Wien

Use it to ride in car. I love it!

I have an interest in the music and this product is excellant

We enjoyed this music over the Christmas holidays.

One more wonderful CD from Jonas.

Nice selection of some of my favorite “schlagmusik,” sung beautifully by Kaufman, of course. Would love to have the lyrics printed, or , at least, on the web.

If you've ever wanted to eat the whole dessert cart, this is just the schlag for you. I managed to play it all the way through, He reminds me of Tauber (he's obviously listened to a lot of him), and he takes some old Joseph Schmidt film songs and robs them of their propulsive energy. He's smoothed out the kitsch and left, well, not much in its place. It seriously makes me wonder who the audience is for this. His previous operetta disc was a lot more fun, but if you like gooey, sticky, schmaltzy stuff, effectively crooned and nicely packaged, you may just be able to keep from nodding off before the program finishes.

Huntley Dent, Fanfare magazine The chestnuts among Viennese songs are something of a tourist trap, which might explain the up-and-down quality of Jonas Kaufmann’s new collection. It’s as mandatory to include “Wien, du Stadt meiner Träume” and a batch of Johann Strauss II as to order Sachertorte, but there’s the risk of sounding musty. It surprises me that Kaufmann seems at times somewhat uninvolved, although he’s charming and never less than musical. His high-concept 2014 album of radio songs from Berlin in the 1930s sidestepped nostalgia and in addition displayed some spectacular vocalism, culminating in a ravishing duet from Korngold’s Die tote Stadt. It set a standard that its Viennese cousin doesn’t match. The closest to a misfire are the three duets with a variable soprano, Rachel Willis-Sørensen, including the waltz from The Merry Widow and “Dieser Anstand, so manierlich” for Rosalinde and Eisenstein from Die Fledermaus. There’s little chemistry between the two singers, much less charm or romance. Wiener Blut falls just as flat. On his own Kaufmann shines brighter, always sounding suave and never short of smiles. Vocally, the key to popular Viennese style is to sound relaxed and debonair. Kaufmann is urbane but also delivers some effortful singing, and the variety of vocal styles he summoned so entertainingly in his Italian popular song collection, Dolce Vita, appears only sporadically here. When we think of Viennese drollery, Baron Ochs in Der Rosenkavalier springs immediately to mind, and there’s a lazy, careless drawl in his accent that brings a smile. Kaufmann matches that when he gets near the end and begins, almost to the point of caricature, to spoon out the local argot. The way he chuckles and squeaks through Georg Kreisler’s comic turn, Der Tod muss ein Wiener sein (Death must be a Viennese) is genuinely endearing. For heroic singing we get only “Zwei Märchenaugen” a sad clown’s lament from Emmerich Kálmán’s obscure operetta Die Zirkusprinzessin; it’s wonderfully done. But Kaufmann might have sat down with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s meltingly tender version of Zeller’s “Schenkt man sich Rosen in Tirol” from the operetta Der Vogelhändler. She would have shown him what a pitch-perfect ear for Viennese style can achieve—his version of the song is a bit matter-of-fact—and of course there are Richard Tauber, Nicolai Gedda, and Fritz Wunderlich for comparison among tenors who match Schwarzkopf’s stylishness. Where is a match to Kaufmann’s glamorous rendition of Tauber’s hit song, Du bist die Welt für mich, from the Berlin album? In place of adventure and fun, we get a string of dutiful staples in three-quarter time. It is baffling how Polish tenor Piotr Beczała could outclass Kaufmann for vibrancy in My Heart’s Delight, his Tauber homage from 2013 (DG) when this material should be home ground for Kaufmann. Neither Ádám Fischer nor the Vienna Philharmonic does much to enliven the proceedings, although there is certainly nothing to criticize in their participation. No one’s heyday lasts forever, and yet I hope this great singer returns to peak form the next time out. He’s a unique figure from whom everything is expected.

Amazon sent me 2 CDs which do not work. What do you want me to say? That the photo of Jonas Kaufmann is great?

Thoroughly enjoyed every track on this CD. If you like Viennese music you should appreciate this disc.

Ottimo ci per qualità e prezzo

Solistas y orquesta es una excelencia! Este CD de preferencia de escuchar en un buen equipo de sonido, en camioneta no sirve porque audio en masterisacion no está comprimido, en culminaciones de cada número hay que bajar sonido. Y al principio al revés: subir

I'm a big fan of Kaufmann's voice, so hearing those trademark burnished, dark chocolate tenor tones in light Viennese operetta and songs was never going to be a problem for me. This is a beautiful, well- balanced collection that showcases his gorgeous voice in many forms, from familiar numbers from Die Fledermaus to relatively unknown Viennese songs. 'Wien' is not simply a diet of sugar and cream and it would be lazy to claim so: there's darkness here too, such as 'Zwei Märchenaugen' in which Kaufmann releases his full vocal powers 'Pagliacci'- style, or the heartbreak of 'Du wärst für Mich mein Frau gewesen' where we can enjoy his beautiful upper register. There's some philosophy in 'Es wird im Leben...' and many of the numbers feature Viennese dialect, delivered with grace and polish. The final number, 'Der Tod, das muss ein Wiener sein' is pared back to just voice and piano; delivered in startlingly effective cabaret style, it casts a satirical shadow across the previous 18 numbers, offering a very clever perspective on everything else you've just heard. A brilliant move from Mr Kaufmann. Yes, there's a lot of OTT style in the marketing - photoshopped images, an interview and a rather sweet map of Mr Kaufmann's favourite spots in Vienna is provided in the 'deluxe' edition, which is kind of nice but likely to be of little interest to anyone beyond his epic fan club. However, full lyrics are provided in German, English and French and I must say that, to really get the best out of listening to this album, you need to know what he's singing about, so take the time to explore them. Soprano Rachel Willis-Sørensen provides a gutsy foil for Kaufmann in the duet numbers, which are great fun. Sadly, there's nothing about her biography-wise in the booklet notes, which seems a curious oversight. The Vienna Phil, as you might expect, sounds wonderful. Some very sensitive and stylish playing. I felt their collaboration with Kaufmann on Mahler's Das Lied... was awfully business- like and prosaic, but not here on 'Wien'. The whole recording sounds like everyone had huge fun making it. The end result is really something lovely, and there's far more here to appeal to more than just Kaufmann's fan base. His performances are just so musical, and the intelligence with which the album is infused is a joy to hear. It demands care and engagement from the listener, not simple passivity, to get the best from it. As I say, I love his voice and I feared I wouldn't like this much, but much to my great joy, I loved it. Abandon cynicism and let 'Wien' warm you up too.

Jonas Kaufmann réussit un coup de maître en interprétant ce répertoire souvent si décrié et pourtant chanté par les plus grandes voix du monde lyrique qui ont un jour ou l'autre inclus dans leur récital une ou plusieurs de ces perles issues d'opérettes ou de chansons viennoises. Le charme indiscutable de la voix de ce ténor unique en son genre associé à une technique vocale remarquable et une diction parfaite y compris en "Wiener Dialekt" rend justice par ce programme si justement intitulé Vienne à l'une des capitales les plus romantiques du monde. Quant à l'Orchestre Philharmonique de Vienne et à son chef Adam Fischer, quel meilleur écrin pour servir l'une des plus belles voix du monde que celle de Jonas Kaufmann ! Servus Jonas und vielen Danke. MfG von Patrick aus Frankreich