Album Description
“[Gerhaher’s] voice, reminiscent of Fischer-Dieskau’s, also exhibits many of that master-singer’s stylistic virtues … this is interpretation of Lieder at the highest level … the recording itself is faultless. Listeners who want to hear the cycle for the first time need have no fear that they are will get anything less than the best, in spite of the asking-price. It is a performance that will stand the test of time and repetition” – GRAMOPHONE Die schöne M?… More >>
#1 by mackjay on April 5, 2010 - 1:59 am
Christian Gerhaher has a voice to be reckoned with, at least as far as Schubert and DIE SCHÖNE MÜLLERIN is concerned. This is nuanced, beautiful, expressive singing that matches music and text perfectly. Gerhaher is billed as a baritone, but he’s definitely of the lighter, or higher baritone breed. He manages the high passages without forced falsetto effects or histrionics. He’s completely inside this incredible music, and his accompanist is right there with him. The performance can stand with the best–and there are many good and great ones. It almost makes up for the absence of the great recording that Herrmann Prey made for Decca in 1972 with Karl Engel. Highest recommendation to all fans of this work.
Rating: 4 / 5
#2 by A reader on April 5, 2010 - 2:36 am
I can’t pretend to be a lieder expert, or to have heard most of the dozens of recordings made of this cycle, but I’ve listened to (and lived with) several and this one immediately stands out as something special. Don’t be mislead by the low price; this is a performance of the highest quality, and the recording may offer the finest reproduction of voice and piano that I’ve personally heard. With music that has been recorded by so many eminent artists I don’t believe any reasonable person could ever claim there is a single ‘best’ recording, but I can state that this is a performance that deserves–even demands–to be heard by anyone interested in this music. This is most impressive.
Rating: 5 / 5