Christoph Prégardien

“the recital by two of the most important lieder experts of our time [Christoph Prégardien and Michael Gees] turned out to be a hardly quantifiable top class event. […] Both master not only the vocal and musical parameters, but also the aspect of programme design: the common thread that runs through a theme and deepens our experience.”

Passauer Neue Presse, Hans-Udo Kreuels, 25 November 2024

“Tenor Christoph Prégardien realised the narrative’s arc of suspense with extraordinarily precise vocal control and remarkably clear articulation.”

nmz, Luise Heiss, November 2024 – on the premiere of Die schöne Müllerin/These Fevered Days (F. Schubert/Johannes Maria Staud)

“Christoph Prégardien’s tenor manages this balancing act with stupendous assurance. It is not least his voice that brings the disparate aspects of the two musical worlds together into a unity.”

Nürnberger Zeitung, Peter Löw, October 2024 – on the premiere of Die schöne Müllerin/These Fevered Days (F. Schubert/Johannes Maria Staud)

“Prégardien retains his essentially mellow sound, comfortable in the lower registers but still capable of the airy phrases and subtle dynamic gradations that have always characterised his singing. […] Above all, he always remains true to the concept of line. His clear diction allows him to narrate and illuminate the two dozen stories the songs here contain, without the self-dramatising fear-mongering that plagues some critically acclaimed representatives of lieder singing today. […] an auspicious start to Eisenlohr’s latest endeavor.”

Opera News Online, David Shengold, June 2022 – on Volume 1 of Brahms’ complete songs with Ulrich Eisenlohr

“Christoph Prégardien […] still possesses a clear and flexible tenor, flawless diction, and an emotional expressiveness that shades from the contemplative to raw outbursts of joy and feeling. His intensity is just overwhelming.“

Crescendo Magazine, Jean Lacroix, 3 January 2020

“The performance was superb. Prégardien is one of today’s greatest Lieder singers, a consummate storyteller whose gestures and facial expressions aid in communicating the meaning and emotional content of the lyrics, and whose voice is fluidly expressive across its entire range, and especially beautiful on both top and bottom notes.“

ClassicalSource, David M. Rice, 22 October 2019

“Prégardien’s easeful articulation, his rich coloring, the diminuendos and light irony: superb!“

Tagesspiegel.de, Christiane Peitz, 17 September 2019 – on his recording of Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe, Op. 48 with Michael Gees

“How well one can follow the train of thought through the interludes and stanzas, thanks to the wealth of detail with which he relates these little stories through song; art of the highest order.“

Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung, Guido Holze, 8 February 2019 – on songs after Heine from Schwanengesang

“A beautifully imaginative disc […]. Prégardien floats a beautiful line, […] and Katsaris’ piano flows delicately […] his piano accompaniments take a strong character of their own, one which complements the singer and very much creates a discreet whole, even in the songs where the piano’s role is relatively straight forward.“

Planet Hugill, 20 November 2018 – on the CD “Auf den Flügeln des Gesanges. Romantic songs and piano transcriptions”

“This quite a superlative recording that meets the desires and wishes of any Baroquophile on the quest for excellence. […] The music simply washes over you with a purity and quality many seek to match.“

Early Music Review, David Bellinger, 3 June 2018 – on the album “Cantatas for Baritone” with Vox Orchestra (Sony)

“Both artists brought deep insight to their roles, combining beautifully in sound and spirit, and creating no end of poignant moments.“

New York Times, James R. Oestreich, 23 February 2018 – on Winterreise with Julius Drake

“His voice maintains its dark, almost baritone-like lower range, and a top that can float with the utmost delicacy in soft passages.“

Chicago Classical, John Y. Lawrence, 19 February 2018 – on the recital “Poetic Diary” with Julius Drake

“Prégardien’s artistry is streamlined, focused, essential: with beauty of tenor tone absolutely intact – he is 60 – diction impeccable, emotions of text and tone fused and explored to the last degree, he is the consummate Lieder singer. […] He brought splendour, agony and ecstasy to Mahler’s Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen first; bitterness, irony and a heady intelligence to Schumann’s Dichterliebe in the second half; and those Schubert Heine settings in between are still alive and reverberating with wonder and horror somewhere in my subconscious several days on. You want it darker? Try Schubert.“

jessicamusic.blogspot.de, Jessica Duchen, 18 November 2016

“The tenor is a storyteller who avoids mannerisms: no reverb, little vibrato, no preoccupation with nice sound. However, he is constantly audible, and he does not avoid risks. In the highest registers he also has an astonishing resilience, as demonstrated in the almost hummed encore Mondnacht. British accompanist Julius Drake showed a sensitive ear for detail. In the perlentränentröpfchen, the death coffin is nailed: they were all audible in the Steinway.“

De Volkskrant, 20 November 2015 – on the album “Poetisches Tagebuch“ (Challenge Classics, November 2015)

“Much of what Prégardien did was a revelation, with such immaculate diction and attention to each musical detail that the audience hung on every word. The four songs of Mahler’s Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, so often presented as expressions of youthful self-pity, became a genuinely dramatic scenario, the tragedy searingly convincing. […] This was Lieder singing of the very highest class“

The Guardian, Andrew Clements, 2 November 2015