Search - Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Sviatoslav Richter, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau :: Schubert: Lieder

Fantastic Lied-singing and playing

Tommy Nielsen | Swords, Co. Dublin Ireland | 01/10/2002

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This recording testifies to the collaboration between the undeniably most famous interpreter of Lieder and one of the finest interpreter's of Schubert's piano music of the 20th century.Fischer-Dieskau - though he still sings with ample understanding of the text and unrivalled diction - has been heard to greater advantage on ealier recordings. He had - in 1976 - lost a bit of the natural fluidity of singing and legato which are so apparent on his earlier recordings. But it is maybe only when you compare Fischer-Dieskau with Fischer-Dieskau you notice slightly deterioating powers. I don't think any barytone today can equal the sense of "presence" and understanding of the nature of Lied-singing expressed on this recording.What truly makes this selection of Lieder the one to single out is the contribution of Sviatoslav Richter on the piano. Richter's playing is so entirely musical, the way he carries the music forward, moving it from one sound-level ("Klang-plateau") to the next, is fantastic. Listen to an very expressive sense of rhythm (pulse) in "Im Fruhling", the way he plays that will make you cry.But first and foremost this is a recording that gives the notion of "partnership" between singer and pianist new meaning. Fischer-Dieskau's singing is carried by Richter's playing in an intuitive and (so it sounds) almost spiritual understanding of what the partner is doing.The fact that we are dealing with a "live" recording only adds extra excitement to a truly electrifying interpretation, and one is reminded again how important the "partnership" between singer and pianist is."