Andrè Schuen’s debut album for Deutsche Grammophon, a moving interpretation of Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin, received widespread critical acclaim, with Gramophone praising the baritone’s “superb, free-ranging voice, used with taste and invariable sensitivity to the text”. Now Schuen continues his personal journey into the composer’s late, great song cycles with a new recording of Schwanengesang (Swan Song), on which he is joined once more by his longstanding duo partner Daniel Heide, hailed in turn by Gramophone for his “model” accompaniment and “limpid playing”.

Heide’s subtle pianism again complements Schuen’s insightful interpretations as together they project the beauty and pathos, drama and despair of the fourteen Schwanengesang Lieder. Andrè Schuen discovered the collection long before he became a professional singer, and was swept away by its contents. “I remember a recording with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau that I played over and over again,” he says, adding that Schwanengesang is still his “greatest love among the Schubert Lieder. Especially the Heine settings.”