Customer Reviews

Lieder

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I have begun to collect WINTERREISE recordings, and am amazed how many are in print. Of the baritones, I prefer Thomas Allen, even beyond much of Fischer-Dieskau. Allen's voice is richer and more expressive (yes!) than Fischer-Dieskau's in many of the songs. Further, for fans, he is still singing beautifully, as well as being charming, in concert (recently at the 92nd St. Y in NY City). Since I think of Winterreise as a mini-opera, as well as one of the most important works in Western music, Allen, an accomplished opera-singer, is a superb choice.

This is perhaps my favorite recording of Winterreise, if only because there is a strong sense that the performers are on the same page. It is almost as if a stage director had focused the psychological details of each song and the shape of the cycle as a whole. Thomas Allen's slightly gruff voice works well in depicting the social outcast and Roger Vignoles' piano work has a clarity of specifics. I might quibble with a few slow tempos in the second half of the opus, but the pair obviously agree on the dramatic interpretation being put forth.

(Contrast this to the Thomas Hampson/Wolfgang Sawallisch recording. Maestro S gives an intimate parlor reading of the work while Hampson leads a full-blown operatic assault.)

This being a double CD set, you get the added treat of Arleen Auger singing a recital of some Schubert favorites. All in all a superb value.