Franz Schubert:
Die Gotter Griechenlands, D. 677
Iphigenia, D. 573 (Op. 98/3)
Andie Leier, D. 737 (Op. 56/2)
Ellens Gesang I 'Raste, Krieger! Krieg ist aus', D. 837
Fischerweise, D. 881 (Op. 96/4)
Der Fluss, D. 693
Im Abendrot, D. 799
Die Winterreise, D. 911 (Op. 89/5), Der Lindenbaum
Das Lied im Grunen, D. 917 (Op. 115/1)
Die Forelle, D. 550 (Op. 32)

Robert Schumann:
Myrthen, Op. 25 - No. 9, Lied der Suleika
Lieder-Album fur die Jugend, Op. 79 - No. 26, Schneeglockchen
Myrthen, Op. 25 - No. 7, Die Lotosblume
Sechs Gedichte und Requiem, Op. 90 - No. 2, Meine Rose
Myrthen, Op. 25 - No. 3, Der Nussbaum

Richard Strauss:
Vier Lieder, Op.36 - No. 1, Das Rosenband (The Rose Garland)
Acht Gedichte aus Letzte Blatter, Op. 10 - No. 8, Allerseelen
Vier Lieder, Op. 27 - No. 4, Morgen!
Drei Lieder, Op. 29 - No. 3, Nachtgang
Funf Lieder, Op. 39 - No. 4, Befreit

Brigitte Fassbaender said: ‘Gundula Janowitz possesses one of those voices where you have only to hear a couple of notes and you immediately know who it is. Her elegant timbre and unmistakably instrumental way of forming the phrases is unique.’ Few singers have voices that approach the purity of Janowitz’s: with its very fast vibrato and ‘white’ production, the focused sound can soar, swoop and dip with astonishing ease and control, the vocal line becoming almost liquefied into a seemingly endless melisma.

Janowitz’s recorded catalogue, tends to misrepresent the focus of her career because it downplays her work as a recitalist. Of course, she did tape all of Schubert’s songs for high voice but apart from a couple of late song recitals and a disc of Hindemith’s Das Marienleben, that is all we have to remember her by as a performer of song. So this album will be a welcome addition to her discography.

For her Athens recital, Janowitz chose two composers absolutely at the centre of her song repertoire, Franz Schubert and Richard Strauss, with a third, Robert Schumann, forming a bridge between the two.

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Recorded at the Heroes Atticus Odeon, Athens, Greece, 16 September 1999. First release