* Discophilia – Artalinna.com, Jean-Charles Hoffelé
“Le cycle est resté peu couru au disque et c’est peu d’écrire que Kateryna Kasper s’y fait magicienne dans la complicité de ses amies du Trio Vivante, et sait être déchirante dans la „Lettre de l’orphelin“, chef d’œuvre absolu parmi les chefs d’œuvre de Weinberg, qui, au plus sombre de la guerre, proclamait son identité sémite. Son soprano clair, tranchant, magnifie également les „Poèmes“ d’Alexander Blok, cycle majeur composé par Chostakovitch en 1967, sans les excès expressionnistes qu’y imposait Galina Vichnevskaïa. Ici tout est plus sur le fil de la voix, dans l’intelligence des textes, et avec l’accord sensible d’un trio qui laisse la primauté à ce chant qui n’est que poésie.“
„The cycle has not been widely recorded, and it would be an understatement to say that Kateryna Kasper is a magician in it, with the complicity of her friends in the Trio Vivante, and knows how to be heart-rending in the „Orphan’s Letter“, an absolute masterpiece among Weinberg’s masterpieces, which, in the darkest hours of the war, proclaimed his Semitic identity. Her clear, sharp soprano also magnifies Alexander Blok’s ‚Poems‘, a major cycle composed by Shostakovich in 1967, without the expressionist excesses imposed by Galina Vishnevskaya. Here everything is more on the thread of the voice, in the intelligence of the texts, and with the sensitive accord of a trio that yields primacy to this singing which is nothing but poetry.“
* Jean-Pierre Rousseau
„Le timbre, le velours profond, de la voix de la soprano d’origine ukrainienne, Kateryna Kasper, une parfaite diction du russe – si importante pour la restitution de ces poèmes (…) – établissent une nouvelle référence tant pour Chostakovitch que pour Weinberg. Un grand et beau disque !“
“The timbre, the deep velvet of the voice of the Ukrainian-born soprano Kateryna Kasper, and her perfect diction of Russian – so important to the rendering of these poems (…) – set a new benchmark for both Shostakovich and Weinberg. A great and beautiful disc!”
* Badische Zeitung, Freiburg – Christine Adam, 11.03.2022
„The Ukrainian soprano Kateryna Kasper, (…) sings Ophelia’s lonely, fragile lament over the death of her beloved in the war. Kasper’s voice sounds warm and round even during dramatic outbursts, when the bird Gamajun prophesises the relentless harshness of tyranny or the stormy night becomes an existential threat. Kateryna Kasper interprets the Yiddish songs with great empathy. There is also a mischievous, folkloristic element. The song „The Orphan’s Letter“ tells of hunger and loneliness. An excellent CD.”
* musicweb-international, Steve Arloff
„Trio Vivente have produced a most intelligent reading of all the works on this disc. Weinberg’s (…) songs too get remarkable performances. Kateryna Kasper, the young Ukrainian soprano, is a wonderful exponent. I have every admiration for her impressive and convincing achievement in singing in Yiddish. She is a powerful advocate. She also gives a magically beautiful performance of Shostakovich’s songs. They are not easy fare but she manages to inject just the right amount of darkness into them. (…) The entire disc is highly recommended.“
