Customer Reviews

The Hyperion Schubert Edition 30 - Winterreise / Goerne, Johnson

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

 

 

Besides having a keen and instinctive sense of phrasing and shading, Matthias Goerne possesses a voice that is beautiful in color and tone and also has impressive weight and range. His heartfelt rendering of Winterreise is deeply affecting but never contrived or exaggerated. I can't think of any version I would rather listen to. Simply sublime.

Matthias Goerne signs one of the most moving performances of this most moving song cycle. I grew up with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, but Goerne's voice and attention to the nuances of the text is as wonderful in their ways as is the "master's." Goerne is clearly one of the two or three best of the new generation. This is another feather in the cap of the Schubert series.

Goerne is at the top of his form in this wonderful performance of Schubert's most moving song cycle. Even for Fischer-Dieskau partisans (and I am among them), this is a sterling performance. One of the best of the Hyperion Schubert series. Highly rcommended.

I highly recommend this disc. I prefer this Schubert Edition to Goerne's recent live version. This is my favorite recording of "Winterreise." Beautiful singing of beautiful music. Buy this CD.

Winterreise is the peak of German lieder and Schubert's greatest song cycle. It demands a wide expressive range and great vocal cntrol. Goerne has much of what's needed, and his voice is very mellifluous and smooth--he almost croons the last few songs. However, the tragic side of Schubert's lyricism hasn't been explored here, much less unleashed. If you want a beautiful skim of Winterreise, this is a very good CD, although I expect more from the pianist than Graham Johnson's unimpressive, rhythmically challenged accompaniment. If you want tragic depth and total commitment, you'll have to look elsewhere.

P.S. -- In his remake with Alfred Brendel on Decca, Goerne make considerable advances in artistry. Brendel's accompaniment is soft-grained, but miles ahead of what we have here.