Customer Reviews

Wolf: Lieder

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Schwarzkopf is in great form of both voice and charm, and has the extra luxury of Furtwängler as her pianist.

The best thing that ever happened to Hugo Wolf was the very existence of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. She became his greatest interpreter among women singers as is evident in these recordings. Every vowel is in place, every nuance around the text is made, with more colors in her voice than in a van Gogh canvas.

I keep comparing her Wolf with that of Gerhard, Seefried, della Casa, Ameling, Hamari, Fuchs, Margaret Price. Still Schwarzkopf's Wolf is the most convincing, true, near-to-perfection and obviously in empathy with pianist and composer.
I find a element of intensity in Schwarzkopf that is absent in the others. There is a almost perfect balance between Furtwängler and soprano, with recognition of the importance of the piano part.

Many of those who were fortunate to attend this Liederabend in Salzburg in 1953 said that they could die now after having been in Elysum.

With the texts of Mörike, Goethe, Eichendorff, Calderon de la Barca, etc Schwarzkopf is here a program builder, a one-man show, a memory expert, lover, child, saint, philosopher, patriot, maiden, matron, and she displays her vocal stamina equal to the strenght of an athlete.

This is a famous recital, long kept out of comerical release by EMI because of its many technical flaws. Schwarzkopf herself complained about Furtwangler's impossibly slow speeds, saying that he simply couldn't play the piano parts. I expected the worst, therefore, but found that musical spirit carried the day. Schwarzkopf is in radiant voice, Furtwangler's stumbles are forgivable, and the so-so mono sound is listenable. A great souvenir of a legendary concert.