A new recording of Winterreise will no doubt cause much debate around the various schools of thought on how, and how not to interpret this fascinating song cycle. Put all your prejudices aside and listen to this new recording afresh and you will be well rewarded. Davislim and Romaniuk present a well rounded account of this cycle. They keep the unrelenting dramatic pace of Winterreise within their sights, but on the other hand, they never lose sense of the beauty of the Schubert’s music or allow their interpretation to fall into a harsh declamatory statement. This of course is helped by Davislim’s beautiful tenor and some very sensitive playing by Anthony Romaniuk. This is an interpretation of great integrity.

As with all Melba recordings, this disc is impressively packaged, the booklet notes are informative and well illustrated with photographs by Bill Henson.