Magdalena Kozena - Songs my mother taught me (2008)

Magdalena Kozena, one of the most acclaimed recitalists of today, presents a personal collection of songs she has known since childhood and that form some of her earliest musical influences. A haunting collection of songs by Czech composers such as Dvorak, Janacek, Martinu, Schulhoff and Eben, all deeply rooted in the rich Czech folk song tradition. Like Magdalena explains about the songs on the album: They are just the sort a mother would sing to her baby. My mother is not a professional singer, but she loved to sing and knew a lot of songs! There is a particular tradition of singing to children in our country, much stronger, I would say, than one sees any more in the West. It was really important that in each family these songs would be handed down, taught to the children. Kozenas musical partners on the album include her long-standing recital partner Malcolm Martineau, and soprano Dorothea Roschmann, who joins her in Dvorak's Moravian duets. Magdalena Kozena's most personal album so far, exploring the richness of her cultural background and her own musical memories.