by Marcus Stäbler

Her warm mezzo-soprano is sometimes just pure vocal happiness. Elīna Garanča has one of the most beautiful timbres in the classical world. She also exudes this in her concert recordings from Salzburg, embedded in the no less noble sound of the Vienna Philharmonic.

The program, which is only around 40 minutes long, begins with the Wesendonck songs by Richard Wagner. Five songs based on texts by Matilde Wesendonck, a woman with whom the composer may or may not have had an extramarital affair. But that doesn’t matter. The decisive factor is the atmosphere of the songs, between longing, gloom and sultry sensuality. Here Wagner anticipates the mood of his “Tristan” – and this mood captures the recording with a wealth of nuances.

Wagner’s music is a “mystical beast”

Christian Thielemann conducts the Vienna Philharmonic very sensitively, he nests the sound mixes and tempos of the orchestra to the vocal part. Elīna Garanča uses the free space for many piano shades – but in between she also lets her lush radiance shine through.

“She is a beautiful, mystical beast,” says Garanča of Richard Wagner’s music. The singer has tamed this beast impressively.

An album at a luxury level

Garanča dedicates the second part of the album to the Rückert songs by Gustav Mahler. Here, too, the original concert recording with the luxury level of the mezzo-soprano and the orchestra. Christian Thielemann not only enjoys the legendary string sound of the Vienna Philharmonic in all its facets, but also tastes the rich spectrum of the wind instruments. For example with the special sound of the Viennese oboe in the song “Um Mitternacht”.

With Gustav Mahler, the text comes to the fore a little more than with Wagner. And Elīna Garanča’s approach doesn’t always seem as natural as it does with native speakers – even though she speaks German very well. Some vowels take on a slightly unnatural character, which can be a bit of a distraction.

But these are nothing more than small irritations on an album that spans wide arches and beguiles its audience with late romantic colors. You would have loved to indulge in it for a little longer than just 40 minutes.