau, Christoph Henschel, Classical, Classical Artists, Classical Vocals, Miscellaneous, Miscellaneous Music, Solo Voice(s) and Small Ensemble, Song Collection for Solo Voice and Piano, Song Cycle for Solo Voice and Piano, Vocal

Songs: Magdalena Kozena
Average customer rating:

diverging views

Kozena?

A Recital par excellence

Thrilling Talent Showcased in Somewhat Erratic Program

An ideal voice

Songs: Magdalena Kozena
Magdalena Kozena , Jiri Barta , Benjamin Britten , Maurice Ravel , Ottorino Respighi , Erwin (Ervin) Schulhoff , Dmitry Shostakovich , Paul Edmund-Davies , Malcolm Martineau , and Christoph Henschel
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

All Works by Britten | Britten, Sir Benjamin | ( B ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
Ravel, Maurice | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
All Works by Respighi | Respighi, Ottorino | ( R ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
All Works by Shostakovich | Shostakovich, Dmitri | ( S ) | Featured Composers, A-Z | Classical | Styles | Music
General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Lamento

Magdalena Kozená - Love Songs (Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu)

Magdalena Kozená - Le belle immagini (Mozart, Gluck, Myslivecek)

French Arias

Cecilia Bartoli ~ Opera Proibita (Handel · Scarlatti · Caldara) / Les Musiciens du Louvre · Minkowski

ASIN: B0001BUC06
Release Date: 2004-07-13

Tracks:

Nahandove
Aoua!
It Is Nice
To A Critic
The Awakening Of Spring
Descendants
Misunderstanding
Kreutzer-Sonate
The Sunset
Across The Lake Sang Violins
Close Your Eyes
Do You Know
A Cradle Song
The Highland Balou
Sephestia's Lullaby
A Charm
The Nurse's Song

Amazon.com

By now, fans of this mezzo probably have realized that she could sing the telephone directory and make it sound both beautiful and meaningful. This CD is made up of music by Respighi, Ravel, Britten, Schulhoff and Shostakovich: in other words, songs in five languages from five countries. Unlike most song recital CDs, variety is also supplied by the accompaniments. The Ravel songs are backed up by flute, cello and piano, while the Schulhoff selections feature violin and piano, the Shostakovich and Britten are for piano alone, and the Respighi includes a string quartet. The whole CD is fascinating, but the lengthy Respighi cantata "Il tramonto" ("The Sunset," to a poem by Shelly) is a sensational centerpiece: just lovely, with hints of Straussian and Wagnerian harmonies. The Ravel songs are by turns gentle, wild/angry and then gentle again, the Shostakovich ones are witty satires, the Schulhoff songs are moody, and the Britten, rarely recorded, is strangely evocative. Kozena and the instrumentalists are ideal. --Robert Levine

Customer Reviews:

diverging views.......2007-03-27

Reviews are all over the map on this one. I got this disc to hear Kozena sing Ravel's Chansons Madecasses and to sample her Shostakovich. The Ravel is approached from a distance. It definitely lacks the atmospheric effluence of Jessye Norman's singing on her very early recording of it. It's a little dry here. The Shostakovich fares excellently with a crisp, taut singing dynamic that remains, to its credit, unafraid of vocal color. Great approach for Shostakovich's devlish songs that are wickedly difficult to possess. Kozena mostly succeeds there. (Also check out the excellent new series of Shostakovich's Complete Songs on Delos. Satires is on vol.IV, sung by Victoria Evtodieva. The complete collection is a revelation!) The Respighi's a fine piece classic in its proportions, and Kozena sings effectively but not completely freely. Britten's Charm of Lullabies gets an intelligent and modern, thoughtful treatment - the kind of treatment that seems Kozena's great virtue. She's bright and gifted, clearly going places and deserving to. For me, her singing seems inclined to substitute an idea about vocalism and a patina of involvement for the real thing - effective, but not always free. Still, it's amply satisfying to come across artists cooly wielding their careers, and their art, with supple intelligence and highly discerning results. Kozena is such an artist, and this is a fine disc of her art.

Kozena?.......2006-01-04

Over the last few years I have greatly enjoyed Kozena's recordings of the baroque repertoire. Even when the accompaniment was less than stellar, take McCreesh in his attack on Bach's Saint Matthew Passion, this great young soprano gave performances that matched or even surpassed the standards in the catalog. As such, I was highly interested in what Kozena would do in the realm of chamber music. I am sorry, but I must be living on another planet than my fellow reviewers.

The fist thing that one strikes is the soprano's poor diction. Give me a break!
Compare e.g. the Ravel to such standards as De Los Angeles or Berganza or Mesple.
This should make it also clear that the whole approach to phrasing and the Teutonic approach to emotional outburst is at complete odds with the vernacular.

The Britten was of similar quality. With the availability of a version recorded with the direct input of the composer, I often had difficulty even recognizing some of the songs. While the Shostakovich was definitely better and the Respighi was enjoyable, these two were insufficient to save this recital in its entirety. Having been steeped in Europe in song recitals by the Likes of Ameling, Ludwig, Fassbaender, Prei and Fischer-Dieskau I am truly amazed by the positive reviews of my fellow reviewers.

While the quality of the accompaniment and recording are excellent, I consider this a courageous yet premature disc.

A Recital par excellence.......2005-05-11

Magdalena Kozená is a formidable artist. Not only is she beautiful of voice and figure, she possesses an intelligence for programming and skill with varied musical styles and languages that places her in a category all her own. By electing to present a repertoire of twentieth century songs as far ranging as these by Ravel, Britten, Resphigi, Shostakovich and Schulhoff
she ably demonstrates that she has the vocal skills and sensitivity to make each of these composers' lesser known works convincing.

Kozená vocal lustre is warm and pliable and she is able to ascend the scale with ease and without the too often heard breaks in register. She also chooses her collaborators well, from piano alone to individual instruments to string quartet ensemble: with each she is at one in interpretation and spirit.

Rarely have Britten's 'Charm of Lullabies' felt so effortless. And with the same ease she finds the right 'French' sound for the Ravel and the biting crispness for the Shostakovich. Yet as fine s are all of the segments of this CD are, the highlight is the relatively unknown Ottorino Resphigi 'Il tramonto' with the glowing realization of 'The Sunset' that Kozená offers.

We are fortunate to be living in an age where the mezzo soprano artists are abundant (Susan Graham, Lorraine Hunt Lieberson, Sarah Connolly, Anne Sophie von Otter, to name but a few). Coupled with the rise in popularity of countertenors we are afforded more opportunities than ever to hear new repertoire for a particular timbre of voice than ever before. Magdalena Kozená is a worthy member of this elite group of artists. Highly recommendeded. Grady Harp, May 05

Thrilling Talent Showcased in Somewhat Erratic Program.......2004-11-05

Mezzo-soprano Magdalena Kozena has a lovely, full voice that runs effortlessly up into the soprano range. Barely in her thirties with a camera-ready face, she is also the subject of a great amount of publicity in the classical world, which is luckily justified thanks to her pure and graceful vocal power. I have yet to see her sing live, but if this recording is any indication, she must be quite theatrically charismatic in performance. Granted there are far more highs than lows, I just wish her selection of material on this recording were as immaculate.

Ambitiously, Kozena paints a musical portrait of the first half of the 20th century by performing song cycles from five disparate composers - Ravel, Shostakovich, Respigi, Schulhoff and Britten - in five different languages. The disc opens unpromisingly with Ravel's "Chansons madecasses", which suffers from an almost too languid quality with a melancholy cello and minor piano chords masking some particularly jarring tones. At certain moments, Schulhoff's "Drei Stimmungsbilder" feels like "Sturm und Drang", but Kozena saves this cycle with her impressive sense of drama and vocal beauty. Shostakovich's "Satires" is an even better showcase at displaying her remarkable dexterity in alternating the embittered tone of Sasha Chorny's verses with an almost playful effervescence. Britten's "A Charm of Lullabies" is so unlike anything else he has written that it is nothing short of a revelation for both composer and singer. His familiar discordant tones are there, especially with the aggressive piano on "Sephestia's Lullaby" and her stern demands for "Quiet!" on "A charm", but so is an intimate sense of atmosphere throughout. Of all the selections, my personal favorite has to be Respighi's lyrical poem "Il tramonto", which really captures her dramatic flair in an especially intimate musical setting propelled by a swooning string quartet. This recording is well worth getting to hear a talent as rich as Kozena's. I only hope her program next time can provide as compelling a match.

An ideal voice.......2004-09-16

The first reviewer's rating does not do justice to Ms.Kozena's latest release. He claims that she's taken on some sort of quest for perfectly articulated singing, which I simply do not believe is the case. The true question is does her practically perfect articulation in any way interfere in our enjoyment of the music? The answer - definitely not! It's a set of wonderful performances from beginning to end. Kozena has the sort of voice on disc (and much credit should be given to the recording engineers for this as well) that one can listen to repeatedly without it grating or wearing on us. My personal favorite is the Resphigi, which DG rightly allowed Gramophone Magazine to have on its sampler disc a few months back.
MK is undoubtably one of DG's premiere artists at the moment, and rightly so. Every label needs its Joshua Bells, Yo Yo Mas and Andrea Bocellis in order to make ends meet and afford to finance the special projects that don't get all the attention. We should be thankful to have in MK an artist who is not only bankable, but creates beautiful work for us to enjoy.

This is one of the best classical vocal recordings of the year!

Magdalena Kozená - Love Songs (Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu)

Average customer rating:

On the Subject of Intelligent and Sensitive Recitals
Lovely
A Beautiful Disc
A stunning burst onto the world stage
Wonderful songs, and a singer with great potential

Magdalena Kozená - Love Songs (Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu)
Antonin Dvorak , Bohuslav Martinu , Leos Janacek , Magdalena Kozená , and Graham Johnson
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
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Songs: Magdalena Kozena
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Bach - Cantatas BWV 199, 179, 113 / Kozená · Towers · Padmore · Loges · Gardiner

ASIN: B00004SDO1
Release Date: 2000-08-08

Tracks:

Love Songs: Oh, Our Love Does Not Bloom
Love Songs: Death Dwells In So Many A Heart
Love Songs: Now I Stumble Past The House
Love Songs: I Know That In Sweet Hope
Love Songs: Gentle Slumber Reigns Over The Countryside
Love Songs: Here In The Forest By A Brook
Love Songs: In The Sweet Power Of Your Eyes
Love Songs: Oh, Dear Matchless Soul
New Miniatures: The Rich Sweetheart
New Miniatures: The Forsaken Lover
New Miniatures: Lounging
New Miniatures: The Inquisitive Girl
New Miniatures: The Cheerful Girl
New Miniatures: The Unhappy Lover
New Miniatures: The Request
New Miniatures: The Tall Tower
Songs For A Friend Of My Country: Ponies On The Fallow Land
Songs For A Friend Of My Country: The Lost Little Slipper
Songs For A Friend Of My Country: A Religious Song
Songs For A Friend Of My Country: An Invitation
Four Songs: You Heartfelt Songs
Four Songs: Oh, That Was A Beautiful, Golden Dream
Four Songs: In Pain, My Heart Often Broods
Four Songs: Silence On The Mountains
Lullaby
Songs For One Page: Dew
Songs For One Page: Unlocking With A Single Word
Songs For One Page: Journey To The Beloved
Songs For One Page: The Footpath
Songs For One Page: At Mother's
Songs For One Page: The Virgin Mary's Dream
Songs For One Page: Rosemary
New Slovak Songs: So Tell Me
New Slovak Songs: I Had A Blouse
Moravian Folk Poetry In Songs: Who Is The Posy For?
Moravian Folk Poetry In Songs: A Lover's Picture
Moravian Folk Poetry In Songs: Little Posy
Moravian Folk Poetry In Songs: Constancy
Moravian Folk Poetry In Songs: Love
Moravian Folk Poetry In Songs: Parting
Moravian Folk Poetry In Songs: My Lover's Horses
Good Night, My Darling

Amazon.com

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 of Songs for a Friend of My Country, a cycle he wrote in France in 1940 on his way to America. All of these songs are of interest in giving us another aspect of each composer's work; most have much more to offer. Many are achingly lovely, especially those by Dvorák--including his Op. 2, a reworking of four songs from a cycle he had written almost 20 years earlier, and Love Songs, a revision of eight songs from the same cycle. "Good night, my darling," from his 1886 cycle In Folk Tone, is worth the price of this CD alone. Czech mezzo Magdalena Kozená, who put together the program, sings with pure, attractive tone. Graham Johnson is her excellent accompanist. --Richard Fawkes

Customer Reviews:

On the Subject of Intelligent and Sensitive Recitals.......2005-05-19

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

Lovely.......2004-03-25

This is a beautifully performed selection of Czech lieder. Kozena has a lovely voice and sings with precision and nicely modulated emotion. The accompanying pianist, Graham Johnston, is excellent. Despite the title, not all these songs are love or romantic songs but all are well worth hearing. The selection of songs is excellent. Different listeners will prefer different songs. For me, the highlight of this recording are the rarely heard Martinu songs, many of which exhibit the lyrical aspect of his compositional style. Recommended strongly.

A Beautiful Disc.......2002-01-06

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.

A stunning burst onto the world stage.......2001-12-17

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.

Wonderful songs, and a singer with great potential.......2000-10-08

What a wonderful, carefully thought out CD! Kozena obviously revels in these rarely performed songs by Dvorak, Martinu, and Janacek, and Johnson accompanies with his usual ease and sensitivity. What a pity the piano is balanced distantly -- we hear little of Johnson's variety of touch and dynamics. As for Kozena, she is obviously an intelligent musician with a voice of great potential. It is qutie beautiful as it is, yet the colour is still rather pale. Yes, there is something of the late Lucia Popp's timbre, yet it has little of Popp's depth and range of colour. BBC Legends released a CD of Popp a year ago which includes three Dvorak songs also sung by Kozena. The differences are quite marked -- while Kozena's timbre and interpretation suggests a dreamy yet earnest youth, Popp brings out an autumnal glow and a sharp pain that pierces at least this listener's heart. Kozena has started a wonderful career. Only time will tell how her voice will develop. I do hope it goes in the direction of Popp's unique lyric timbre. No one could ever equal Popp (perhaps it's obvious by now that Popp is my favorite singer of all time), but perhaps Kozena will become something of Popp's heir, while still being her own person. I hope so. But her musicality is not in question. Let's keep our ears open!

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Novak: Quintet in Am; Songs Op30

Manufacturer: Asv Living Era
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Quintets | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Folk | Styles | Music

Tracks:

Pno Qnt in a, Op.12: Allegro Molto Moderato - Radoslav Kvapil/Kocian Qt
Pno Qnt in a, Op.12: Andante - Radoslav Kvapil/Kocian Qt
Pno Qnt in a, Op.12: Allegro Risoluto - Radoslav Kvapil/Kocian Qt
Slovak Songs: Don't Give Yourself Away
Slovak Songs: A Falcon Flew By
Slovak Songs: No Longer Shall I Be A Maiden
Slovak Songs: Tynom, Tanom
Slovak Songs: Valley, My Valley
Slovak Songs: Mariska's Walking Along The Bank
Slovak Songs: When The Hour Of Midnight Has Already Struck
Slovak Songs: Hazel Tree, Hazel Tree
Slovak Songs: Mariska, Mariska
Slovak Songs: Light The Lamp My Love
Slovak Songs: Oh, You Oak Trees
Slovak Songs: A Fly Sat On A Cornflower
Slovak Songs: On She Danced, But Had Forgotten
Songs Of A Winter Night For Pno Solo, Op.30: Song Of A Moonlit Night-Andante Amoroso - Radoslav Kvapil
Songs Of A Winter Night For Pno Solo, Op.30: Song Of A Stormy Night-Allegro Tempestuoso - Radoslav Kvapil
Songs Of A Winter Night For Pno Solo, Op.30: Song Of A Christmas Night-Andante Misterioso - Radoslav Kvapil
Songs Of A Winter Night For Pno Solo, Op.30: Song Of A Carnival Night-Allegro Burlesco-Rubato - Radoslav Kvapil

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