Winterreise

[HaydnFan]

Which recording of Winterreise do you recommend?

Fischer-Dieskau? Bostridge? Goerne? Schreier? Others?

[Rutradelusasa]

Fischer-Dieskau with Moore (on EMI's Great Recording's of the Century) and/or with Demus (on DG's The Originals).

Try also Prégardien with Staier on Warner (I guess it's Elektra, or Teldec, or etc). Staier uses a pianoforte of great expressive power and Prégardien is an excellent singer.



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"Wer ein holdes weib errugen..."

[Peter]

I'd agree with Rutradelusasa - it has to be Fischer-Dieskau and I prefer him with Demus, but Moore's 1955 recording is also very fine. The song cycle itself is an amazing achievement perfectly encapsulating the tragedy of the isolated artist and unrequited love in Mueller's opening lines "I arrived here a stranger, a stranger I depart".


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'Man know thyself'

[HaydnFan]

Ok, thanks everyone!

[HaydnFan]

Just a question, why would Fischer-Dieskau record Winterreise twice? I see no major differences between these recordings...

[Rutradelusasa]

Originally posted by HaydnFan:
Just a question, why would Fischer-Dieskau record Winterreise twice? I see no major differences between these recordings...

Twice? Ohhh my dear padawan...

With Moore I know of 3 different recordings, but I may be missing some as it is 1:41 a.m. down here.

And yes, there are major differences, his voice changes, what he seeks to highlight on each song and the whole cycle changes a lot. For instance, how sad he is changes from every recording (and you can find a handfull at amazon.com), how comforting he is changes, all that is to be taken in consideration. It's just like different recitals.

(about Dieskau/Moore, you can get it on DG (72), EMI (55), EMI (62) and I guess there was one released on Orfeo).

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"Wer ein holdes weib errugen..."

[This message has been edited by Rutradelusasa (edited 10-10-2006).]

[Peter]

Originally posted by HaydnFan:
Just a question, why would Fischer-Dieskau record Winterreise twice? I see no major differences between these recordings...

He isn't the only artist to re-record but I think he did Winterreise around 8 times! No one though was more fanatical about recording than Gould who spent sometimes 2 years recording the Bach Inventions - a work he was quite capable of performing straight off.

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'Man know thyself'

[HaydnFan]

So which of these 8 versions do you know / like best?

I found this one on Amazon...do you know this version? Is it good?
http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000...257956?ie=UTF8

[Rutradelusasa]

Originally posted by HaydnFan:
So which of these 8 versions do you know / like best?

I found this one on Amazon...do you know this version? Is it good?
[URL=http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000001G60/ref=pd_rvi_gw_2/701-4944226-7257956?ie=UTF8]http://www.amazon.ca/gp/product/B000001G60/ref=pd_rvi_gw_2/701-4944226-7257956?ie=UTF8[/ URL]

This is the one I own, but I have it in his 21-cd box set of all the Lieder he could record in a mega-project for DG. It's very good, but you might want to go for the one with Demus: http://www.amazon.ca/Winterreise-Win...p/B000001GQE/.

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"Wer ein holdes weib errugen..."

[This message has been edited by Rutradelusasa (edited 10-10-2006).]

[Rutradelusasa]

I still recommend this for the serious Schubert fan: http://www.amazon.co.uk/Schubert-Lie...dp/B000AYQCIK/

31 pounds for 21 cds (~500 lieder), all done superbly well.
I bought this when they had it at 21 pounds, since then I grab a cd at random every now and then and am pleased everytime.

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"Wer ein holdes weib errugen..."

[HaydnFan]

This same boxed set is $192.99 Canadian...I think that's a bit too pricey for me, haha!

Is there any particular reason you would recomment Demus over Moore?

[Rutradelusasa]

Originally posted by HaydnFan:
This same boxed set is $192.99 Canadian...I think that's a bit too pricey for me, haha!

Is there any particular reason you would recomment Demus over Moore?

You don't need to buy it from amazon.ca, amazon.co.uk will ship it to ya

It's not very a question of Demus over Moore, they were both fenomenal accompainists (spelling?), the question is more with F-D. In F-D/Moore of 55 (EMI), he was too young and trying to impress, in 72 (DG) he was already past his prime and trying to compensate his declining voice with more inflections on the text.
This leaves two central recordings of his 'golden age', the mid-60s: with Moore in 62, Demus in 67.
Whichever you choose you are in good hands, I suggested that one because it seems to be the one he could use his mannerisms, which could be quite overbearing in the 80s, to the greatest effect and his voice still had a natural bloom (witness his Wagner recordings of the time, Götterdämmerung with Solti is from 63/64).
Yes, F-D is like fine wine . The wrong year makes everything go sour, the right ones tend to be amazing.


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"Wer ein holdes weib errugen..."

[This message has been edited by Rutradelusasa (edited 10-11-2006).]