Customer Reviews

Mahler: Songs of a Wayfarer; Kindertotenlieder; Rückert-Lieder

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

 

 

Andreas Schmidt was 30 when he made this CD and the negative reviews obviously compare him to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and other Germans that hector along, overemphasizing every other note and emoting their way through the music, sobbing all over for dead children and crying over the losses felt in wayfarer songs. If you like things overdone, you'll dislike this CD too. If you enjoy a reading of the music as music, this is a great CD with concentrated poetry, singing and orchestral playing. Schmidt has a wonderful instrument and uses it in masterful collaboration with Lopez Cobos and the Cincinnati Orchestra, which was one of America's most German-sounding orchestra with JL-C at the controls. I have enjoyed this collection of songs more than collections by more famous singers including Fish-Dish, Christa Ludwig and Schwarzkopf. It is a portentous collection tha builds steadlily and peaks during the final Ruckert song, "Um Mitternacht" or "At Midnight". This haunting tune shows the Cincinnati Orchestra in its very best light, where the playing and orchestral color are nearly as fine as in their staggeringly successful reading of the composer's 9th symphony some years later under Lopez-Cobos. But get this for Schmidt's fine voice, temperament, understatement and diction.

These performances of Mahler's orchestral song-cycles are a very consistently satisfying pack. Beautifully polished playing by the Cincinnati Orchestra under the thoughtful baton of Jesus Lopez-Cobos and noble, intelligent but at the same time warmly sympathetic singing by Andreas Schmidt throughout. The orchestra and singer are recorded fairly directly with not much reverberation, with clear detail everywhere within a warmly glowing and rounded sound - your standard demonstration quality disc, in that respect.

The songs are here taken at nicely judged, naturally flowing speeds, but they may seem(!) much slower sometimes because of the portamenti, mainly in the strings - providing a beautifully appropriate atmosphere of melancholy. The performances on this CD feel more sympathetically appealing than many others, which IMHO is a good thing, at least at times when I just want to listen to these songs for beauty's sake, although other people may find that more (raw) emotion could (and should) be wrested out of these songs. These performances may also lack a certain tension and build-ups towards climaxes, but that doesn't bother me much when the end result is so beautiful. There ARE many other performances of these songs, each of which fits a certain mood or taste, and I listen to those also, of course.

Nonetheles, I believe these are artful, generally relaxed and 'safe'(?) performances which have their very own legitimate things to say about these songs. Warmly recommended.

This CD is a great collection of Mahler's songs and the preformance by the Cincinnati Orchestra is good. The tempi are a bit slow but this adds depth to the interpretaion. Andreas Schmidt has a good, clean voice but if you have a Ferrier (EMI, Decca) or a Fischer-Dieskau (Orfeo) you can not give 5*.As always Telarc engineers have worked miracles. A good addition to somebody's collections but not a first choice. I would prefer Ferrier for the Kindertotenlieder (EMI) and Fischer-Dieskau for the other cycles (Orfeo with Furtwangler).

I have Fischer-Dieskau's version, and I like it OK, but this version is better because Andreas Schmidt has a superior voice--stunningly beautiful. Don't worry about the tempo--it's perfect. Just enjoy the music, guys!

This performance is technically more than competent (both vocally and orchestrally), but the tempi are truly lethargic and there is a conspicuous lack of emotional engagement with this great music. Seek out other performances of these masterpieces. For example, Christa Ludwig recorded the Ruckert Lieder and Kindertotenlieder with Karajan. Those performances are infinitely more musical (and moving) than these rather lackluster interpretations.

Frankly, these performances are very disappointing. Schmidt sings smoothly and cleanly, but he fails to plumb the emotional depths of this great music. I recommend that you purchase Dame Janet Baker's performances (available on EMI Great Recordings of the Century) or Christa Ludwig's performances, or Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's. There are wonderful performances of these masterpieces readily available, so don't settle for these emotionally tepid run-throughs.

A great introduction to the songs of this amazing composer and underrated singer.