BaL 28.12.19 - Schumann: Dichterliebe

**gradus** · 19-12-19, 18:18

Originally posted by Eine Alpensinfonie View Post

9.30am
Building a Library
Laura Tunbridge discusses a wide range of approaches to Schumann's searing song cycle and recommends the key recording to keep for posterity.

Available versions:-

Stig Andersen, Merete Brønnum *
Benjamin Appl, James Baillieu
Francisco Araiza, Jean Lemaire (DVD)
Arleen Auger,
Olaf Bär, Geoffrey Parsons *
Ulf Bastlein, Stefan Laux
Thomas Bauer, Uta Hielscher
Daniel Behle, Sveinung Bjelland
Pierre Bernac, Robert Casadesus
Arnold Bezuyen, Jura Margulis
Sebastian Bluth, Anita Keller
Barbara Bonney, Antonio Pappano *
Ian Bostridge, Julius Drake
Benjamin Bruns, Karola Theill
Stephen Cary, Dennis Helmrich *
Alice Coote, Christian Blackshaw
José Van Dam, Dalton Baldwin
Nina Dorliac, Sviatoslav Richter
Stella Doufexis, Daniel Heide
Max van Egmond, Kenneth Slowik *
Paul Esswood, Nicholas McGegan *
Fernand Faniard, Heinrich Baumgartner
Brigitte Fassbaender, Aribert Reimann
Gerald Finley, Julius Drake
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Alfred Brendel *
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Jorg Demus
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Christoph Eschenbach *
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hartmut Höll
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Hartmut Höll (DVD)
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Vladimir Horowitz *
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Gerald Moore (Orfeo) (Diapason)
Christian Gerhaher, Gerold Huber *
Shura Gehrman, Nina Walker
James Gilchrist, Anna Tilbrook
Matthias Goerne, Vladimir Ashkenazy
Andrew Goodwin, Mira Yevtich
Walton Grönroos, Ralf Gothóni
Werner Güra, Jan Schultsz *
Ernst Haefliger, Eric Werba
Thomas Hampson, Martha Argerich,
Thomas Hampson, Geoffrey Parsons *
Samuel Hasselhorn, Boris Kusnezow *
Martin Hempel, Katarina Kegler
Wolfgang Holzmair, Imogen Cooper
Cornelia Horak, Stefan Gottfried
Gerhard Hüsch, Hanns Udo Müller
Jorma Hynninen, Ralf Gothoni
Daniel Johannsen, Elena Larina
Simon Keenlyside, Malcolm Martineau
Jochen Kowalski, Shelley Katz
Lotte Lehmann, Bruno Walter
Stephan Loges, Alexander Schmalcz
Kevin McMillan, Michael McMahon *
Christopher Maltman, Graham Johnso
Lois Marshall, William Aide *
Mika Nisula, Jouni Somero *
Sebastian Noack. Manuel Lange
John Ken Nuzzo, Go Nakajima *
Thomas Oliemans, Paolo Giacometti
Yaniv d’Or, Dan Deutsch
Mark Padmore, Kristian Bezuidenhout
Charles Panzera, Alfred Cortot
Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten
Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten *
Mauro Peter, Helmut Deutsch
Derek Polischuk, Melanie Helton*
Andreas Post, Tatjana Dravenau *
Christoph Prégardien, Michael Gees (SACD)
Christoph Pregardien, Andreas Staier
Julian Prégardien, Sandrine Piau, Eric Le Sage
Hermann Prey, Leonard Hokanson *
Hermann Prey, Karl Engel *
Josef Protschka, Helmut Deutsch *
Thomas Quasthoff, Roberto Szidon *
Aksel Schiotz, Folmer Jensen
Aksel Schiotz, Gerald Moore
Andreas Schmidt, Rudolf Jansen
Maximilian Schmidt, Gerold Huber
Rudolf Schock, Adolf Stauch
Peter Schreier, Christoph Eschenbach*
Peter Schreier, Wolfgang Sawallisch *
Peter Schreier, András Schiff
Peter Schreier, Norman Shetler *
Young Hoon Shin, Sem Cerritelli *
Knut Skram, Robert Levin
Philippe Sly, Michael McMahon
Ernst Daniel Smid, Roger Braun *
Siwoung Song, Helmut Deutsch
Gerard Souzay, Dalton Baldwin
Nathalie Stutzmann, Catherine Collard
Leszek Świdziński, Zofia Antes
Roman Trekel, Oliver Pohl
Cesare Valletti, Leo Taubman *
Zeger Vandersteene, Levente Kende
Jon Vickers, Richard Woitach
Eberhard Wächter, Alfred Brendel *
Simon Wallfisch, Edward Rushton
Scot Weir, Till A. Körber
Stanley Wilson, Malcolm Halliday *
Fritz Wunderlich, Hubert Giesen

(* = download only)

Good luck to the reviewer sifting those recordings. For me, the final recommendations should include Fritz Wunderlich

**Richard Tarleton** · 19-12-19, 19:54

...Peter Schreier....plangent....(in my case, Eshenbach)

**verismissimo** · 19-12-19, 20:34

Originally posted by Richard Tarleton View Post

...Peter Schreier....plangent....(in my case, Eshenbach)

I have Schreier with Shetler, plus two nla, it appears: Partridge and sister, and Schiotz with Moore from 1946. All on LP.

It will be a pleasure to be re-aquainted with them - and then to invest in a shiny new CD. But of whom?

OOPS! Schiotz is absolutely there in Alpie's list. I have a prejudice towards that one!

**Maclintick** · 19-12-19, 20:42

It will be a pleasure to be re-aquainted with them - and then to invest in a shiny new CD. But of whom?

Laura Tunbridge seems an ideal choice for this enviable task. Lots of distinguished recordings, but for my money Christian Geraher & Gerold Huber are unimpeachable in this repertoire...

**LeMartinPecheur** · 19-12-19, 22:18

Surprised to find only four complete recordings on the shelves, all pre-digital (Lehmann, Schiotz/ Moore. Wunderlich and The Partridge Family - the latter my first and still-favourite), all except Wunderlich on LP. So maybe I ought to have a more modern (post-digital?) version?

PS The Riverpeople do still list one new CD copy of the Partridge version, probably their last https://www.amazon.co.uk/Schumann-So...sr=1-4-catcorr

**ferneyhoughgeliebte** · 19-12-19, 22:49

Originally posted by LeMartinPecheur View Post

The Partridge Family - the latter my first and still-favourite)

**Richard Tarleton** · 20-12-19, 07:22

Just realised/remembered I also have Barbara Bonney/Pappano (as a CD, bought as a new release in 2002 - now download only I see) but filed on the shelf under Liszt, whose songs make up the remainder of the disc. Only listened a handful of times to the Schumann, more to the Liszt.

**Pianorak** · 20-12-19, 07:32

Olaf Bär, Geoffrey Parsons
Partridge and sister
Simon Keenlyside, Malcolm Martineau

**CallMePaul** · 20-12-19, 09:15

I have Padmore and Bezuidenhout, who plays an 1837 Érard fortepiano - a type of instrument that Schumann would have been familiar with and which Clara Schumann almost certainly played. It is also worth hearing for the rarities by Franz Paul Lachner, born between Schubert and Schumann and who outlived both better-known composers. I also have the Partridges on LP (a real bargain when first issued!) and also Pears/ Britten in the same format but have not played either of these in years.

**gurnemanz** · 20-12-19, 10:47

Originally posted by gradus View Post

Good luck to the reviewer sifting those recordings. For me, the final recommendations should include Fritz Wunderlich

Interesting to note that when it was last done (only nine years ago in June 2010) as a twofer with Hilary Finch & Richard Wigmore, who do know their onions, Fritz Wunderlich didn't make their final list. It is a good recording, no doubt, but it is ultimately frustrating that he would doubtless have gone on to give an even better one, had his life not been cut short. Hubert Giesen's unrefined accompaniment also gets in the way. In Gramophone Alan Blyth called it "heavy-handed, obtrusive".

This was the 2010 verdict:

Hilary Finch’s choices:
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) /Jörg Demus (piano)[1965 recording]
Deutsche Grammophon 4635052 (CD or Download)

Christoph Pregardien (tenor) / Andreas Staier (fortepiano)
Deutsche Harmonia Mundi 05472772732 (CD)

Christian Gerhaher (baritone) / Gerold Huber (piano)
RCA Red Seal 82876589952 (CD)

Gerald Finley (baritone) / Julius Drake (piano)
Hyperion CDA67676 (CD)

Ian Bostridge (tenor) / Julius Drake (piano)
EMI 5565752 (CD)

Richard Wigmore’s choices:
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone) / Chrisoph Eschenbach (piano)
Deutsche Grammophon 4744662 (2CD)

Werner Güra (tenor) / Jan Schultsz (piano)
Harmonia Mundi HMC901766 (CD)

Peter Schreier (tenor) / Andras Schiff (piano)
Orfeo C658051B (CD)

Chrisopher Maltman (baritone) / Graham Johnson (piano)
Hyperion CDJ33105 (CD)

PS In Nov 1998, working on her own, Hilary Finch's first choice was Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Jörg Demus (1965)

**gurnemanz** · 20-12-19, 12:37

My first recording 50 years ago on LP was Ernst Haefliger with Erich Werba. I still love it. I waited a long time for a CD and to my delight it has just happened in 2019 via this excellent anniversary box. I sometimes used to play extracts to Sixth Formers in my A Level German class. The cycle is also a nice introduction to Heine's verse.

Many other favourites:
One of my first CDs I bought was Wolfgang Holzmair, Imogen Cooper which remains at the top of my list. Lovely high baritone.
Schreier with Shetler and live with Schiff are obvious choices
Fischer-Dieskau-Eschenbach could be number 1
Gerhaher with Huber gives a beautifully expressed rendition of the Heine poems.
I've only just very belatedly got to know Eberhard Wächter with Alfred Brendel from 1962. His compellingly direct reading immediately became a favourite.
Christopher Maltman, Graham Johnson on the Hyperion Schumann edition - another excellent high baritone

Many great older recordings. Three can be had here (+ 3x Frauenliebe)
Aksel Schiøtz’s 1946 recording with Gerald Moore is a classic though I always regret he doesn't opt for the optional high note on "am Herzen frisst" in "Ich grolle nicht". Gerhard Hüsch is always good value. The Swiss Charles Panzéra with Alfred Cortot from 1935, another high baritone is well worth hearing. Another French speaker, Gérard Souzay should not be overlooked.

Female singers can give a new insightful perspective to these songs (Christine Schäfer was a recent BaL choice for Winterreise)
I am a big fan of the contralto Nathalie Stutzmann and her recording with Catherine Collard is a top favourite for me. Also Lotte Lehmann with Bruno Walter on piano (rec 1941) and Brigitte Fassbaender with Aribert Reimann.

There's an excellent fortepiano version from Christoph Prégardien with Andreas Staier, which deserves to be right up there. (Get this good value box!) Christoph Prégardien is one of my favourite tenors and his son, Julian (same age as our son, coincidentally), brought out a highly-praised Dichterliebe earlier this year, which may figure in BaL and I must get to know it.

Looking forward to this BaL. So many recordings, especially newer ones, which I don't know at all. Curious to see what they come up with.

**Braunschlag** · 20-12-19, 13:38

I’ll plump for Wunderlich/Giesen. Maybe unfashionable (and Giesen is not at all as bad a many reviewers routinely say), but they let the music speak for itself without over-intellectualising the texts and making spurious points. I very much doubt if it will get an airing but it’s always stuck with me.

**LeMartinPecheur** · 20-12-19, 15:36

Originally posted by gurnemanz View Post

There's an excellent fortepiano version from Christoph Prégardien with Andreas Staier, which deserves to be right up there. (Get this good value box!)

Many thanks, gurnemanz, duly ordered. LMP's happy Christmas now assured!

**BBMmk2** · 21-12-19, 10:00

One I’ll be missing.

BaL 28.12.19 - Schumann: Dichterliebe

BaL 28.12.19 - Schumann: Dichterliebe

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