Alexander Zemlinsky (1871-1942) is often overlooked for what he most certainly was: one of the foremost lieder composers of the romantic and post-romantic age. The music follows the times, from deeply etched romantic leanings in the style of Brahms (with small hints of Schumann) to the composer’s later fascination with Wagner and Mahler (especially Mahler’s wife-to-be, Alma Schindler, who tortured Zemlinsky for two years until dumping him for the 20-year older composer). He was friend and teacher of Schoenberg (yet took the final solution of atonality with a grain of large salt, and only late in life), and few men have had the opportunity to proceed through so many artistic upheavals in their lives.
He wrote over 100 songs, and was a master of melody and the textual association of music with words. One cannot imagine a note changed when listening to his songs, and he never went on any longer than was necessary to properly uphold the words. The music is a delight no matter what period we are listening to, and lieder-lovers ignore this man at their peril. There are very few releases devoted solely to his songs, so anything new is to be welcomed, especially when sung as luxuriantly and devotedly as this one by Hermine Haselbock (and this recording won two prizes in 2004).
It overlaps only slightly with the 1989 essential two-disc DGG set that features the singing of Barbara Bonney and Anne Sophie von Otter (ops. 6 and 13), yet the timing is relatively short and what is left are some posthumous pieces. And I must say that, despite the radiantly clear sound that Bridge supplies, Haselbock is not yet on the interpretative level of either of the two mentioned sopranos above. Nevertheless, on its own merits this is a spirited and lovely release that will serve as a supplement to the DGG and provide much pleasure on its own.
— Steven Ritter