Four Last Songs | Le Corum, Montpellier | April 2013
“Anne Schwanewilms – imperial in her crimson robe – captivated the auditorium. An entranced silence followed the last notes before the unfurling of a wave of bravos….her singing, natural, has the power to embrace your heart. The smallest word finds its depth and she gives to her rich and nuanced tones a litheness which you might call metaphysical so much does she seem to follow the long unfolding of a thought. She conjures up the sparkling of Spring, the nostalgia of September…night is a mystery. It precedes the glow of the final ‘Im Abendrot’ and a bewitching dialogue between the soprano and the violinist. Life stops at the threshold of death – “Might this be death already? – in this sublime expression of completeness.”
Midi Libre, April 29, 2013
“Anne Schwanewilms, a specialist in the works of ~Strauss, gave her vision of the cycle. Whilst the first two formidable songs are well sung…the last two… show her at her zenith, touching and knowing how to distill the words with accuracy and without affectation.” A beautiful artist.”
Midi Libre, April 30, 2013