|
|
| 1 |
I am an unqualified
admirer of Andreas.
-
James
Bowman |
| 2 |
There are more excellent countertenors
before the public today than ever before ... but one of them stands out above all
others, as Caruso among tenors a century ago:
Andreas Scholl.
-
Fanfare
|
| 3 |
I sat entranced; I
find his singing quite magical. He perfectly
captures the pathos in Handel's writing.
-
James
Bowman |
| 4 |
There is probably no living countertenor
whom I would rather hear singing these cantatas [ for
alto,
by J S Bach ] than Andreas Scholl.
-
Gramophone
|
| 5 |
His technical excellence, his musicianship
and the sheer beauty of that voice are virtually
unmatched.
-
The
Independent |
| 6 |
The quality of his voice and the rare
sensibility he seems invariably to show towards
music and text are such as to win over the most
ardent detractors of the art of the male falsetto.
-
Gramophone
|
| 7 |
Scholl's voice is pure and beautiful in
sound, his taste exquisite, his pitch and diction
immaculate. It is inadequate to compare Andreas
Scholl to many other counter-tenors now working,
even the finest of them. Instead, one is put in mind
of legendary past masters.
-
Fanfare
|
| 8 |
His mercurial blend of intelligence,
compassion and a ravishingly beautiful, dauntingly
precise voice...
-
Gramophone
|
| 9 |
He seems to be revealing the music instead
of obscuring it with vocal affectations.
-
Opera
News |
| 10 |
A ravishingly beautiful sound, a strong
technique and commendable attention to poetic texts.
-
Gramophone
|
| 11 |
The subtle inflections, expressive
sensitivities, tonal shading and musicianship ... provide delights that only fall within the
gift of a few great singers in any one generation.
-
Classic
FM |
| 12 |
Unbelievably gorgeous and technically
flawless voice and singing ... casts a spell that remains long after the
music stops. The seamless, consistent tonal quality
from lowest to highest notes is a marvel, and the
sheer warmth and beauty of the sound renders
categorization irrelevant. This simply is an
exceptional and eminently listenable voice.
-
Stereophile
|
| 13 |
Une intuition des notes et des mots sans
pareille.
-
AltaMusica.com
|
| 14 |
Scholl's voice rushes through the
bloodstream, so tender and gravely beautiful that
time seems to stand still.
-
The
Times |
| 15 |
A voice of riveting presence and sensuous
beauty. His intelligence and stylistic acumen are
unfailingly in evidence ... a near-effortless technique.
-
Fanfare
|
| 16 |
One of the world's most important singers.
-
Robin Blaze |
| 17 |
Andreas Scholl has no rival that I can
think of in this [ J
S Bach ] repertoire.
-
Gramophone
|
| 18 |
Andreas Scholl ... a rare talent. He has marvellous skills
of interpretation ... unequalled artistry.
-
Classical
Music
On The Web |
| 19 |
You can hear Scholl's personal delight in
the music as he enjoys every line.
-
Performance
Today |
| 20 |
Undoubtedly the best equipped countertenor
of the day, perhaps any day.
-
Opera
Magazine |
| 21 |
Scholl's voice is aesthetically sensuous
with an essential quality of masculinity.
-
Klue.com.my
|
| 22 |
His singing voice is a thing of
crystalline translucent purity, a surface of
polished silver, as clean as a whistle.
-
BBC
Music
Magazine |
| 23 |
Scholl’s phrasing is unerringly fine,
displaying an innate musical sensitivity. His
diction is crystal clear and his communication of
the music arrestingly direct.
-
Audiostreet
|
| 24 |
The finest counter-tenor of our time.
-
The
Yorkshire Post |
| 25 |
Scholl possesses what is almost certainly
the most naturally beautiful and fluently produced
voice of any male alto today.
-
Fanfare
|
| 26 |
Scholl is pre-eminent among today’s
countertenors for the fine quality, roundness and
power of his voice as well as for the artistry of
its usage. In [ the Ombra
mai
fu CD ] the sheer opulence of tone impresses
afresh, and its firmness make the more dramatic
vibrancy of Daniels seem somewhat loosely focused.
-
Gramophone
|
| 27 |
This is some of the finest heroic singing
I can remember hearing ... quite an exceptional recital in which one
of today's most beautiful and imaginatively used
voices is heard.
-
Gramophone
|
| 28 |
Unwavering, faultless control.
-
Gramophone
|
| 29 |
One of the most seductive countertenor
voices to be heard.
-
Classic
FM Magazine |
| 30 |
Andreas Scholl has one of the most
beautiful countertenor voices around, and sings his
music with great intelligence and expression.
-
Continuo |
| 31 |
A feeling of utter freshness and
spontaneity in the singing: that sense of perfectly
controlled, on-the-spot creation that only the
greatest singers seem able to convey.
-
Music
Shelf |
| 32 |
The almost unearthly purity of Scholl's
line, his remarkable technical ability, and sheer
musicality...
-
Fanfare |
| 33 |
One of the most important new discoveries
of the decade. Counter-tenor Andreas Scholl
has a voice that floats effortlessly throughout his
performances. It is entirely natural and at ease.
-
Leisure
Briton |
| 34 |
Scholl is an immaculate singer. His
counter-tenor voice combines a beautiful tone
quality, and evenness, with musical intelligence and
scrupulous attention to detail.
-
Musicweb
|
| 35 |
Andreas Scholl ... brings both authority
and a beguiling sensuality to [ the role of Solomon
]
-
BBC
Music
magazine |
| 36 |
Andreas Scholl’s countertenor is
formidable in every sense and transmits sturdy,
masculine emotion just as forcefully as the softer
sorts.
-
Gramophone
|
| 37 |
Scholl has the purest, most soulful voice
imaginable.
-
Diakrisis
International |
| 38 |
His voice is fresh, clear, and evenly
produced; his careful musicianship is reflected in
his effective phrasing, exquisite attention to
detail, and admirable diction.
-
The
Journal
of
Singing |
| 39 |
Andreas Scholl is a sensation in Europe,
and one can see why: his pure yet robust sound rings
out with an effortless clarity that gets under your
skin.
-
Schwann
Opus |
| 40 |
He has that ability to float a line
marvellously without ever compromising the clarity
of the text.
-
Gramophone
|
| 41 |
His beautiful voice is flexible and rich
and full of colors not normally associated with his
range.
-
Classical
Pulse! |
| 42 |
Scholl's faultless instrument is matched
by superbly vivid interpretations in both lieder and
cantata.
- The
Inkpot |
| 43 |
His innumerable subtle inflections of tone
and timing are more reminiscent of a good orator
than an opera singer.
-
Matthew
Westphal |
| 44 |
Andreas Scholl's secure, floating tone is
capable of delicacy, fullness, power, and a
remarkable range of color. With his fabulous
control, he is establishing a place at the very
forefront of the field. Mesmerizing.
-
The
Absolute Sound |
| 45 |
The kind of singing that makes the small
hairs bristle on the back of the neck.
-
The
Guardian |
| 46 |
Scholl's voice has a large compass which
takes him to surprising heights. He has amazing
control in the long legato melodies and is
excitingly athletic.
-
The
Sunday
Star & Times |
| 47 |
A wonderfully ample, creamy voice,
beautifully even and controlled, capable of a
poignantly soft top F and firm in profile in the
lower register; the latter elicits an outpouring, a
passionate one, of lovely tone.
-
Gramophone
|
| 48 |
Ravishing beyond belief. Scholl could sing
Ring-a-Ring-a-Rosie for two hours and keep an
audience happy, such are the transcendent
perfection, marble smoothness and simple expressive
eloquence of his voice.
-
The
Sydney Morning Herald |
| 49 |
Superstar countertenor Andreas Scholl
combines unearthly purity with very earthly feeling.
-
The Turn |
| 50 |
His voice is a miracle of purity,
limpidity and control.
-
The
Independent |
| 51 |
Scholl is clearly the most gifted
counter-tenor to have arrived on the scene for a
long time. His capacity to range from near-inaudible
inwardness to vigorous and assertive fury makes one
keen to hear anything in which he might plausibly be
cast.
-
The
Spectator |
| 52 |
Scholl's voice is a thing of wonder -- as
solid as a trumpet but light as a flute, with a
breathtakingly confident high range.
-
Rick Anderson, University of North Carolina
|
| 53 |
One of today’s most beautiful and
imaginatively used voices.
-
Gramophone
|
| 54 |
Scholl's voice is a marvel: secure in
pitch, its sustaining power projects a feeling of
ease that eludes many countertenors, who often sound
merely like men who have mastered falsetto.
-
Classical.net
|
| 55 |
The Heroic Handelian we have all been
waiting for.
-
Gramophone
|
| 56 |
Andreas Scholl's singing of the five [ St
Matthew
Passion ] alto arias for Herreweghe represents a
benchmark in beauty of tone and style.
-
The
Sunday Times |
| 57 |
His masterful control of the voice is
immediately striking and his pure, robust tone and
clear diction make for a wonderfully direct
communication of the texts. Scholl is perfectly at
home in any of the languages in which he is required
to sing, and he engages with varying emotions with
consummate ease.
-
Audiostreet
|
| 58 |
It seemed we were hearing the most
beautiful noise in the world.
-
The
New Statesman
|
| 59 |
Andreas Scholl is one of the most
intelligent and thoroughly musical singers alive.
-
Classicstoday.com
|
| 60 |
Il possède une solide technique,
qui lui permet d'aller à l'essentiel,
l'émotion! On l'a entendu dans le
répertoire baroque allemand, il excelle dans
Bach, et chez Vivaldi c'est toujours la même
perfection.
-
Canoe
Culture |
| 61 |
His Erbarme
dich must be one of the most
heartbreakingly lovely performances of that
profoundly moving aria ever committed to disc, while
Können tränen is nothing less than
a master class in phrasing.
-
Brian
Robins, Fanfare |
| 62 |
Andreas Scholl leads the field in
terms of vocal acuity.
|
| 63 |
[ A
Musicall Banquet ] is one of those rare
recordings beyond any whiff of criticism. It
is, as I said, perfect.
-
Fanfare
|
| 64 |
His phrasing is an object lesson in poise,
in the blend of plasticity and formal observance,
his diction is immaculate, his breath control
complete. Technical assurance, of course, is merely
a means to the musical end, and the range of emotion
Scholl finds within the relatively limited compass
of [A
Musicall Banquet ] is astonishing.
-
Fanfare
|
| 65 |
... the combination of thrilling purity
that cuts a swathe through the air and the potent
emotion that fills the atmosphere in its wake.
-
Kieran
Falconer, BOL |
| 66 |
Every phrase and nuance is managed with
the utmost ease and assurance, as if every detail
has been thought and re-thought until they couldn't
possibly be managed any other way.
-
Jim
Svejda, Music Shelf
|
| 67 |
... Solomon
as sung by one of today's most extraordinary
singers, countertenor Andreas Scholl. His What though I trace
each herb and flower is one of many moments
when message and music fuse into a single
force. Scholl's soaring tone can be dark,
bright, cutting or imploring depending on dramatic
necessity.
-
Classicalcdreview.com
|
| 68 |
Scholl has a pure, gloriously "musical"
voice, coming from his entire body - as far from a
falsetto or head voice as possible... and then
some - with a perfect projection ... fabulous
diction and a legato to die for...
-
Janos
Gereben |
| 69 |
... one of the finest voices of recent times,
an instrument capable of extraordinary technical
precision and tonal riches beyond the scope of other
falsettists ... an unaffected, totally beguiling
performance of Ombra
mai
fu with an artistry known only to the
greatest singers.
-
Andrew Stewart |
| 70 |
...
Scholls Stimme sei nicht von dieser Welt. Mit
ungeheuer langem Atem spinnt er nicht enden wollende
Phrasen, lang gehaltene Töne lässt er an-
und wieder abschwellen, um sogleich neue, endlose
Koloraturketten anzuhängen. Gerade in Vivaldis
Psalmvertonung erlebt man viele Momente, in denen man
als Zuhörer den Atem anhält - und viele
kämpfen mit Tränen. Eine schwache Ahnung der
Gesangskunst des 18. Jahrhunderts kommt auf, wenn
Scholl engelsgleich das Cum dederit aus dem Nisi
Dominus singt.
-
bachakademie.de
|
| 71 |
Brillant ist seine Artikulation, rein die
Tongebung, gefühlvoll die Interpretation.
Scholl spielt mit Phrasen und Tönen, dosiert
die Dynamik. Dunkler und schöner kann
Seelenpein nicht artikuliert werden.
-
Trierischer
Volksfreund |
| 72 |
Andreas Scholl's Es
ist
vollbracht [ is ] the work of a singer at his best, showing
yet again that Scholl is arguably the best Bach
countertenor around.
-
David Vickers, andante |
| 73 |
... grace, passion and clarity. Absolute
integrity of text ... daring intensity and nuance of committed
experience. He can sing lightly enough when needed,
but never without purpose and motivation.
-
John Henken |
| 74 |
... polish ... control ... impeccable English diction and
intelligent artistry.
-
Anne
Midgette, New York Times
|
| 75 |
On ne sait qu’admirer le plus : la douceur
de la voix alliée à la vigueur de
l’interprétation, la virtuosité et la
sûreté sans faille des vocalises, la
suavité des passages
élégiaques, ou tout simplement la
musicalité de l’interprète.
-
Catherine
Scholler, forumopera.com
|
| 76 |
On est totalement envoûté par
l'art du contre-ténor, par ces sons
filés, cette pureté de la ligne de
chant, cette grâce de la déploration.
-
Mathilde
Bouhon, forumopera.com
|
| 77 |
Andreas Scholl does not just sing the
words. He lets the words sing.
-
Anonymous SchollSoc author
|
| 78 |
Scholl cultivates all the classical
virtues: pinpoint intonation, smooth register
alignment, perfect legato phrasing, and a
storyteller's sense of what the words mean. His art
is refined but never precious, and the voice per
se is simply ravishing.
-
Peter G Davis, New
York
magazine |
| 79 |
A David for all to die
for. Scholl's voice can achieve anything he demands
of it. And his imaginative demands are the
highest: be it in David's anger and grief (in
Handel's Saul) or in his lament for
Jonathan, aching within the voice's low register.
-
Hilary
Finch,
The
Times |
| 80 |
... singing of quite
another order from the everyday, in which the phrasing
is so perfect that it is impossible to imagine it being
done otherwise, the tone so liquid and burnished and
redolent of so much immersion in the spirit of the music
(Saul) that you cannot help but become rapt
in contemplation of hearing such utter perfection. Aria
after aria, recitative one after the other, was
presented with the most blazing commitment, and the
audience’s absorption in his characterization was at a
rare level of intensity...
a truly
remarkable voice in a role (David) for which it was made.
-
Melanie
Eskanazi, Musicweb
|
| 81 |
Scholl possesses a creamy, seamless
instrument over which he exercises unyielding
technical control.
-
William V Madison |
| 82 |
It is clear that he knows his way around his
words and notes, and, from his expert blending with
the instrumentalists, that he listens as completely as
he sings.
-
Patrick Giles |
| 83 |
It is not hard to understand the appeal of
his voice ...
its liquid tone and even more amazing
technique: he articulates runs with phenomenal
dexterity, and his breath control takes, well, one's
breath away.
-
The
Times |
| 84 |
Singing in flawless unaccented English,
Scholl cultivates all the classical virtues: pinpoint
intonation, smooth register alignment, perfect legato
phrasing, and a storyteller's sense of what the words
mean. His art is refined but never precious, and the
voice per se is simply ravishing.
-
New
York
Metro |
| 85 |
... the awesome
Andreas Scholl as David (in Saul), the
countertenor catching Symphony Hall's acoustic
perfectly with his clear, ringing timbres and later
the melting loveliness with which he delivered some of
Handel's most ravishing music.
-
Birmingham
Post |
| 86 |
Scholl, his
voice dusky and sensuous, caressed the syllables... stretching and
folding phrases with thrilling ease. He never ceased
to amaze and enthrall.
-
Ted Shen, Chicago |
| 87 |
Widely
acclaimed as the standard with which other
countertenors should be compared, and winner of
numerous prestigious awards, Scholl delivers to
perfection works written for the alto voice.
-
chaosmusic.com
|
| 88 |
He sings
with perfect tenderness, in enchanting contemplation
and absolute intimacy.
-
hifiplus.com
|
| 89 |
It is his
avoidance of the crass mannerisms of singers bent on
wooing a mass audience that succeeds in beaming light
on the radiant purity, flawless technique and
effortless agility of his voice.
-
Canberra
Times |
| 90 |
The melody soars as though on a gentle
breeze, not a wobble in the trajectory, not a
blemish in the tone.
-
Financial
Times |
| 91 |
The countertenor
sound is something of an acquired taste but coming out
of Scholl's mouth it is as natural as Barbara Cook's
voice when she's singing a standard: perfectly
aspirated, sweet and clear, friendly and utterly
familiar. Scholl's voice is gravity-defying;
soft and agile. He shows great control and
consistency across his entire tonal and dynamic
range. His enunciation is first-rate and his
delivery is impressively sensitive to the meaning and
drama of the words he is singing. He even looks
good!
-
Australian
Financial Review |
| 92 |
He took the liberty of extending the sighing
Aure and floating it across the audience from
right to left like a huge, silent, soaring
firebird. Just awesome.
-
Australian
Financial Review |
| 93 |
Scholl's
highly refined artistry balances a richly moving
expressive range with an impeccable control of
ornament and intonation.
-
The
Advertiser
(Australia) |
| 94 |
Scholl sings with
such natural ease that the strangeness of the
countertenor register is soon forgotten. He is
also an intelligent singer, with superb melding of
interpretation and expression. What's more, he is
completely unaffected on stage, never subordinating the
music to his performance.
-
The
Australian |
| 95 |
Andreas
Scholl sings with an ease and beauty that combine to
produce a voice that is truly individual - a miracle
not of hyped marketing of a perhaps underwhelming
talent, but of an astonishing natural vocalism that
has made him the most popular countertenor of his day.
-
The
Age |
| 96 |
Herr Scholl
makes a fabulous sound with a hint of raw baritone at
the bottom, a masculine, metallic edge in the pearly
middle and a sexless, seraphic quality at the ethereal
top.
-
Evening
Standard |
| 96 |
He took
half as many breaths as any other singer and did not
even break sweat. It was perfect singing.
-
Evening
Standard |
| 97 |
Scholl's
tone is one of the wonders of the world - pure, true
and, despite its pitch, entirely masculine. For
a falsettist to fill the cavernous space of (London's
Royal Albert Hall) without amplification is a miracle
in itself.
-
Express
on Sunday |
| 98 |
Da
controtenore Scholl incarna un ideale vocale che
assurge a compendio di perfetta integrazione fra
tecnicismo e calore espressivo, lezione di stile per
innumerevoli cantanti paludati in anacronistiche
dimensioni antimusicali.
-
Mirko
Schipilliti |
| 99-- |
... der weiche,
klare, flexible, leuchtend, derzeit unerreichte Altus
Andreas Scholl...
-
Leipziger
Volkszeitung |
