Product Details

• Actors: Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
• Directors: Bruno Monsaingeon
• Format: Black & White, Classical, Color, NTSC
• Language: English, German
• Rated: NR (Not Rated)
• Number of tapes: 2
• Studio: Elektra / Wea
• VHS Release Date: May 11, 1999
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• ASIN: B00000IO4N
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #298,422 in Movies & TV (See Top 100 in Movies & TV)

Editorial Reviews

Fischer-Dieskau's commitment to contemporary music led to his participation in first performances of works by many composers, including Benjamin Britten, Samuel Barber, Hans Werner Henze, Ernst Krenek, Witold Lutoslawski, Siegfried Matthus, Winfried Zillig, Gottfried von Einem, and Aribert Reimann. As 'the world's greatest Lieder singer' (Time Magazine), he regularly sold out concert halls all over the world until his retirement at the end of 1992. The precisely articulated accuracy of his performances, in which text and music were presented as equal partners, established enduring standards. The current widespread interest in German Romantic art song is mainly due to his efforts. Perhaps most admired as a singer of Schubert lieder, Fischer-Dieskau had, according to critic Joachim Kaiser, only one really serious competitor-- himself, as over the decades he set new standards, explored new territories, and expressed unsuspected feelings and emotions.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

16 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Fischer-Dieskau comes alive in this documentary., August 29, 2000

By 

Celia A. Sgroi - See all my reviews

This review is from: Autumn Journey & A Franz Schubert Recital (2pc) [VHS] (VHS Tape)

"Autumn Journey" is a portrait, not a biography, and it is mostly told in Fischer-Dieskau's own words (and his voice-- he does the English voiceover), as well as in photographs, and a vast amount of performance and rehearsal footage that spans F-D's nearly 50-year career as a musician, much of it entirely new to people outside of Germany. Although I have been a FiDi fan for more than 30 years, at least half of the material in "Autumn Journey" consisted of things I had never seen. I especially treasure the little clips of F-D rehearsing "Geheimes" with Gerald Moore and Bach's Cantata 82 with Karl Richter and looking as if he were really enjoying what he was doing. And then there's F-D performing "Erlkoenig" with Gerald Moore and singing the final section of Britten "War Requiem": "I am the enemy you killed, my friend." Or FiDi as Falstaff, improbable as it always seems, or rehearsing for "Il Tabarro" with Julia Varady and looking about as in love as anyone could look. There are also scenes of him teaching and conducting, not to mention coaching Julia Varady in an aria from "Il Ballo in Maschera." And for anyone who has not had the chance to see F-D off the stage and out of costume and makeup, the interview portions provide the opportunity to hear his speaking voice, watch his expressions and gestures, and try to understand what made him such a master communicator on the stage. The accompanying concert video is from very late in F-D's career, and despite the obvious vocal decline, it is a valuable document of the performance style of a master singer.