Search - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Robert Schumann, Gunther Weissenborn :: Schumann: Kerner-Lieder, Op. 35; Liederkreis, Op. 39

A rediscovered trasure from F-D's early career

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 01/18/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Fischer-Dieskau was around 30 in 1954-55 when this Schumann recital was recorded, for radio broadcast (the Kerner-Lieder Op. 35) and mono LPs (the much more inspired Liederkreis Op. 39), and for whatever magical reason, he sounds utterly perfect. There's no trace of later tics -- no barking, blustering, over-accented consonants, or precious phrasing in place of genuine feeling. Die-hard fans will deny that those flaws obscure the singer's genius, but they certainly do for me. If F-D had remained as natural as he sounds here, I would esteem his artistry as highly as I do Elisabeth Schwarzkopf.



But that's a personal digression. For any lover of Lieder this is a remarkable rediscovvery from the past, and Audite deserves all praise for bringing it to us, along with an equally remarkable Schubert rcital on a companion release. The sound is very good on both song cycles, but unfortunately there's some gritty distortion when the singer hits the highest, loudest notes in some Liederkreis numbers (listen to the climax of an otherwise breathtaking Waldesgesprach). In every song F-D displays unmatched vocal control (he even delivers a prefect falsetto in the second Kermer song), assuring any listener that a great artist is performing at his peak. The mono sound is lifelike and full, although the piano is backwardly placed."