Schubert: Winterreise

Franz Schubert (Artist), Thomas Quasthoff (Artist), Charles Spencer (Artist)

Product Details

• Audio CD (October 13, 1998)
• SPARS Code: DDD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Sony Classics
• ASIN: B00000DFKL
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars See all reviews (11 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #93,461 in Music (See Bestsellers in Music)

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com
Written the year before Schubert's death, these 24 songs describe a journey that takes us ever deeper into the frozen landscape of the soul, and this superb performance evokes and communicates every nuance of their wintry bleakness and despair. Quasthoff is a fabulous singer; his voice is dark, perfectly focused, infinitely variable in color and inflection; his intonation and diction are impeccable; his breath control is unlimited. Quasthoff identifies completely with both words and music; his deeply inward expressiveness makes these heartbreaking songs almost unbearably moving. The piano sound is a bit dry and remote, but the playing is splendid, setting mood and atmosphere, creating and underlining character and emotion. --Edith Eisler

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Magnificient, November 21, 1999

By	Ivan Pataki (France) - See all my reviews

I'd rather say that the interpretation of Thomas Quasthoff is a radically different one from that of Fischer-Dieskau. What's new in this recording is a kind of distance or objectivity in regard of these lieder, it's not a romantic version and that's what makes of it an even more tragic one. The phrases of Quasthoff accompanied marvellously by Spencer make us feel as we took part really in this freezing journey. I've got the chance to listen to a concert diffused by ZDF (Germany), where Quasthoff was accompanied by Maria Joao Pires. If somebody could tell me how to get in possession of this beautiful recording, I'd be a happy man, 'cause on this occasion I discovered my favourite baryton singer. To listen as well: Matthew-passion with H. Rilling by Hannsler Verlag

8 of 9 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars The essence of bass-baritone sound, June 19, 2001

By	Stephen T. Andrews (Chicago, IL USA) - See all my reviews

I own five copies of Winterreise - Prey, Fischer-Dieskau, Goerne, and Hampson in addition to this one. All the rest take a very baritonal approach - Goerne seems to want to be a tenor most of the time. Quasthoff has a completely different sound; rich in quality throughout the registers. Note that he is also singing the standard Peters "Low Voice" keys.

Emotionally, this is also very satisfying. The craziness is not on the surface as with Hampson or (to some extent) Prey. In the last song, Leiermann, this a little disconcerting - there one almost expects the weirdness. But elsewhere, the approach is to grasp the musical core first, and then find the expressiveness in the words, not to tell an overall existential story. But each song is done very powerfully.

9 of 11 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Thomas Quasthoff's new Winterreise is a wonderful find., November 9, 1998

By	Irene Girton (Los Angeles, CA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Everyone and his brother - tenors and baritones, at least -- seems to have recorded Schubert's heartbreaking song cycle, "A Winter's Journey." Until now, no one since Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's landmark offering of 1965 has sung these 24 songs with such a combination of pathos and artistry. Thomas Quasthoff, a 38-year-old German bass-baritone, is a direct descendant of Fischer-Dieskau's in terms of his mellow tone, impeccable intonation, and sensitive partnership with his admirable accompanist, Charles Spencer. He adds to these gifts his personal experience as a thalidomide baby, born with short stature and vestigial arms and hands. Awareness of physical disability disappears, however, as he takes on the persona of the tragic winter wanderer, leaving home and love behind.