Krešimir Stražanac & Doriana Tchakarova: Schubert; Allitsen: Schwanengesang
Hänssler Classic

A soloist at the Zurich Opera for seven seasons and the recipient of numerous awards at international competitions, bass-baritone Krešimir Stražanac is regarded as one of Croatia's greatest vocal exports. He's performed with some of the world's most illustrious orchestras, the Royal Concertgebouw, Berlin Philharmonic, and Orchestre des Champs-Elysées among them, and has given lied recitals throughout Europe, Japan, and Brazil. He's appeared on more than twenty albums, with the second of his two solo albums this recently issued recital with Doriana Tchakarova. Much sought after, the Bulgaria-born pianist has accompanied and recorded with many a singer and has likewise seen her efforts recognized with awards. Their reputations are considerably enhanced by Schwanengesang, not just for their performances but for having chosen material by Schubert (1797-1828) and British composer Mary Frances Allitsen (1848–1912) that suits their talents superbly.

The choice of Schubert's Schwanengesang also granted them greater artistic latitude than, say, Die schöne Müllerin as, not being a formal song cycle but rather a collection of fourteen late (and posthumously published) songs, the recitalists were able to customize the song sequence to their liking. Even more critical to the recording's impact, however, is the goal articulated by Stražanac in notes for the release having to do with their approach to the songs. In his words, they wanted to communicate their personal emotional responses as vividly as possible so that the listener might “experience the emotion and atmosphere of each song as directly as Schubert and his singing colleagues did in the bourgeois salons of Vienna at the time.” That statement highlights one of the album's primary strengths, the expressiveness with which every line is delivered by Stražanac. Supported magnificently by Tchakarova, he invests every vocal gesture with meaning, the result performances that are consistently thrilling and enthralling. With the huge emotional range its songs encompass, Schubert's Schwanengesang offers the perfect vehicle for such vocal artistry to emerge.

Consistent with texts that are intimate and exposing, the performances are emotional in the extreme. For Schwanengesang, which comprises settings by the renowned Heinrich Heine and the lesser-known Ludwig Rellstab as well as a setting by Johann Gabriel Seidl (“Die Taubenpost”), the recitalists rejected the standard running-order for one that felt to them right. Stražanac clarifies that they began by identifying songs that would work best to start and finish the work and then filled in the rest. The difference in quality between Rellstab's and Heine's poems is dramatic, with the Croatian musicologist Viktor Žmegaccon, for one, stating that “the works of the lesser poet resemble the paintings of average naive painters, while Heine's verses offer visionary insights into the human soul or ironic reflections upon it.” That being so, the beauty of Schubert's musical scoring helps make the divide less noticeable.

The recitalists' treatment begins with Seidl's “Die Taubenpost,” Stražanac impressing immediately for the care with which every word is enunciated and Tchakarova with him every step of the way. The bass-baritone transitions from delicacy to desperation and agitation with no seeming difficulty whatsoever. In contrast to the buoyancy of the opener, “In der Ferne" (Rellstab) unleashes outpourings of anguish and yearning in the singer's compelling performance. “Am Meer” (Heine) alternates passages that are tremulous, hushed, and almost hymnal with dramatic ones. Stražanac's exquisite command of vocal character and effect is present throughout, and Tchakarova's artistry is no less evident in the way she constantly shapes her performance to the tone of the song. Consider, for instance, how gracefully the two navigate the graceful lyricism of "Das Fischermädchen” (Heine) versus the dignified solemnity of “Ihr Bild” (Heine). The Schubert presentation concludes with a trio of Heine-set songs, "Die Stadt,” "Der Atlas," and "Der Doppelgänger,” each one gripping in its own way. The most famous of the set's songs is, of course, “Ständchen" (Rellstab), which has received many vocal and instrumental presentations. The song's poignant beauty remains solidly in place in the version here, the pianist careful to intone gently behind the singer and Stražanac expressive but not overwrought.

June 2025