Matthias Goerne's Ravinia recital a feast for lieder lovers... Goerne ceased to be a mere interpreter of song – he became the song.
(Ravinia Festival; Song recital w/ Tzimon Barto)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 23 July 2010

"Matthias Goerne brought a strikingly noble legato line to the avenger Orestes. You'd be unlikely to find a staged Elektra as well sung or played as this one was."
(Strauss: Elektra, w/ London Symphony, Valery Gergiev)
TELEGRAPH, 14 January 2010

An unmissable Schubert disc with singer and pianist both on top form.
(Schubert-Goerne Edition Vol.4 "Heliopolis", Matthias Goerne & Ingo Metzmacher)
GRAMOPHONE Editor's Choice, February 2010

"The remarkable performance of Schubert's Die schone Mullerin by Matthias Goerne and Christoph Eschenbach, for insight, dramatic intensity and vocal artistry, is unlikely to be matched anytime soon."
(Ravinia Festival, Franz Schubert: Three cycles)
CHICAGO CLASSICAL REVIEW, 28 July 2009

"There could not have been a more striking baritone soloist than Matthias Goerne, whose voice was arresting for its dark timbre and whose phrases were richly communicative." 
(Brahms Requiem w/ Cincinnati Symphony, Paavo Järvi)
THE CINCINNATI ENQUIRER, 08 November 2008

"Few male singers, even Fischer-Dieskau, command such a rich palette of colours as Goerne does"
THE SUNDAY TIMES (Hugh Canning), 02 November 2008

"Even the lesser Schubert Lieder become gems from Goerne's velvet baritone. His matchless legato soothes and comforts what his crystal diction tells us is nothing but woe. Death lurks like a shadow behind all these songs, and parting is always permanent. Goerne rises to an awesome forte but it is never forced, and his high sotto voce pianissimo is one of music's wonders. *****"
(CD Goerne/Schubert Edition Vol.2 "An mein Herz", harmonia mundi)
THE TIMES, 04 October 2008

"Goerne's compelling presence... The baritone Matthias Goerne brought an uncanny perfection of diction and sound to the piece, and deserves much of the credit for making it seem so haunting."
(World première of Thomas Larcher's Die Nacht der Verlorenen with London Sinfonietta at Southbank Centre)
TELEGRAPH, 03 October 2008

"World premiere of Die Nacht der Verlorenen, a half-hour song cycle of searing power, dispatched with confidence by the baritone Matthias Goerne, the Sinfonietta and its conductor Martyn Brabbins. The poetic fragments by Ingeborg Bachmann (Henze's old muse) moon over lost love, death and decay. Goerne's tender, melancholy voice lapped them up, and stayed steadily expressive even when Larcher's ensemble, accordion and all, whisked us into fury."
(Thomas Larcher's 'Die Nacht der Verlorenen'at Southbank Centre)
THE TIMES, 02 October 2008

"...with its rhetorical solo part delivered so powerfully by the magnificent Matthias Goerne, and its fevered inventiveness whipped up to fearsome intensity by Jurowski, the piece certainly made its baleful impact."
(K.A. Hartmann: Gesangsszene. With London Philharmonic / Vladimir Jurowski)
THE INDEPENDENT, 02 October 2008

"it was thrilling to hear Gesangsszene superlatively conducted by Jurowski and sung with such dramatic power and intelligence by Matthias Goerne."
(K.A. Hartmann: Gesangsszene. With London Philharmonic / Vladimir Jurowski)
THE GUARDIAN, 29 September 2008

"Matthias Goerne seems to own a different shade of baritonal colour for every syllable Schubert wrote. The voice is sweet and serene, even at fff, and the shifts that Goerne applies to the changing of seasons and the fickleness of love are done with enviable delicacy."
EVENING STANDARD (Norman Lebrecht), 24 September 2008 (CD of the week)

"the most intellectually and vocally gifted male art-song interpreter of his generation"
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 21 September 2008

"Matthias Goerne, perhaps the greatest lieder singer of today."
CHICAGO SUN TIMES, 18 September 2008

..."Goerne is in his element, singing with his distinctive dark, rounded beauty and almost tortured intensity of thought and feeling. More than almost any other Lieder singer today, he combines expressive diction with an unblemished legato, 'bowing' Schubert's long lines like a master cellist (shades here of the great Hans Hotter). In their mingled majesty and aching tenderness, Goerne's performances of two great Mayrhofer settings, Memnon and Lied eines Schiffers an die Dioskuren, are as moving as any performances I can remember."
(Schubert: CD "Sehnsucht" w/Elisabeth Leonskaja, Harmonia Mundi HMC 901988)
TELEGRAPH, 26 April 2008

"...the elegant German baritone Matthias Goerne brought dignity and grace to the music of Jesus."
(Bach, St.Matthew Passion w/ New York Philharmonic, Kurt Masur)
NEW YORK TIMES, 21 March 2008

The exception was the eloquent and expressive baritone Matthias Goerne, whose imposing entry gave the performance its single most thrilling moment."
(Beethoven, Symphony No.9 w/ Chicago Symphony Orchestra)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE, 23 June 2007

"it might be argued that Franz Schubert's songs are best heard in their original arrangements for piano and singer. Still, when you have an artist so extraordinarily sensitive as Matthias Goerne, with his meticulously calibrated baritone voice and seemingly infinite command of emotional shading, willing to take on orchestrations by Brahms, Anton Webern, Max Reger and others, you put your reservations aside and listen with gratitude.
(Concert w/ The Philadelphia Orchestra at Kennedy Center)
WASHINGTON POST, 5 June 2007

"A Master of song, Operating at full Power". If there is one quality that distinguishes Matthias Goerne's singing - apart from the rich, large sound of his baritone - it is his ability both to create and to inhabit the emotional world a song describes. In his recital at Carnegie Hall on Monday evening, Mr. Goerne worked his magic quickly. [...] His voice filled Carnegie easily and comfortably, but even in gentler, quieter moments, his diction remained remarkably clear and precise. [...]
His "Four Serious Songs" are deeply moving.
(Recital w/ Christoph Eschenbach at Carnegie Hall, New York)
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 9 May 2007

Critics have sung Mr. Goerne's praises over and over, and one can hardly add anything at this point: The voice is one of the most beautiful most lush, most creamy that any of us has ever heard. His singing is almost impossibly smooth. The first time you hear it, you can scarcely believe it. Even the 10th time, you have to wonder. [...] you had the luxury of giving no thought at all to the singer's technique he was in complete control. [...] An impressive recital. Matthias Goerne: a first-class and unforgettable lieder singer.
THE NEW YORK SUN, 9 May 2007

"No matter what he sings, he seems possessed [...] Everything about the presentation was grave and austere, and with an artistry easily on a level with the greatest vocal recitalists of the last century."
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER, 10 May 2007

"one of the most memorable recitals of recent years."
(Wigmore Hall recital with Ingo Metzmacher, piano)
FINANCIAL TIMES, 22 Feb 2007

Matthias Goerne sang the Räckert-Lieder with warm, inviting tone and a deep sense of the songs' isolation."
(Mahler: Räckert-Lieder, Philharmonia Orchestra, E.-P.Salonen)
THE INDEPENDENT, 02 Jan 2007

"Goerne is such a unique vocal personality that to know him is to want to hear him endlessly."
(Zemlinsky: Lyrische Sinfonie, CD Capriccio Delta Music 71081)
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER , 15 Oct 2006

"The German baritone is a master lieder singer"..."His voice was allied to a superb expressive understanding, deep intelligence and impeccable musical manners."
(Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn, w/ Chicago Symphony, P.Järvi)
CHICAGO TRIBUNE , 7 Oct 2006

"His dynamic range is huge, and the power at the extremities of his voice are fully equal to that of its middle register."
THE GUARDIAN , 13 Sept 2006

"The charismatic German baritone can go to the ultimate depths with Mahler"
THE PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER , 2 Sept 2006

Prime singers, Anne Sofie von Otter and Matthias Goerne, sang in Bartok's "Bluebeard's Castle." [...] With singers as splendid as these, and the Philharmonic playing well for a healthy-looking Mr. Dohnanyi, listeners (an unusually quiet and attentive group for a subscription audience) probably experienced more by using their imaginations and doing without props. Both soloists sounded beautiful, wrapped their tongues around the Hungarian texts and projected with admirable naturalness. It was quite a show."
THE NEW YORK TIMES , 9 March 2006

"Goerne wrapped his glowing baritone around the notes, making even the octave spans in the fourth song sound velvet smooth. His voice is perfect for this music."
(Brahms: "Die schoene Magelone", Wigmore Hall, London"
GUARDIAN, 20 Jan 2006

Memorable was the expansive beauty of the singing -- His singing has rarely sounded so easy or so warmly expressive"
SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE, 17 November 2005

"Mr. Goerne brought his formidable voice, a husky and flexible baritone, intelligence and consummate sense of style to his singing. Mr. Goerne sang with entrancing sensitivity and unflagging intensity."
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 10 November 2005

"As an ideal Mahler singer, Goerne combines incisive diction with the richest legato. ... The lieder of Mahler and Berg are anything but cool, and in the grip of Matthias Goerne, they transcend language and era to sound as urgent as our morning news."
THE STAR LEDGER, 10 November 2005

"Mr. Goerne's prodigious instrument allows him to spin a golden web of a lyrical line, seemingly endless in its melodic development... Mr. Goerne, employing his plush, cave-dwelling instrument sang the stuffing out of this miniatures, it was the best version of these songs I have ever experienced."
THE NEW YORK SUN, 10 November 2005

Who owns the most beautiful voice in the world? It's a ridiculous question, of course, but it may have an answer: Matthias Goerne, the German baritone. The voice has an almost unreal beauty.To be sure, Mr. Goerne has more than a beautiful voice: He is an intelligent singer, to boot."
(Mahler&Berg, Salzburger Festspiele, w/ Alexander Schmalcz)
THE NEW YORK SUN, 18 August 2005

"Editor's choice - Recording of the Month" - "Wonderful, powerful music-making" [...] "Goerne and Brendel on top form" [...] "in the field of Lieder singing, it's good to be reminded that the art lives in on this outstanding young German baritone."
(Schubert: Schwanengesang, w/ Alfred Brendel, Decca 475 6011) GRAMOPHONE, June 2005

"an all-powerful display of lieder at its animated and involving best." "Goerne's presence is immediate and gripping. He has the expressive range, in stance, manner and delivery, of a Shakespearean actor and the musical ability of a true master. The voice is beautiful, but not superficially so; the clear-toned clarity and depth serves the delivery of poetry and is a powerful tool in Goerne's search for the perfect union of drama, music and text."
(Schubert recital w/ Alexander Schmalcz)
BELFAST TELEGRAPH, 15 Feb 2005

"Goerne's involvement in the music he sings is total. His exceptionally beautiful baritone commands a wide compass and an astonishing range of tone and expression, which brought insights into every song in Schubert's Schwanengesang."
THE IRISH TIMES, 15 Feb 2005

"Goerne's voice is, as they say, to die for. His vocal quality is liquid and even, with a tone that has rightly been compared to velvet."
BELFAST NEWS LETTER, 15 Feb 2005

"Goerne went to the heart of the Mahler, making every song an artwork as he soared ravishingly above the orchestra [...] And he had a legato to kill, bounding throughout his range with no breaks."
(Mahler: 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn', National Symphony, L.Slatkin)
WASHINGTON POST, 21 Jan 2005

"at the thrilling height of his vocal prime"
(Wigmore Hall, recital w/ Eric Schneider, piano)
THE TIMES, 10 November 2004

"This is one of the most mesmeric and harrowing journeys through Schubert's snowbound landscape you willl ever hear. Goerne's deep, mellow baritone, with its breathtaking range of soft colours, is one of the most beautiful voices around."
("Winterreise" with Alfred Brendel, CD Decca 467 092)
TELEGRAPH, 5 July 2004

"Two great artists at the top of their form."
("Winterreise" with Alfred Brendel, CD Decca 467 092)
SEATTLE TIMES, 2 May 2004

"The outstanding baritone Matthias Goerne sang [Mahler's Knaben Wunderhorn songs] exquisitely. Goerne's voice is rightly celebrated for its effortless richness and delectable timbre"
(Los Angeles Philharmonic / Esa-Pekka Salonen)
LOS ANGELES DAILY NEWS, 27 March 2004

"Mr Goerne's warm, sweet and smooth voice is a favorite among many lieder fans. [...] Mr Goerne's interpretations were consistently intelligent, poised and affecting."
(Carnegie Hall, recital with Christoph Eschenbach)
THE NEW YORK TIMES, 11 March 2004

"The singer, Matthias Goerne, was in mesmerising form: [...]
the vocal timbre like brushed velvet from top to bottom."
(Mahler: Wunderhorn songs, London Philharmonic, Ingo Metzmacher)
THE TIMES (London), 26 Jan 2004

"It's a long time since I have heard a performance which revealed so clearly the [...] relentlessly and existentially cyclical nature of this cycle. This is partly made possible by Goerne's extraordinary breath control: he can describe an entire arc of melody in a single breath, revealing its contours and sensing out its sighs."
... "Ever since Alfred Brendel asked to work with Goerne almost a decade ago, they have been periodically making the Winterreise together, and perfecting the pulse, the breathing, the footfall"..."When these two musicians come together, the spirits of creator and recreator seem, for a moment, to fuse".
THE TIMES (London), 13 Oct 2003

"Much Mahler marvellously sung"..." Blessed with a warm, smoothly produced instrument and remarkable breath control, he sounded as much at home in lighter, lilting songs such as "Rheinlegendchen" ".....
(Knaben Wunderhorn; Toronto Symphony, Manfred Honeck)
TORONTO STAR , April 2003

..."There is no adequate way to express the listener's gratitude to these courageous artists for their unique interpretation of this heartbreaking, almost unbearable song-cycle"....
("Winterreise": Goerne/Schneider)
SAN FRANCISCO CRONICLE, March 2003

"A perfect voice for Schubert"
" Simply put, Goerne is a marvel. He's equipped with an agile voice of beautiful color and tone, amazing breath control, and an impressive mastery of dynamics. His singing in German is flawless. And, unlike many of his contemporaries, he seems to care about conveying the essence of every word he sings".
(Schubert: Schwanengesang)
TIMES CORRESPONDENT (San Francisco), March 2003