Richard Strauss composed a career total of more than two hundred songs, most of them for a high female voice. The master repeatedly was inspired by sopranos, and the fact that he married one of these ladies, Pauline de Ahna, is proof of his intimate association with this wonderful art.

Maria Bengtsson’s fine selection from all his compositional periods demonstrates the versatility of Straussian composition, and in Sarah Tysman she has a piano partner whose subtle interpretations far transcend mere accompaniment. Maria Bengtsson meets these challenges with the natural magnificence of a virtuoso also schooled on Strauss’s theatrical oeuvre. And her teamwork with Sarah Tysman can be experienced in impressive transparency above all in the three-dimensional reproduction of this meticulously produced Super Audio CD.

Maria Bengtsson has appeared on other MDG recordings to great critical acclaim: W.A. Mozart: Arias (MDG9401973) with the Orchestra de Chambre de Lausanne and Bertrand de Billy.