‘Schwanewilms gives fully authoritative performances of these demanding songs, which showcases her seamless, organically flowing sound and most excellent diction … this disc is worth hearing repeatedly in order to savor these sophisticated, ravishing pieces many if which are rarely heard. Schwanewilms and Vignoles explore this repertoire with an uncommonly unified conception’ (Opera News)

‘Schwanewilms never makes an ugly sound. Her cool 'young heroic' voice takes on particular purity and sheen at soft dynamics, yet shines with bright metal at full volume. She and Vignoles excel in dreamy moods … this thoughtful issue blends such beloved fare with virtually unknown songs’ (Time Out New York, USA)

‘The lyric soprano voice of Anne Schwanewilms proves as well suited to Strauss's songs as it has to his more elegant operatic heroines’ (Financial Times)

‘This remarkable German soprano takes us on some giddy flights with superb breath control and a quite amazing concentration of vocal energy. But she never loses sight of the text. Even when the musical notes are long and sustained, as in Strauss’s setting of Richard Dehmal’s poem Waldseligkeit, you can hear every word. This is the second disc in a series from Hyperion that will eventually include all of Strauss’s songs, over two hundred of them. The first, with the American soprano Christine Brewer, has already been well received. But this one’s even better, an absolute must for admirers of Strauss and German lieder alike. The collection starts with Die Nacht, composed in 1885 when Strauss was 21. One of music history’s best kept secrets is that Strauss wrote as many lieder as he did, many of them little masterpieces rarely heard in the concert hall, if at all. In this respect he’s similar to Liszt, whose many wonderful songs are also neglected. But at least singers have always been more than eager to perform Strauss, particularly his operas, which makes it all the more remarkable that his songs have been ignored as much as they have been, except of course for a very few that appear in recitals with monotonous regularity. Are they really all that good? Yes they are … Hyperion I gather is planning six more CDs of Strauss songs. I can’t wait’ (BBC Radio 3 CD Review)

‘A highly rewarding recital, then, which will certainly enhance the reputation of this soprano and ought to broaden the repertoire of Strauss’s songs which are heard in the recital-room’ (Classical Source)

‘Schwanewilms' crystal voice is perfectly suited to the works as she shapes each phrase with heartfelt feeling. From the opening 'Die Nacht' on, every song is a gem’ (The Northern Echo)

‘The German soprano Anne Schwanewilms has a deep understanding of the complexity and layering of Strauss songs. Roger Vignoles, meanwhile, accompanies with his usual skill, never overshadowing his partner’ (Scotland on Sunday)

‘Not even Felicity Lott with Graham Johnson can match Anne Schwanewilms and Roger Vignoles here in the Drei Lieder der Ophelia … by any yardstick this is magnificent singing, with Schwanewilms always alert to the dramatic potential in so many of Strauss's songs. Listen to 'Blindenklage', that rarity from the Op 56 songs of 1906, transformed into a miniature opera with the piano even playing woodwind! Or even better, the extraordinary setting of Nikolaus Lenau's 'O wärst du mein!' from 1891. As Vignoles observes in his note in the booklet that accompanies this CD, in Strauss's hands Lenau's poem becomes a kind of 'operatic scena'. Schwanewilms relishes the challenge: the beat in her voice on 'vergeben' at the end of the last line of the first verse when the poet refuses to 'forgive his fate' is heart-stopping … again you admire the effortless partnership between the two musicians, each, it seems, hanging on the other's last word and always raising the musical bar. This second volume of the Complete Strauss songs suggests we are at the start of another remarkable Hyperion journey’ (International Record Review)

‘Schwanewilms sings Das Rosenband with an easy grace that disguises her iron technique, and Waldseligkeit as if to prove that there are few purer excitements than the long-held note’ (The Times)

‘If Christine Brewer, odalisque of the Oriental numbers on Hyperion's first volume of Strauss songs, is the fullest Straussian soprano voice currently making recordings, Schwanewilms' is surely the most sheerly beautiful, ideal for the 'silvery radiance' Roger Vignoles mentions in his excellent liner notes. This recital is the first Strauss disc she has had to herself. but we already know her lumnious legato from the disc of Strauss orchestral songs she made with Mark Elder on the Hallé label … more revelatory is the way Schwanewilms' uncanny ability to change colour within a single note lends a strange beauty to the more disquieting songs … if the rest of Hyperion's series is anything like this one, it should win all sorts of awards’ (BBC Music Magazine)

‘Anne Schwanewilms has the individuality and imagination to convey Ophelia's descent into madness, fully supported by Roger Vignoles. The partnership is on fine form throughout this album, which equally serves the cause of neglected treasures and essential Strauss masterworks’ (Classic FM Magazine)

‘It's hard to dispute Roger Vignoles's claim that Anne Schwanewilms is 'a great singing actress'. That's clear in every song, where both the overall tinta and the text have not just been scrupulously attended to in the head but are excitingly delivered with the heart … there's a real experience here, knowingly and profoundly communicated. Vignoles is, as always, an equal and fully 'worked-in' team member. As well as being an impressive achievement in itself, this recital is a timely addition to a catalogue currently rather short of female competition in these songs’ (Gramophone)