Eisler: Hollywooder Liederbuch (Hollywood Songbook)

Hans Eisler (Composer), Wolfgang Holzmair (Performer), Peter Stamm (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Wolfgang Holzmair, Peter Stamm
• Composer: Hans Eisler
• Audio CD (November 19, 1996)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Koch Schwann
• ASIN: B000001ST6
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #67,317 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Track Listings

1. Recollection of Eichendorff & Schumann (Eichendorff)

2. The son (Brecht)

3. To the little wireless set (Brecht)

4. In the willow trees (Brecht)

5. Spring (Brecht)

6. The pantry 1942 (Brecht)

7. On the run (Brecht)

8. On suicide (Brecht)

9. Escape (Brecht)

10. Memorial for 4,000 soldiers who were sunk at sea during the war against Norway (Brecht)

11. Eptiaph for a soldier kissed at Flanders (Brecht)

12. Anacreontic fragments (Morike)

13. Winter words (Brecht)

14. The last elegy (Brecht)

15. Five elegies (Brecht)

16. Nightmare (Bieler)

17. The treasure-seeker (Goethe)

18. Proverb (Brecht)

19. Zwei Lieder nach Worten von Pascal (from 'Pensees')

20. Tank battle in France (Brecht)

See all 32 tracks on this disc

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

9 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A tribute to Eisler, Communism and Holzmair, September 1, 2004

By 

Larry VanDeSande - See all my reviews
(TOP 1000 REVIEWER)    (VINE VOICE)   

This review is from: Eisler: Hollywooder Liederbuch (Hollywood Songbook) (Audio CD)

I think this is one of Wolfgang Holzmair's very best performances on CD. He portrays the angst and bitterness of these songs with an exquisite tone and projection rare for him. The recording is very good and everything is delivered in a clear, balanced format.

Unfortunately, this CD is out of print and probably won't be coming back soon. A Communist expatriate who wrote these songs of alienation and loss while in Hollywood, Eisler's songs of capitalist betrayal and decadence are today most well-known to listeners through the outstanding CD by another burgeoning German singer, Matthias Goerne.

His CD was received with wide open arms all over the world when it was released five years ago or so. It won a lot of awards including a vocal CD award from Gramophone magazine. Critics gushed over his voice and interpretation of the songs.

I don't disagree with any of that. All I have to say is, in my opinion, the version by Wolfgang Holzmair is better than Goerne's. To me Holzmair better projects the affect of alienation in the music. His recital seems more alive to me. In addition, I prefer the notes to this issue and the layout over the Goerne CD.

If you have an interest in lieder, European-American history and the difference in the way people viewed Communism and capitalism in mid-20th Century, you might be interested in these songs. For now, you'd have to get Goerne's unless this one is available used or comes back into print.