Editorial Reviews

One rarely has reservations about Graham Johnson's choice of singers in his Schubert editions. More often than not, the most that can be said is that his choices may not always agree with listeners' own preferences. His choice of mezzo soprano Marjana Lipovsek may seem to some to be one of those matters of taste. For some listeners, her perhaps too-matronly voice does not fit the passionate-past-the-point-of-madness Novalis songs. One might more recklessness and less restraint than Lipovsek brings to the crazed love of Novalis' "Hymne (D. 659)" and the luminous lunacy of his "Nachthymne (D. 687)." However, one never has any reservations about Johnson's accompaniments. Like the dresser for the stars before they take the stage, Johnson's playing is supportive, sympathetic, and carefully fitted to the star and the role. And of course, one never has any reservations about Johnson's program notes. Although their length more than doubled over the course of his edition, Johnson's notes were always, educated, enthusiastic, and vastly entertaining. James Leonard, All Music Guide

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