Four-time Grammy winning soprano Renée Fleming presents her first full-length Lieder album for almost two decades, released on Decca Classics. For the recording a Steingraeber Concert Grand Piano E-272 was played by Hartmut Höll.

The new album, Lieder, features songs by Brahms, Schumann, and Mahler, each of whom bring Romantic poetry to life through exquisite word-setting and sublime melody. Fleming is joined by Christian Thielemann and the Munich Philharmonic in a breathtaking performance of Mahler’s Rückert Lieder. For songs of Brahms, including the beloved Brahms’ Lullaby, she is partnered by her long-standing artistic collaborator Hartmut Höll on piano. Fleming and Höll also perform Schumann’s Frauenliebe und-leben, recorded after extensive Europe-wide touring, and described as a “youthful, buoyant, uplifting outpouring of love” (Financial Times). The release date coincides with her London musical theatre debut, performing the role of Margaret Johnson in the Tony-winning musical The Light in the Piazza at Royal Festival Hall.

Leighton Jones from www.theclassicreview.com wrote:

“The choice of piano is a Steingraeber & Söhne. The tone is very different to a more commonly used Steinway, lighter in the bass and more rounded in the treble, making it ideally suited to the textures of Brahms’ and Schumann’s piano writing. That said, the understated character of the instrument when paired with the luxurious sound of Fleming’s voice becomes smothered on occasion. Höll does take the piano to its limit in the bolder passages without forcing the tone, but falls short of matching the sweeping dynamic range set by Fleming. The recording quality of Brahms and Schumann, recorded in the Italian Institute of Culture, Budapest is excellent, with sufficient acoustic to add resonance.”