Just listing the composers featured on The Art of Anne Sofie von Otter here would take up the allotted space. Suffice to say that from Handel, Mozart and Bach through to Berlioz, Korngold and Elvis Costello, this ravishing compilation sums up what we have long known--that von Otter effortlessly embraces so many styles of music with consummate artistry, character and technique. What more can you say? She is as at home with early music ensembles such as The English Concert and Les Musiciens du Louvre as with the Berlin Philharmonic in Mahler or Offenbach with the Dresden State Orchestra.
Churlish reservations relate only to the overall choice of repertoire--perhap...