# Winterreise voice?



## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

Tenor or Baritone or Bass baritone or Bass? I never tire of this piece and so like to hear different voices. But if i had to choose i guess it would be tenor, the sonorities suit the frosty feel.


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

Fischer-Dieskau owns this song cycle for me, so for me it would be not just a baritone, but that baritone.


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## Josquin13 (Nov 7, 2017)

You left out mezzo-soprano and soprano. Mezzos Christa Ludwig and Brigitte Fassbaender both sang and recorded Winterreisse, as have sopranos Christine Schäfer (with pianist Eric Schneider), Lotte Lehmann (with pianist Paul Ulanowsky), Julianne Baird (with Andrew Willis on a fortepiano) and Barbara Hendricks (with pianist Love Derwinger), etc.. & there is actually an early precedent for a female voice performing Schubert's musical settings to Wilhelm Müller's poem cycles, considering that soprano Jenny Lind sang Die Schöne Müllerin. & Lind's singing was admired by Robert Schumann, Hector Berlioz, and of course Felix Mendelssohn, with whom she is most associated (as they had a love affair, and Mendelssohn subsequently wrote the soprano part in Elijah for her); as well as by other composers, too. Although, ultimately, I don't favor the Winterreise cycle as sung by a female singer myself, despite that I find Fassbaender interesting in this music.

Fassbaender, Reimann: 



Schäfer, Schneider: 



Ludwig, Levine: 



Lehmann, Ulanowsky: 




Of course, Schubert originally composed both Müller poem cycles, Die Schöne Müllerin and Winterreise, for a tenor voice & fortepiano. But he was apparently open to transposing Winterreisse down for a baritone voice, because he performed Die Schöne Müllerin with his friend, the baritone Johann Michael Vogl, in a concert tour across Austria in the mid-1820s. Plus, sadly, Vogl's performance of Winterreise is thought to be the only time that Schubert heard his Winterreise cycle before he passed away. Although Schubert had himself performed Winterreise for his friends, after he'd composed it, and it is presumed that Schubert had a tenor voice.

Today, the recent Bärenreiter New Schubert Edition offers versions of Winterreise for high, middle, and low voices. So Schubert's acceptance of his baritone friend, Vogl, singing both song cycles seems to have started a precedent for ANYONE singing these works.

Personally, I prefer Schubert's original version for tenor voice and fortepiano, in the original keys!--for both cycles. Since I find that Winterreisse carries a more eerie & deeply haunting range of emotion when it is sung by a tenor, and especially when the tenor voice is matched to a fortepiano. For me, the higher pitch of a tenor voice together with a fortepiano expresses a greater vulnerability & a more delicate range of suffering and heartache and aloneness. After all, this is deeply emotional music. In other words, if given the opportunity to time travel, I'd choose to hear Schubert sing his cycle, accompanying himself on a fortepiano, in the original keys, than sung by his baritone friend, Vogl.

However, I also listen to tenor versions accompanied by a modern piano, too. I should point out that the piano part plays a more significant and expanded role in Winterreise than it does in Die Schöne Müllerin, where I don't see it as being the equal to the singer. While in Winterreise the piano is called upon to produce a huge range of effects and therefore is more prominent.

My favorite performances by tenors are those by Peter Schreier (especially live with pianist Sviatoslav Richter, but also in the studio with Andras Schiff), Werner Güra with Christoph Berner playing a period piano from 1875, Christoph Pregardien with Andreas Staier playing a Viennese period piano from 1825, and Jan Kobow with Christoph Hammer playing a Viennese Brodmann piano from around 1810. Though I wish there was a recording by Fritz Wunderlich...

On piano:

Schreier, Richter, live: 



Schreier, Schiff: 




On a period piano:

Güra, Berner: 



Pregardien, Staier: 



Kobow, Hammer: 




But I'll also occasionally listen to baritone performances as well: primarily those by Olaf Bar with pianist Geoffrey Parsons (which gets underrated, IMO), Gerard Souzay with pianist Dalton Baldwin, and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau with pianist Gerald Moore (on DG & EMI, though I most prefer their 1962 EMI recording), and also the later one with Alfred Brendel on Philips.

Bar, Parsons: 



Fischer-Dieskau, Moore (1962, EMI): 



Souzay, Baldwin: 




In addition, there have been various transcriptions made of Winterreise. For example, Franz Liszt transcribed 12 of the songs from Winterreise to the piano (as it was originally a 12 song cycle): 



. While there are also versions for tenor and piano trio (arranged by tenor Daniel Behle & performed with the Oliver Schnyder Trio): 



, and for tenor and string quartet (arranged by J. Josef and performed by Peter Schreier with the Dresdner Streichquartett): 



. There is also a composed "interpretation" by composer/conductor Hans Zender for tenor and small orchestra (performed by Hans Peter Blochwitz and Ensemble Modern on RCA, Christoph Pregardien and Klangforum Wien on Kairos: 



, and Daniel Behle and the WDR Symphony Orchestra: 



). Plus, there's even a version for tenor, accordion, & wind ensemble!, performed by Pregardien and Pentaédre: https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/7969643--schubert-winterreise-d911. ETC.

So, why limit yourself to just a variety of different voices?

(By the way, here's a link to the ultimate Winterreise website: https://winterreise.online. There is also a companion Die Schöne Müllerin website, too, if anyone's interested.)


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

^^^ I wish you'd put a little more time, effort, and thought into your posts.


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## Barbebleu (May 17, 2015)

amfortas said:


> ^^^ I wish you'd put a little more time, effort, and thought into your posts.


:lol::lol:xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

I prefer a tenor or high baritone who preserve key relationships and minimize downward transposition. The cycle is gloomy enough without adding to the gloom with a bass or bass-baritone voice and muddy, tranposed accompaniments (despite the fact that some of my favorite singers of those voice types, like Hotter, van Dam, Lloyd and recently Groissböck, have recorded the cycle).

I share Josquin13's enthusiasm for Pregardien/Staier and Gura/Berner, but also, among tenor versions, Pears/Britten (as much for Britten's playing as Pears' singing). As for baritone versions, the two I return to most are Hagegard/Schuback and Mattei/Nilsson. For some reason, I'm willing to tolerate some less-than-beautiful vocalism in my tenor versions, but the baritones have to have handsome, healthy voices, and both Hagegard and Mattei certainly meet that criterion.


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## Allegro Con Brio (Jan 3, 2020)

I prefer baritones to tenors in general (not DFD though), and I don't find that the cycle becomes too dark or lugubrious - I think that's basically what it's all about. I find this old recording by Gerhard Hüsch to be exquisitely vocalized such that the darkness is somewhat mitigated:





Ralph Moore's survey provides some interesting thoughts, but his opinions are certainly far off the beaten path, and he excludes Schreier, Fischer-Dieskau, Pears, Pregardien, Bostridge, and several others from his survey because he doesn't like their voices. I do agree with his recommendation of Kurt Moll though; if you want an "old man looking back on his youthful sorrows" kind of approach I think it's darned near unbeatable.


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## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

Josquin13 said:


> You left out mezzo-soprano and soprano. Mezzos Christa Ludwig and Brigitte Fassbaender both sang and recorded Winterreisse, as have sopranos Christine Schäfer (with pianist Eric Schneider), Lotte Lehmann (with pianist Paul Ulanowsky), Julianne Baird (with Andrew Willis on a fortepiano) and Barbara Hendricks (with pianist Love Derwinger), etc.. & there is actually an early precedent for a female voice performing Schubert's musical settings to Wilhelm Müller's poem cycles, considering that soprano Jenny Lind sang Die Schöne Müllerin. & Lind's singing was admired by Robert Schumann, Hector Berlioz, and of course Felix Mendelssohn, with whom she is most associated (as they had a love affair, and Mendelssohn subsequently wrote the soprano part in Elijah for her); as well as by other composers, too. Although, ultimately, I don't favor the Winterreise cycle as sung by a female singer myself, despite that I find Fassbaender interesting in this music.
> 
> Fassbaender, Reimann:
> 
> ...


My bad - i have never listened to a female voice for this cycle. Thanks Josquin. Going strong after 500 years.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

I also like bariton versions (and I have Fassbaender as well as at least one bass (Greindl) on the shelves) but some things work best in the tenor original. I support the recommendation of Pregardien/Staier and an impressive historical tenor version (or several) was recorded by Peter Anders.
Unfortunately I cannot remember the passage but there are several (and one once struck me in particular) when only in the tenor version we have a proper relation between accompaniment and voice. Maybe theoretically it should not matter but transpositions are often not done consistently, i.e. depending on singers preferences a high baritone will sing some in the original? form others obviously transposed, or even transposed by different intervals to get most comfortable. For most tenors some original passages also seem clearly uncomfortable, e.g. "Mein Herz, mein Herz" in "Die Post" can sound quite strained and anguished but this is not inappropriate.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Kreisler jr said:


> I support the recommendation of Pregardien/Staier and an impressive historical tenor version (or several) was recorded by Peter Anders.


I love Anders, but unfortunately, neither of his recordings of Winterreise finds him matched with a particularly good pianist.


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## mparta (Sep 29, 2020)

It's not Kurt Moll's greatest singing, but as with so many things, once I've heard him no one else matters. His Orfeo recording has been with me nonstop lo these many years.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

mparta said:


> It's not Kurt Moll's greatest singing, but as with so many things, once I've heard him no one else matters. His Orfeo recording has been with me nonstop lo these many years.


I yield to no one in my admiration for Kurt Moll, but he sounds rather out of sorts on this recording. I'm generally not a fan of low-voiced Winterreisen, but on those occasions when I want one, there are better choices, such as Greindl, Hotter's with Werba, van Dam, or Robert Lloyd.


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## SixFootScowl (Oct 17, 2011)

Winterreise voice?

Alto (and not countertenor).


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## Kiki (Aug 15, 2018)

My long-time favourite has been Olaf Bär / Geoffrey Parsons, so I'll say a baritone.

I came late to discover the wondering singing of Christoph Prégardien / Andreas Staier (& other accompanists), so I'll say a tenor.

The recent one that got me absolutely smitten is Joyce DiDonato / Yannick Nézet-Séguin, so I'll say a mezzo!


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## mparta (Sep 29, 2020)

wkasimer said:


> I yield to no one in my admiration for Kurt Moll, but he sounds rather out of sorts on this recording. I'm generally not a fan of low-voiced Winterreisen, but on those occasions when I want one, there are better choices, such as Greindl, Hotter's with Werba, van Dam, or Robert Lloyd.


That's what I meant by "not his greatest singing", he croaks a little
But I still love the basic voice so much (i think there's no other singer with that resonance at the bottom of the voice)--- I think I have a Hotter, probably have Greindl, certain I have Van Dam. Van Dam is a little dull in this to me, that's what I remember, and I have never found much attractive about Hotter in any setting, including an extended set of lieder recordings on Dante or Lys. Have to go back and look at Greindl, i certainly know the name but the recordings I've encountered aren't coming to mind.

i saw Winterreise as a theater piece with Simon Keenlyside in NYC long ago and it was wonderful, because he's wonderful. I think his first recording was a Schubert lieder recital that I really love. And he did this interpretive dance version in a very expressive and moving way.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

Allegro Con Brio said:


> Ralph Moore's survey provides some interesting thoughts, but his opinions are certainly far off the beaten path, and he excludes Schreier, Fischer-Dieskau, Pears, Pregardien, Bostridge, and several others from his survey because he doesn't like their voices. I do agree with his recommendation of Kurt Moll though; if you want an "old man looking back on his youthful sorrows" kind of approach I think it's darned near unbeatable.


His fussiness about voices is regularly infuriating. He misses out on so many great performances and not just with Winterreise. It's a shame because otherwise he often has interesting things to say and his knowledge of recordings is large ... but his viability as a serious critic is severely damaged by all those allergies.


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## mparta (Sep 29, 2020)

Enthusiast said:


> His fussiness about voices is regularly infuriating. He misses out on so many great performances and not just with Winterreise. It's a shame because otherwise he often has interesting things to say and his knowledge of recordings is large ... but his viability as a serious critic is severely damaged by all those allergies.


Why would it not be valid to exclude singers from your choices if you don't like their voices? That's an odd standard. "I don't like the voice but others think it's good so I'll sign on"?

I won't dilate on my agreement with the opinions of some of the singers mentioned, doesn't help to knock things others like, but certainly valid to not like some of these singers.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

mparta said:


> Why would it not be valid to exclude singers from your choices if you don't like their voices?


I agree. They're Moore's personal preferences. If I don't enjoy the sound of a singer's voice, their recording is, for me, a nonstarter, and I'm not going to waste my time listening to a singer whose basic sound irritates or annoys me, trying to hear what others hear. Music is to be enjoyed.


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## Enthusiast (Mar 5, 2016)

mparta said:


> Why would it not be valid to exclude singers from your choices if you don't like their voices? That's an odd standard. "I don't like the voice but others think it's good so I'll sign on"?
> 
> I won't dilate on my agreement with the opinions of some of the singers mentioned, doesn't help to knock things others like, but certainly valid to not like some of these singers.


It is the sheer volume of widely loved and respected singers that he rejects that gets me. I find that limits the value to me of his potentially invaluable critiques. I have no problem with his having his own taste but I feel a critic should be able to understand the appeal of a range of approaches to a piece.


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## amfortas (Jun 15, 2011)

wkasimer said:


> I agree. They're Moore's personal preferences. If I don't enjoy the sound of a singer's voice, their recording is, for me, a nonstarter, and I'm not going to waste my time listening to a singer whose basic sound irritates or annoys me, trying to hear what others hear. Music is to be enjoyed.


That's fair enough--so long as it's also fair that a critic's exclusions may make him or her, for some readers, a nonstarter.


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## Phil loves classical (Feb 8, 2017)

It's the voice and singing that turned me off of this work, but I just happened to listen to Hans Hotter's 1942 version, and I thought it was great.


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## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

Phil loves classical said:


> It's the voice and singing that turned me off of this work, but I just happened to listen to Hans Hotter's 1942 version, and I thought it was great.


Everyone in this thread, especially Josquin13, had good comments and succeeded in mentioning just about every significant historical recording I'm aware of and then some -- except for the inimitable Hans Hotter. Though, I'm only familiar with his version with Gerald Moore, and you're talking about a much earlier one, I suspect. Hotter supposedly declined significantly later in his career, so the earlier one is worth checking out. Thanks.


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## 89Koechel (Nov 25, 2017)

Yes, Hotter was very fine in his Winterreise's ... although his voice DID decline, even more, in later years. Sometimes, he could sound HOLLOW, and that's why I still object to some of his recordings - as in Wagner's Parsifal. There are probably almost NO singers who could sing Die Winterreise, these days, with the true focus and "memorableness" of former singers, but maybe someone can. Geez, can we imagine if the late Fritz Wunderlich could've sung the cycle, before his career was cut-short? ... Anyhoo, thanks for the excellent comments, and we'll go, further.


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## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

89Koechel said:


> Yes, Hotter was very fine in his Winterreise's ... although his voice DID decline, even more, in later years. Sometimes, he could sound HOLLOW, and that's why I still object to some of his recordings - as in Wagner's Parsifal. There are probably almost NO singers who could sing Die Winterreise, these days, with the true focus and "memorableness" of former singers, but maybe someone can. Geez, can we imagine if the late Fritz Wunderlich could've sung the cycle, before his career was cut-short? ... Anyhoo, thanks for the excellent comments, and we'll go, further.


I see Hotter recorded Winterreise with Gerald Moore for EMI in May 1954 at the age of 45, whereas the earlier version, for Deutsche Gramophon with Michael Raucheisen, was recorded in 1942 and 1943. So potentially that's enough of a time difference to matter. I'll check it out. As for Fritz Wunderlich, I have to agree. His elegant and persuasive Dichterliebe on DG (also with Beethoven and Schubert) is one of my all time favorite lieder records. Two very different, but both memorable, singers.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

fluteman said:


> I see Hotter recorded Winterreise with Gerald Moore for EMI in May 1954 at the age of 45, whereas the earlier version, for Deutsche Gramophon with Michael Raucheisen, was recorded in 1942 and 1943. So potentially that's enough of a time difference to matter.


There are at least four commercial Hotter recordings of Winterreise, plus a couple of broadcasts. On the earliest 1942/43 version with Raucheisen, he still sounds like a baritone (and at the time, he was still singing Verdi baritone roles), and vocally, it's certainly the best of them. In addition to the EMI version with Moore (1954ish), there's a stereo version with Erik Werba on DG that I like a lot; by the time of this recording (1961), he'd largely moved on to bass roles and there are fairly significant transpositions, but he's vocally reasonably steady. The last version was with Hans Dokoupil, but was released only in Japan, as far as I know. Although it's worth hearing if you have a chance, I don't think that it adds a lot to Hotter's Winterreise legacy.

Vocally, Hotter's best days were clearly during WW2, and there was a pretty precipitous vocal decline through the 50's, but he still had good days on which he gave some impressive performances.



> As for Fritz Wunderlich, I have to agree. His elegant and persuasive Dichterliebe on DG (also with Beethoven and Schubert) is one of my all time favorite lieder records. Two very different, but both memorable, singers.


Had Wunderlich lived to perform Winterreise, I suspect that it would have been vocally immaculate, but interpretively superficial. He was a fabulous vocalist, but not a particularly imaginative or deep interpreter of Lieder.


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## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

wkasimer said:


> Had Wunderlich lived to perform Winterreise, I suspect that it would have been vocally immaculate, but interpretively superficial. He was a fabulous vocalist, but not a particularly imaginative or deep interpreter of Lieder.


I know what you mean, but the sheer beauty and elegance of his voice carries the day for me, especially in early romantic or classical repertoire. The late romantic era brought an exciting, dramatic style of singing (and playing) that can make the earlier style seem ho-hum. But I enjoy the earlier style too. Call it HIP for the era of Schubert, Schumann, Chopin, and Mendelssohn.

As a flute player, it was interesting to follow the career of another famous superstar who, oddly enough, and despite his prodigious virtuosity, was a proponent of that early romantic style that had already long been superseded by the 1920s, when he was born: Jean-Pierre Rampal. All through his career, reviewers praised his elegance, purity of tone and technique, but often called his interpretations shallow, superficial, one dimensional and lacking in emotion, most often with baroque and classical repertoire, ironically.

In the violin world, Jacques Thibaud is an example of the earlier style surviving into the early age of recording. But Jascha Heifetz and his Russian colleagues and their aggressive style came to dominate in the 20th century. Ironically, Heifetz was a student of Leopold Auer, apparently a proponent of the elegant early romantic style, though he made few recordings and only very late in his life and career.

All of which is to say, I appreciate what Wunderlich had to offer as a lieder singer.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

Wunderlich was also not even 36 when he died. It is very possible that in another 10 years his interpretation of Lieder would have matured and gained in depth.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Kreisler jr said:


> Wunderlich was also not even 36 when he died. It is very possible that in another 10 years his interpretation of Lieder would have matured and gained in depth.


I guess it's possible, but I can't think of a single singer for whom that evolution occurred at that late an age.


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## 89Koechel (Nov 25, 2017)

fluteman - Nice post, esp. about Heifetz and Thibaud (and the note of Auer, as a teacher). Also, thanks for the note 'bout Jean-Pierre R ... one of the great, classical, flutists. BTW, I also like the late Doriot Anthony Dwyer/flutist, esp. in a recording of Debussy's "Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp", with Burton Fine and Ann Hobson; the tempos are exquisitely-judged, and the playing is almost magical. ... ANYHOO, if you're happy with Wunderlich, in Winterreise, then so BE it. I don't think any singer, anymore, could match Hotter, or even the flaws of Wunderlich, in this music, in those past recordings. It would be remarkable, to be proven-wrong, about this ... so maybe it could happen, one could hope.


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## 89Koechel (Nov 25, 2017)

Bill Kasimer - Yes, it's certain that hardly any singer could achieve the best, in Die Winterreise, at almost any age ... considering the demands. Well, excuse me for going into the "could be" category", but one can only imagine if Jussi Bjorling was "let loose" in this cycle, with his exceptional intonation, optimistic tendencies, and the great, finishing touches (so to speak) that he exhibited, in almost all of his recordings and/or recitals. Well, the "optimistic tendencies" might not JIBE with the dour, Schubert cycle ... but I should think that JB would make all of his great intentions INTO the best ... of such a cycle, in it's results. OK, just an opinion or two, and thanks.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

At the time of his death, Wunderlich was IMO mostly an opera singer. AFAIK his lieder repertoire was Die Schöne Müllerin, Dichterliebe and around 20 songs as fillers/encores. 
It is speculation in any case but this focus could have shifted later on but one can obviously also take this small lieder repertoire as an indication that he would never have become mainly a lieder singer.


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## fluteman (Dec 7, 2015)

89Koechel said:


> fluteman - Nice post, esp. about Heifetz and Thibaud (and the note of Auer, as a teacher). Also, thanks for the note 'bout Jean-Pierre R ... one of the great, classical, flutists. BTW, I also like the late Doriot Anthony Dwyer/flutist, esp. in a recording of Debussy's "Sonata for Flute, Viola and Harp", with Burton Fine and Ann Hobson; the tempos are exquisitely-judged, and the playing is almost magical. ... ANYHOO, if you're happy with Wunderlich, in Winterreise, then so BE it. I don't think any singer, anymore, could match Hotter, or even the flaws of Wunderlich, in this music, in those past recordings. It would be remarkable, to be proven-wrong, about this ... so maybe it could happen, one could hope.


I like Ian Bostridge with Schubert but he is already yesterday's news -- my generation, for gosh sakes. I don't know who, if anyone, has taken his place at this point. In another thread, I'm being roasted for suggesting anyone still knows how to teach singing, much less sing.

As for the flute, and in particular Debussy's great trio, the Boston Symphony Chamber players made numerous superb recordings for DG in the 1970s, of which the Debussy trio you mention is one, iirc.


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## Tempesta (Sep 2, 2021)

The fact that so many different voices have taken on _ Winterreise_ including Alice Coote, accompanied by Julius Drake at Wigmore Hall, attest to the resilience and durability of the masterpiece.


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## mparta (Sep 29, 2020)

Kreisler jr said:


> At the time of his death, Wunderlich was IMO mostly an opera singer. AFAIK his lieder repertoire was Die Schöne Müllerin, Dichterliebe and around 20 songs as fillers/encores.
> It is speculation in any case but this focus could have shifted later on but one can obviously also take this small lieder repertoire as an indication that he would never have become mainly a lieder singer.


Would have listened to him sing the phone book.


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## JTS (Sep 26, 2021)

No question in my mind the cycle works best with a tenor. Schreier with Richter live in Dresden my preferred version. Astonishing!


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

I am looking very much forward to this one. 
Most of all Benjamin Appl are going yo record it, now that is a treat .:angel:


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## Parsifal98 (Apr 29, 2020)

As anyone listened to Christa Ludwig's recording of the work? I have read Ralph Moore's survey and he writes of the _additional wobble which has crept into her vibrato_. Now, I have never heard Christa Ludwig wobble and I would like to know if there is any truth to such a declaration.


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## Kreisler jr (Apr 21, 2021)

I have not heard Ludwig in Winterreise but it is a rather late recording (1986, when she was 58, she retired 1994).


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Parsifal98 said:


> As anyone listened to Christa Ludwig's recording of the work? I have read Ralph Moore's survey and he writes of the _additional wobble which has crept into her vibrato_. Now, I have never heard Christa Ludwig wobble and I would like to know if there is any truth to such a declaration.


As far as I can recall SixFootScowl has the recording.


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Kreisler jr said:


> I have not heard Ludwig in Winterreise but it is a rather late recording (1986, when she was 58, she retired 1994).


I attended her final Met performance (Fricka in a matinee Walküre in April, 1993), and her singing was excellent by any standard. I've also heard the Winterreise recording; while it isn't among my favorites (among women, I prefer Fassbaender and Coote), there's absolutely nothing wrong with Ludwig's vocalism.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Rogerx said:


> I am looking very much forward to this one.
> l:


It's arrived, need more listing for a real judgment.


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## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

Will await verdict. Great cover


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## AClockworkOrange (May 24, 2012)

My preferred option would be Mezzo Soprano thanks to Brigitte Fassbaender. Hers was the version which really resonated with me and she is one of my favourite Lieder singers. Her delivery is crisp and captures the nature and character of the music wonderfully.

Of the options in the poll, I tend to favour Baritones. In this piece I especially love Herrmann Prey’s interpretation. Like Fassbaender, Prey is one of my favourite male Lieder singers. His tone and delivery is simply fantastic. It has a rounded, very human quality that I find enthralling in Lieder (and Opera).


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## Art Rock (Nov 28, 2009)

AClockworkOrange said:


> Prey is one of my favourite male Lieder singers.


I always find it fascinating how different our tastes are even though we all love classical music, and in this case Schubert's Winterreise in particular. Prey is one of my least favourite Lieder singers. No right or wrong - à chacun son goût.


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## AClockworkOrange (May 24, 2012)

Art Rock said:


> I always find it fascinating how different our tastes are even though we all love classical music, and in this case Schubert's Winterreise in particular. Prey is one of my least favourite Lieder singers. No right or wrong - à chacun son goût.


I agree that it is fascinating. I think the appeal of different singers to different people is incredibly subjective. I think it's often as much to do with the listener as it is with the performer.

The wonderful thing about music is the range of different interpretations it can successfully support and the different qualities which can be brought out. As you rightly say, there's no right or wrong.


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## Rogerx (Apr 27, 2018)

Benjamin Appl and Joseph Middleton play Der Lindenbaum for BBC Radio 3 at the BBC's Maida Vale Studio. 
Benjamin Appl is a BBC New Generation Artist


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## Mister Meow (10 mo ago)

As usual, I have only heard (or remember hearing) one recording, and it's with Thomas Quasthoff and Charles Spencer, so that's my current favorite. I should try some other ones when I'm feeling more adventurous.


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## juliante (Jun 7, 2013)

A tenor voice such as Mark Padmore's suits the icy atmosphere better i find. Much as a love quastoff's voice.


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## Mister Meow (10 mo ago)

Mister Meow said:


> As usual, I have only heard (or remember hearing) one recording, and it's with Thomas Quasthoff and Charles Spencer, so that's my current favorite. I should try some other ones when I'm feeling more adventurous.


So I checked on Hoopla today and they have 40 (!) different recordings available. How am supposed to decide which one to listen to first? Just start at the top? What if I get tired of this work before I finish listening to all 40 versions?


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## Monsalvat (11 mo ago)

Mister Meow said:


> So I checked on Hoopla today and they have 40 (!) different recordings available. How am supposed to decide which one to listen to first? Just start at the top? What if I get tired of this work before I finish listening to all 40 versions?


You can try this guide: https://www.gramophone.co.uk/featur...erreise-a-quick-guide-to-essential-recordings

There is also this older thread from this site: Help Choosing a Winterreise Recording

I don't know the Fischer-Dieskau/Demus recording that Gramophone liked in the article I linked, but I am familiar with the Fischer-Dieskau/Moore recording, and I think he is a good place to start. I also know that Fischer-Dieskau recorded it with Daniel Barenboim, and with Alfred Brendel, so you have a lot of choices with just this one singer! There is also a 1954 mono recording with Hans Hotter and Gerald Moore. For tenors, the two choices that come to my mind are Peter Schreier and Peter Pears (since I recently listened to Pears' recording with Benjamin Britten).


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## Mister Meow (10 mo ago)

Monsalvat said:


> There is also this older thread from this site: Help Choosing a Winterreise Recording


Thanks. I should have known that this question would have been answered already somewhere on the forum.


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## Ludwig Schon (10 mo ago)

Kaufmann has been my go to Winterreise for quite a while now, with Gura my choice for Die Schone Mullerin

Has either work ever been undertaken by a countertenor?

P.S. I absolutely despise effete, Bullingdon Bostridge and his Allo Allo exaggerated accent. Padmore should also not be allowed to sing in German. Two tragically bad lieder singers, beloved of the English press…


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## wkasimer (Jun 5, 2017)

Mister Meow said:


> So I checked on Hoopla today and they have 40 (!) different recordings available. How am supposed to decide which one to listen to first? Just start at the top? What if I get tired of this work before I finish listening to all 40 versions?


I think that you should narrow it down. Do you want a man or a woman singing? If the former, tenor, baritone, or bass? Do you prefer a modern piano or a period instrument (fortepiano)? Do you value vocal beauty over expression? If you think about some of these things, it's easier to narrow your choices.


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## Mandryka (Feb 22, 2013)

Mister Meow said:


> So I checked on Hoopla today and they have 40 (!) different recordings available. How am supposed to decide which one to listen to first? Just start at the top? What if I get tired of this work before I finish listening to all 40 versions?


 Listen to 30 seconds of one song from each and see which voices turn you off and which voices turn you on. Then take the ones which you can tolerate and listen in alphabetical order.


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## Mister Meow (10 mo ago)

Today, by chance, I listened to part of a recording by Werner Güra (tenor) and Christoph Berner on Harmonia Mundi. I still prefer Thomas Quasthoff and Charles Spencer, for both the singing and piano parts. It seems like I often prefer whichever recording I heard first, though that's not always the case.


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## Wigmar (7 mo ago)

juliante said:


> Tenor or Baritone or Bass baritone or Bass? I never tire of this piece and so like to hear different voices. But if i had to choose i guess it would be tenor, the sonorities suit the frosty feel.


Wolfgang Holzmair, baritone. He sings brilliantly.


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