Brahms Songbook Vol.2

The pianist Malcolm Martineau is the brilliant initiator of this new, unique series on the Linn label. "The Brahms Songbook" has set itself the unprecedented goal of recording Brahms' lieder in their complete opus numbers. In this second installment, Malcolm is assisted by star mezzo-soprano Dame Sarah Connolly and bass-baritone Hanno Müller-Brachmann. Brahms composed and published the works over a period of thirty years. At a time when the middle class was growing, writing lieder was both lucrative and pleasurable and offered various possibilities to explore popular themes such as unrequited love. But in the lieder recorded here, Brahms immerses himself in an elevated emotional world, far removed from the salons and concert halls of the bourgeoisie.