Schubert's Winter Journey
November 8, 2007 3:47 AM   Subscribe

Scubertfilter: What is your favorite recording of Schubert's Winterreise?

Sub question for Israeli Mefians: Has anyone set hebrew text to the Winterreise music? (I'm interested in singing #7, Auf Dem Flusse, in a language other than English or German.)

(when you respond, keep in mind I read hebrew on about a second grade level.)
posted by wittgenstein to Media & Arts (12 answers total) 1 user marked this as a favorite
 
Response by poster: Of course, that should be "Schubertfilter" , not "Scubertfilter".

Though I would pay good money to hear Scooby Doo sing the song cycle.
posted by wittgenstein at 3:48 AM on November 8, 2007


There's only one that matters: Benjamin Britten & Peter Pears, recorded in 1963. But I guess you already know about that.
posted by nylon at 4:18 AM on November 8, 2007


I believe the Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau recordings are considered the ne plus ultra, but I don't have any of them so I can't really comment.

I own the Britten/Pears (above) and the Olaf Bar/Geoffrey Parsons versions. They're very different but both very good, I think.

Can't help on the Hebrew, I'm afraid.
posted by dogsbody at 4:37 AM on November 8, 2007


I'm a fan of the very first recording I ever heard of Winterreise: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. (You're right, dogsbody.)
Except I can't remember whether it was the 1955 recording with Gerald Moore or the 1966 recording with Jorg Demus.
posted by bassjump at 4:41 AM on November 8, 2007


Seconding the Fischer-Dieskau...
posted by I_Love_Bananas at 5:30 AM on November 8, 2007


Response by poster: It's interesting that people mention the Britten/Pears recording. I seem to read a lot of people who HATE Pears' interpretation, at least as far as the Amazon reviews are concerned.
posted by wittgenstein at 5:46 AM on November 8, 2007


I particularly like Hans Hotter's interpretation, because he sings the Lieder so effordlessly.

And also because I can't stand Fischer Dieskau's mannerisms. Which could be because so many German singers have copied him, though.
posted by ijsbrand at 6:12 AM on November 8, 2007


I imprinted on Fischer-Dieskau/Moore, and it's certainly a classic recording.
posted by dfan at 6:51 AM on November 8, 2007


Fischer-Dieskau/Moore is the one. (Further proof: it was Samuel Beckett's favourite record.)
posted by Mocata at 6:55 AM on November 8, 2007


Fischer-Dieskau & Gerald Moore. Listened to it a thousand times.
posted by londongeezer at 9:39 AM on November 8, 2007


Pears/Britten is in a class by itself. I can only listen to it about once a year. It takes me that long to recover. Graham Johnson has written that the recording, good as it is, is only a shadow of their live performances at Aldeburgh.

If you can't bear the Pears tone production, F-D and Hotter come close. I hate the highly praised Fassbaender recording. Women's voices don't work here any more than a man's voice would work in Frauenlieben und -leben.

By the way, the Pears/Britten Dichterliebe is also the best ever.
posted by KRS at 10:33 AM on November 8, 2007


Thomas Quasthoff's!
posted by Opera Chic at 1:59 PM on November 9, 2007


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