The singer Christoph Pregardien has documented an important part of his repertoire on more than 130 discs released on various labels. His numerous recordings of German romantic lieder have been awarded prizes such as the Orphee d'Or of the Academie du Disque Lyrique, Prize of the German Record Critics, Edison Award, Cannes Classical Award, and Diapason d'Or. Pregardien's clear and precise vocal style as well as his intelligent interpretative method and diction, combined with a special talent for capturing the psychological core of a role, have made him one of the leading lyric tenors of our times. On this CPO release he interprets better-known songs by Gustav Mahler as well as Wolfgang Rihm's Rilke-Lieder, pieces that he is closely associated. He performed these songs for piano and voice in Stuttgart on February 2, 2002, with the pianist Siegfried Mauser as his accompanist and recorded them in this version dedicated to him. On the present CD, however, the songs are presented in the orchestral version from 2004, which was premiered in Basel on 10 December 2004 with Pregardien and the Basel Sinfonietta under Emilio Pomarico. As might be expected, the orchestral sound offers expanded opportunities for the realization of emotions and moods. This endows Rihm's music with added feeling.