Various: Songs By Rachmaninov/Chopin (Wigmore Hall Live Audio CD)

“I want my singing to have drama, to send a message,
sometimes people cry when they hear me-this is what's
important. I want people to love me or hate me because of the
emotion of my singing” Ewa Podles´
* Wigmore Hall Live proudly presents an all-Russian and
Polish recital by the enigmatic Ewa Podles´, widely regarded as
the world’s leading contralto and one of the true great singers
of our time.
* Recorded live at Wigmore Hall on 23 January 2008, this
release marked Ewa Podles´’ return to the Wigmore Hall stage
after an absence of sixteen years.
* With her unique, dramatic voice of staggering range, agility
and amplitude, Ewa Podles´ gives the kind of towering
performance that has come to be expected of an artist who
has acquired cult status and a near-fanatical following within
the operatic world.
* In addition to her rigorous operatic calendar, which notably
includes her highly-publicised return this year to the
Metropolitan Opera Stage after twenty-four years, Podles´ is
one of the most acclaimed recital and concert performers in
the world.
* Accompanying Podles´ is the distinguished Garrick Ohlsson,
whose solo performance of Szymanowski’s Masques “was a
mastery display of sustained and imaginative virtuosity,
matching the singer’s” Opera Now