Schubert - Winterreise

*****
A very fine performance 20 Mar 2008

review in two parts. Part A is for those who don't yet know Schubert's masterpiece, and B is for those who do, and are in the business of choosing a particular recording.

A. "Winterreise" is a song-cycle written by the great Austrian composer Franz Schubert towards the end of his life. The name "song-cycle" can be a little confusing for some people, as it implies that the music begins and ends in the same place. What is the case is that these are narrative works, in which the singer is the main character, and who relates his experiences through a series of songs. In the case of "Winterreise", these songs describe the character's experience of being driven out of his lover's house, and wandering through a frozen landscape. His sanity gradually slips away from him, and he ends up begging from an old hurdy-gurdy player in a village.

The story is, as you can tell, harrowing, in particular because of the momentary glimmers of hope that appear, such as the sound of the post-horn, which the wanderer convinces himself is bringing a letter from his beloved. However, his isolation and abandonment are all too clear to him, and, despite anger and intense longing, he seems at the end to have accepted his fate as one who will forever be cut off from the world.

The music which Schubert uses to tell this story is remarkable both in its simplicity and complexity. He uses one singer, accompanied by a piano, and yet the range of moods and textures which he achieves is itself extraordinary. One can almost see the glitter of leaves at the start of "Der Lindenbaum", and "Der Stuermische Morgen" is as powerful as any orchestral score. What makes these songs so powerful is, though, the intensity of the emotions that run through them: there is no sentimentality here.

So, if you don't yet know "Winterreise", buy it immediately and set aside an evening to immerse yourself in this extraordinary piece of music.

B. Any recording of "Winterreise" is up against some stiff competition from a wide range of different singers, and there is, of course, the gargantuan figure of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau against whom all will be measured. I do not wish to give a blow-by-blow account of where this version differs from its fellows, or which is better for each individual song, but to argue that this live recording has a great deal to offer, and, while not definitive by any means (and wouldn't a definitive version be dull!), is well worth listening to. Goerne is a pupil of Dieskau, and one can detect the old master's influence on his approach, but he is, unlike the older man, a baritone through and through, and his singing reflects this. He is acutely sensitive to the text, he can create a very satisfying range of vocal and emotional colours. Moreover, in this version he is accompanied by the wonderful Alfred Brendel. While Brendel may not be as renowned an accompanist as Graham Johnson (whose complete recording of Schubert's songs has established a new precedent in thoroughness and dedication to the cause), he is one of the finest pianists of his era, and his interaction with Goerne demonstrates his phenomenal musicianship to the full.

As above, I can heartily recommend this version. I have enjoyed it for several years, and I am sure you will do too.