A versatile performer Daphna Cohen-Licht's recital disc 'Emotional Turbulence' - reviewed by ROBERT HUGILL '... Cohen-Licht gives full rein to the drama ...'

Richard Strauss's Five Songs Opus 15 were written between 1884 and 1886 (when the composer was in his early 20s); they are an impressive example of how his love affair with the voice would develop. Whilst the later Strauss would create songs hymning his love affair with the soprano voice in general and that of his wife in particular, these early songs were written for medium voice, allowing us to detect hints of his later operatic mezzo roles in the later dramatic songs in the cycle. If it is a cycle at all of course -- composers were wont to issue convenient collections of songs, and the poems in this set make no particular journey. A quick glance at the catalogue seems to suggest that while individual songs have found their way into various collections, the complete cycle has rarely been recorded complete.

It is now heard on Daphna Cohen-Licht's recital disc on Meridian, Emotional Turbulence. The disc's title is a reference to the turbulent times experienced by the composers of her chosen song cycles. She also includes works by Schoenberg, Britten and Montsalvatge, on a disc obviously intended to showcase her talents.

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