Schubert: Winterreise [Import]

Mark Padmore (Artist), Schubert (Composer), Paul Lewis (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Paul Lewis
• Composer: Schubert
• Audio CD (September 8, 2009)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Import
• Label: Harmonia Mundi
• ASIN: B002DMIIU2
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 3.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (7 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #154,472 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Paul Lewis perform one of the greatest song-cycles ever.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 20 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Consistently beautiful and sensitive -- but Winterreise asks for more, December 10, 2009

By 

Santa Fe Listener (Santa Fe, NM USA) - See all my reviews
(TOP 500 REVIEWER)    (HALL OF FAME REVIEWER)   

This review is from: Schubert: Winterreise (Audio CD)

Although a reviewer below declares that Mark Padmore is the best contemporary tenor for lieder singing, his reputation stands far below his fellow Englishman's, Ian Bostridge. Both have that piping, heady timbre that is beloved in the British Isles, a grown-up version of the choir boy. I barely endure such a voice, to be frank, and therefore Padmore is barely on my radar. But recent exposure to him as the Evangelist in Bach's St. John Passion made me sit up, and curiosity attracted me to this new Winterreise.

What does Padmore have going for him? First, a rising star at the piano. Paul Lewis is already renowned in Britain; he's cut from the same classical cloth as his mentor, Alfred Brendel, himself a noted lieder accompanist. Right off, one notices that Lewis is listening to his singer and making small expressive adjustments in phrasing. That's a big plus -- too many celebrity accompanists forge ahead without a flexible regard for the vocal line. As for Padmore himself, he's sensitive and musical. Schubert wrote Winterreise for a light tenor, yet over the years the tragic import of the cycle has drawn heavier voices to it. One must admit that when he sings loud or tries to be forceful, Padmore's vocal lightness lets him down. Soft and poignant is his natural domain, as another previous reviewer notes. Lewis remains too reticent, no doubt to be in harmony with Padmore. Winterreise asks for a passionate cry from the heart, and it's not quite there.

The same reviewer says, and I agree, that this Winterreise doesn't build; Padmore's style remains essentially the same from beginning to end. Bostridge outdoes him in variety and intensity of expression. For real dramatic impact, one must turn to tenors on the order of Peter Pears and Peter Schreier, or if you want a voice as light as Padmore's, the excellent German, Werner Gura. This CD was greeted like the second coming in Britain, but I'm by no means convinced.

6 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Winterreise for some, but not for everyone, October 28, 2009

By 

Bella (UK) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Schubert: Winterreise (Audio CD)

Although I very much admire Padmore in Baroque repertoire, his lieder rarely wholly involves me; I like the soft singing in this Winterreise, and Lewis's piano playing is wonderful, but I feel I am listening to fine songs sensitively, at times poignantly, performed, rather than compelled to participate in an increasingly bleak journey. Maybe I just prefer less art and more edge.

4.0 out of 5 stars Excellent, even when compared to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, October 17, 2010

By 

robgman (Anacortes, WA) - See all my reviews
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Amazon Verified Purchase

This review is from: Schubert: Winterreise (Audio CD)

In addition to this recording I have two of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's recordings; the first with Gerald Moore accompanying Schubert:Winterreise D.911 and the third with Jörg Demus on the piano Schubert: Die Winterreise / Fischer-Dieskau. I don't think it's fair to compare these two singer as Padmore is a tenor while Diskau is a baritone.

I've just listened to them side by side and I find this recording to be absolutely delicious. Not better than Dieskau's but not dramatically worse as some reviewers might have you think.

I would say if you're only going to own one of Shubert's Winterreise then the first Fischer-Dieskau, with Gerald Moore offers a powerful portrayal from the great baritone. However, Padmore is a tenor par excellence and there's a sweetness to his rendition of this lieder that's delightful.

Buy this or any of the other two with confidence. They are all delightful in their own right.