180-gram 45 RPM LP from mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke

Mastered for 45 RPM vinyl by Bernie Grundman!

Two-time Grammy-winning mezzo-soprano Sasha Cooke’s debut recording is now a 180-gram 45 RPM LP mastered for vinyl by none other than Bernie Grundman. Cooke pairs seamlessly with the Colburn Orchestra, presenting John Adams’ Doctor Atomic, Handel, and Mahler. Maestro Yehuda Gilad conducts with engaging, sensitive flair.

The recording includes Mahler’s “Ruckert-Lieder,” the aria “Am I in Your Light?” from Doctor Atomic by John Adams, Chausson’s sweeping “Poème de l’amour et de la mer,” all with full orchestra, and two Handel arias, “Scherza infida” and “Ombra mai fu” performed with chamber orchestra. The members of The Colburn Orchestra create a distinct orchestral sound (a great one), and Maestro Gilad elicits sensitive and lyrical interpretations of the repertoire. This recording, celebrating Sasha in her early prime, won the Audio Oasis Award even before it was released, at THE SHOW in Newport, 2012, as well as receiving high praise in Opera News.

“Mezzo Shasha Cooke made a striking impression as Kitty, the wife of J. Robert Oppenheimer, in the Met premiere of Doctor Atomic five seasons ago. The high point of her performance was her seductive love duet with Gerald Finley’s Oppenheimer, which included her aria ‘Am I In Your Light?’ Cooke leads with that piece on her escellent debut solo (album), ‘If You Love For Beauty,’ in which she in sensitively accompanied by Yehuda Gilad and the Colburn Orchestra.

“Cooke’s attractive, erotic stage presence struck plenty of sparks in Doctor Atomic, but without question she also delivers the vocal goods. She possesses a firm, fruity mezzo, straight-toned in quality, which allows the listener to luxuriate in her unerring sense of pitch. And she has a strong yet subtle interpretive ability, one that draws the listener in. She doesn’t play to the balconies; she makes you come to her…

“The (album’s) title is taken from mahler’s Ruckert-Lieder, which conclude the program in their five-song version. Cooke’s performance is an exercise in simplicity. In ‘Ich atmer’ einen linden Duft,’ she floats beautiful mezza voce as soft as the linden fragrance she is describing. ‘Liebst du um Schonheit’ is sung with hushed intimacy, and ‘Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen’ comes wrapped in a quiet, confessional tone of resignation and introspection. ‘Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder’ captures the correct rapid-fire, gently comic air of frustration. In the stark ‘Um Mitternacht,’ Cooke rises movingly from the depressive episode depicted in the opening to the great epiphany of the final lines…

“Chausson’s heartfelt Poem de l’Amour et de la Mer is a magnificently over-the-top work, one that can be hugely effective when performed by a singer of Cooke’s intelligence and restraint. Some occasional rough French vowels aside, she does not disappoint the listener, and her voice rides beautifully atop Chausson’s churning Symbolist score.” — Eric Myers, Opera News, February 2013