By now, Matthias Goerne and Christoph Eschenbach are a familiar pairing. Mr. Goerne is a baritone, and one of the top lieder singers in the world. Mr. Eschenbach is a pianist — and, of course, a conductor (music director of the Philadelphia Orchestra). On Monday night, these two gave a recital in Carnegie Hall.

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.

And Mr. Eschenbach, whatever criticisms we may have, is a musician to reckon with, whether he is on the podium or at the keyboard. In the past, I have objected to the Goerne/Eschenbach pairing, on these grounds: They can get awfully precious, awfully delicate. They can treat music as though it were a fragile egg, liable to break at any moment. They are sometimes guilty of pretty formlessness, no matter what their combined talents.

And Monday night?

The first half of their recital was all-Schumann, beginning with “Abends am Strand.” Mr. Eschenbach played the opening in a shy, retiring way — almost a mousy way. This did not bode especially well. But Mr. Goerne sang commendably, producing his usual creaminess. He also went up on his toes, repeatedly. Mr. Goerne is one of the two great “point men” in music — the other is a violinist, Joshua Bell.

To the next song, “Es leuchtet meine Liebe,” Mr. Eschenbach gave the requisite body. But he did not really have the music under his fingers. And this song happens to test the extremes of the voice: high and low. Mr. Goerne did not sound his best on either end, but, in between — he was himself.

A word about Mr. Goerne’s stage manner: He semi-acts during songs, and I, personally, don’t find this very helpful. He gazes around dreamily, and, when the piano is on its own, he listens ostentatiously (if you can imagine). Again, I don’t find Mr. Goerne’s manner helpful — but I suspect this is a minority view, and that most appreciate the singer’s “engagement” and “total connection.”

The first half of the recital was dominated by the nine songs of “Liederkreis,” Op. 24. In some of these songs, Mr. Eschenbach was frustratingly timid or dainty; in others, he was admirably forthright and musical. Likewise, Mr. Goerne was more convincing in some songs than in others — but he was always plush. And in one song, at least, this was slightly problematic.

I occasionally say that, when the Vienna Philharmonic plays stormy music, you feel like you are being buffeted by velvet. By the same token, Mr. Goerne was simply too velvety in “Warte, warte, wilder Schiffmann.” The cutting or driving quality this song can use was absent. But being too beautiful is a tolerable problem to have.

Please note that there was a dog not barking in this recital: Mr. Goerne’s intonation was consistently excellent; you never had to worry about flatness or sharpness. Indeed, you had the luxury of giving no thought at all to the singer’s technique — he was in complete control.

As the first half was all-Schumann, the second was all-Brahms. It began with the “Lieder und Gesänge,” Op. 32, and ended with the “Vier ernste Gesänge,” Op. 121.

These last songs — grave, masterly, and eternal — can be killed with a) slowness and b) a false or forced profundity. You don’t have to make these songs profound; they are already. You should just go ahead and sing and play them — which Messrs. Goerne and Eschenbach largely did.

The best of the four songs was the second, “Ich wandte mich und sahe,” which was thoughtful, but not overintellectual. It was beautiful, sublime — itself. In the third song, “O Tod, wie bitter bist du,” Mr. Goerne did not quite have the low notes, but there was a more serious problem: In the song’s second part, he and Mr. Eschenbach entered precious territory — false-profound, don’t-break-the-egg territory. Too bad.

Nonetheless, this was an impressive recital, and Mr. Goerne capped it with two encores (more Brahms songs). Do you sing anything after the “Vier ernste Gesänge”? Whatever we think, Mr. Goerne did, and the second song — “Lerchengesang” — was positively magical.

He is the real McCoy, Matthias Goerne: a first-class and unforgettable lieder singer. As the core of the audience applauded into the night, Mr. Goerne looked out satisfied. He should have been.