Search - Lotte Lehmann, Schubert, Brahms :: In Concert

A flawed memento.

John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 07/24/2003

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Lotte Lehmann was one of the most recorded sopranos of her day, yet very little of her recorded legacy is likely to provide an unflawed demonstration of her greatness to C21st century listeners. Avowedly uninterested in singing technique ("I just stood up and sang," was her admission), she possibly was similarly uninterested in ensuring that the many records that carried her name had worthy accompaniments and sound quality. She possibly had no part in the issue of the material gathered together on this CD, which comprises selections from broadcasts given in the USA between 1944 and 1950. Collectors might have encountered all or some of them in various issues. Put together like this, they make an odd recital. One Schubert song is heard three times, and another by Brahms is heard twice. A virtue is the fact that all performances are from live recitals, a situation that probably drew the best from this most communicative of singers. Detracting, however, are reminders of the crass, commercial format of these original productions: the commentators who announce each item and invariably refer to the German singer as Lottie Lehmann. Applause is sometimes switched off abruptly, sometimes allowed to extend for nearly a minute. An incorrect claim is made on the cover that the performance of Isolde "Liebestod" heard here is Lotte Lehammn's only recording of it. The cover shows Lehamann as the marshallin in "Der Rosenkavalier". No liner notes are included. Artists responsible for accompaniments are Pierre Monteux, Carl Bricker, Paul Ulanowsky, Eugene Ormandy, and Bruno Walter."