About this Artist

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Editorial Reviews

This disc gathers several works that had been central to Flagstad's repertoire -- orchestral songs by Grieg, and Wagner's "Wesendonk Lieder" and "Liebestod" -- in performances very late in her career. The recording of the Grieg songs, in fact, comes from her farewell concert at Royal Albert Hall, London, in 1957, when she was 62. Her voice had lost only a little of the limpidity of youth. It remains absolutely true in intonation, pure and unforced throughout, and her power is undiminished.

The real revelation of the recording is the set of Grieg songs. This music of her countryman elicits an effortless outpouring of passion and expressiveness that make these performances the highlight of the album. Flagstad is particularly radiant in "Våren (Last Spring)," the first song on the album. Her performances of the Wagner, recorded in 1953, are somewhat less successful. Here her voice lacks the flexibility and easy legato that make the Grieg so spectacular. The authority of her singing more than compensates for the awareness that this is a mature woman singing of youthful passion.

The playing of the BBC Symphony under Malcolm Sargent is fully convincing in the Grieg, but occasionally ragged in the Wagner. The inability of the brass to agree on attacks ruins the end of the "Liebestod." The sound quality is variable. The recordings were made before live audiences, so there are the obligatory coughs and rustlings to ignore. The sound in the Grieg, though, is lively, and allows Flagstad's voice to be heard to better advantage than in the Wagner. The program booklet apologizes for flaws in the taping of the "Wesendonk Lieder" that cause occasional instability in pitch. Stephen Eddins, All Music Guide

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