Customer Reviews

The Hyperion Schubert Edition 25 - Die schöne Müllerin / Bostridge, Fischer-Dieskau, Johnson

5 star:		(8)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(1)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

A recording to treasure. In a recent concert at Carnegie Hall, I was a little turned off by Bostridge's stage posturing,but the voice was there and what a voice it is! I highly recommend this recording,as well as his Schumann and Britten;concerning the present Schubert ,I find that his young sound very much goes with the youthful angst of the rejected lover.Buy it!

I've only recently discovered the wonderful singing voice of Ian Bostridge, but I'm captivated.For clarity, tone,and expression, he can't be beaten.;if you enjoy this you must try his Schubert Lieder,on EMI, accompanist Julius Drake. "Litanei auf das Fest Allerseelen" is so beautiful, and what about the "Erlkonig?".Have you ever heard anything so creepy?

This is a marvelous CD .Ian's temperemant are neatly fit to the cycle, both in age and sound. With his golden and fresh tone, the sorrow of the muller are more convincible and vivid compared to those old tenors. His interpretion is so moving that I wonder anyone can surpass this. Graham's accompaniment are as well superb as Fischer-Diskau's recite.

This song-cycle is among Schubert's most famous, a sort of picture-book of the young, depressed lover's moods as he pines away for his lady-love. Graham Johnson's notes make clear that the young man of the poems is half in love with easeful death, and Bostridge conveys the nuances of this mood brilliantly. Johnson's playing is, as far as I can tell, faultless. It's no wonder that Fischer-Diskau, the old lion of lieder singing, contributes to the project. It's hard to imagine Schubert sung any better by a tenor.

'The Hyperion Schubert Edition Complete Songs Nr. 25 Die Schone Mullerin' was quite a surprise when it was first released. I still remember that in the Brit music journals such as Grammaphone, there was much speculation as to who would perform this most important series of Lieder. This is especially true since this, 'Winterreise, and 'Schwanengesang' have been done by the foremost interpreter of Lieder, baritone, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

Lo and behold, the series major domo, Graham Johnson has double teamed us with the Lieder being sung by new (at the time of release)tenor Ian Bostridge, with introductory material being read by Fischer-Dieskau himself.

I have heard Fischer-Dieskau's 'Die Schone Mullerin' and the interpretation is impeccable, but I really prefer the tenor range over the baritone for these songs.

I notice that Bostridge has recorded this same series for London, and I have not heard this recording, but I firmly endorse this rendition, especially if, like me, you are in love with big, uniform collections of musical works.

SCHUBERT AND BOSTRIDGE: THE WEDDING OF TWO GREAT TALENTS.

"Bostridge's peculiarly beseeching voice enshines the vulnerability, tender feeling and obsessive love of the youthful miller,,,A soul-searching interpretation..." GRAMOPHONE

The story of the beautiful maid of the mill (its origin unknown)has been used by various composers through the years, In fact, Schubert may have heard it first in a Paisiello Opera entitled: La Belle Molinara. Each song in the cycle is a "gem" portraying all the varied moods of a lover yearning for his desire, but not attainable. As in many Schubert songs "Nature" is much in evidence such as in "Wohin" when the lover talks to the babbling brook.

Included on this disc are six other poems by Wilhelm Muller that have not been set to music. They are read by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau who was originally slated to make this recording, but circumstances prevented it and then he retired in his seventieth year, after dominating the world of Lieder for over forty years. He happily agreed to do the reading of the six poems on this disc.

The 20 songs are: Das Wandern(wandering)-Wohin? (where to?)- Halt (halt)-Danksagung (Thanksgiving to the brook)-Am Feierabend(after work)-Der Neugierige(the inquisitive one)--Ungeduld(impatience)-Morgengruss(morning greeting)-Des Mullers Blumen(the miller's flowers)-Tranenregen(shower of tears)- -Mein!(mine!)-Pause (pause)-Mit Dem Grunen Lauterbande(to accompany the lute's green ribbon)-Der Jager(the huntsman)-Eifersucht Und Stolz(jealousy and pride)- Die Liebe Farbe(the beloved colour)- Die Bose Farbe(the loathsome colour)-Trockne Blumen(withered flowers)-Der Muller Und Der Bach(the miller and the brook)-Des Baches Wiegenlied(the brook's lullaby).

With his favored composers (Britten and Schubert)Ian Bostridge pays vivid attention to text and immaculate phrasing, that few of his contemporiaries can match. This type of approach certainly contradicts the idea of the 'singer' as a simply intuitive-and therefore unthinking- creature of nature.

Who but an Ian Bostridge with his clear and sweet-sounding young voice could do justice to this beautiful music! Schubert would be pleased. No need really to comment on the excellent skilled accompaniment of Graham Johnson. This is listening pleasure of the highest quality.

This is superb. If you happened to read Amazon's in-house review, don't pay much attention to the reviewer's lukewarm tone. The fact that he says that this "recording is not as flattering as others in this series," probably indicates that he doesn't know that Bostridge has won the prestigious Gramophone "Best solo vocal" award for this song cycle in 1996. Bostridge's light silvery voice and exquisite intonation make him ideal for this repertory. Who needs Fisher-Dieskau?

This is an early Bostridge recording, and his youthful voice is a good match for this light-hearted song cycle. A charming disc, one you'll return to repeatedly.

Don't get me wrong - this is a good record. I love Bostridges voice, and his Schuman and Schubert records on EMI are 5 star records (so is his Britten too) but here he sounds too immature. Not only his voice, but the whole interpretation. Hope he'll make a second attempt on the work rather soon, for now I stick to DF-D.

This would have been a simply phenomenal recording if Mr. Bostridge continued his collaboration with Mr. Drake. Julius Drake is not simply an "accompanist" (what an awful description of any collaborative artist) - he is a first class pianist and musician and that is why the EMI accounts are so wonderful and this one not. It suffers from a rather insensitive and crude, although very competent piano playing as well as from too "opened" miking of the piano. All that said it is still an emphatic "must have" disc!