Israeli soprano Sharon Rostorf-Zamir has been singing important
opera roles and has appeared in recital. She has also been soloist
with orchestras in Europe, Japan and the US, besides starring
regularly at the Israel Opera House. Hers is a warm, expressive
voice, well controlled with a sparse vibrato and a natural vibrancy.
Her phrasing is immensely musical and she often sings in long
unbroken legato arcs.
I
was captivated from the very beginning by her lively communication
and Liederkreis is certainly one of the best I have ever
heard by a female singer. Waldesgespräch is eagerly characterized
with a sense of nervous impatience and Mondnacht, another
of Schumann’s finest songs, is so sensitive. Schöne Fremde
has the right intensity and Wehmut is simple but affecting.
Frühlingsnacht reflects all the expectancy and wonder
in springtime.
Likewise
Frauenliebe und –Leben is done with deep understanding
and the emotions serious but not sentimentalized. Er, der
Herrlichste von allen is so intense and Du Ring an meinem
Finger mirrors the sudden insight that she won’t be ‘forlorn
in boundless desolation’ and the ring has ‘unlocked [her] eyes
to life’s deep, boundless worth’. This is great Lieder singing
of a kind one can never take for granted – not even from world
stars. The concluding song, dark, filled with pain, really goes
to the listener’s heart and the postlude, pensively played,
brings to the end a very fine reading of the cycle. I won’t
dispose of my old Irmgard Seefried record, nor of course the
penetrating Brigitte Fassbaender, but when I want to hear these
songs again it is quite possible that I will choose Ms Rostorf-Zamir
just as often.
The
fillers, if that is what they are, are in the same league: sensitive
and well considered readings, where I was deeply impressed by
the highly dramatic of the Byron setting Die Tochter Jephtas
and the four Rückert songs are all of them little gems – as
compositions as well as readings.
Jonathan
Zak should be a well known name to many music lovers, being
one of the founders of the renowned Yuval Trio, with whom he
toured worldwide for more than 25 years and recorded extensively.
He is a good and sensitive listener and the rapport between
the two artists is notable.
I
am less enthusiastic about the recording, which seems a bit
woolly, but not to such degree that it will spoil anyone’s pleasure
of hearing this highly recommendable disc. The layout of texts
and translations could have been more docile, with corresponding
lines side by side. As it is there is considerable misfit towards
the end of the programme.
But
this is also marginal criticism and the lasting impression is
of highly accomplished Lieder singing that should appeal to
most lovers of German songs.
Göran
Forsling