Customer Reviews

Schubert: Schwanengesang / Terfel

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I am not an ardent fan of Fischer-Dieskau, but all his considerable abilities were lavished on Schwanengesang. I kept his early EMI recording as a standard for years, but now we have three excellent alternatives--Bo Skovhus on Sony, Thomas Quasthoff on DG, and this early Terfel recording on an obscure Welsh label, Sain. Of the three, Terfel is the powerhouse. His huge dramatic baritone is unleashed in many songs--for heroism and sheer vocal thrills he has no match. But this giant can also walk on air and tenderly break your heart.

Still in his twenties when he made this CD in 1992, Terfel was three years past his win at the Cardiff Singer of the World competition--a wonderfully hyprebolic title for a hyperbolic singer. Everything here is totally heart-on-sleeve, and Terfel's passions spill over the boundaries of the lied. No matter. His musical instincts are completely natural and unforced, just the thing Schubert requires. Happily, the recent wobble in his voice and his tendency to self-parodied histrionics are nowhere in sight. Malcolm Martineau gives a world-class accompaniment, far beyond Gerald Moore for F-D.

All in all, if you have been looking for a great lieder singer with a ravishing voice, something F-D never had, this CD stands high on the list.

Terfel displays an understanding of Schubert that transcends most of the mediocre attempts that have preceeded. I highly recommend this C.D., it is a fresh, albeit different, look at this well-known cycle.