Search - Hotter, Moore, Raucheisen :: Schubert: Die Winterreise Die Schone Mullerin

Poor Winterreise transfer

Tom Lawrence | Cambridge, MA USA | 03/08/2008

(2 out of 5 stars)

"If you look at this set as a mid-priced historical offering of Die schöne Müllerin, it is a great value. It is clearly labeled as recorded in the 1940s, so you know you won't get modern high fidelity. But Danish tenor Aksel Schiøtz gives a well-respected, trumpetlike interpretation, accompanied by the equally respected Gerald Moore. The digital transfer is very listenable.



The problem is that this double CD set includes an extremely poor transfer of Hans Hotter's Winterreise. The tape speed is suspect: The first four songs of the cycle are nearly a semitone flat; Der Lindenbaum rises up close to true pitch, but the following Wasserflut sinks flat again. Auf dem Flusse seems back on pitch, but apparently there is some digital stretching going on, as this track runs much s l o w e r than the Music & Arts remastering. There is also some background squibbing 30 seconds into the song. Pitch problems continue throughout the disc, with Die Krähe and Der Wegweiser even running a quarter tone sharp. Several tracks fade in mid-bar of the piano introduction; Wasserflut omits the final four measures of postlude.



If you are truly interested in the Hotter/Raucheisen performance of Winterreise, I would recommend spending a little more for either the Music & Arts CD or the out-of-print Deutsche Grammophon release. A good alternative is the EMI recording of Hans Hotter accompanied by Gerald Moore."