Search - Franz Schubert, Peter Pears, Benjamin Britten :: Decca Legends--Schubert: Winterreise / Pears, Britten

One of the most memorable "Winterreise" performances.

Celia A. Sgroi | 02/13/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"If I had to make a short list of "Winterreise" performances that I think every serious listener should hear, Pears/Britten would be on it. It seems to cast an entirely different light on the cycle than any other performance I have ever heard. It is sui generis, alien and profoundly "other," and it works in a bizarre way that I don't really understand, but which I find very intriguing. From the very beginning, Pears and Britten are in a different place, markedly distant from the "Winterreise" tradition that I have become familiar with. Every "Winterreise" performance (by a male singer)that I find persuasive, be it Hotter, Huesch, Fischer-Dieskau, Schmitt-Walter, or Anders, seems to move from a state of more or less normalcy into varying degrees of darkness and alienation. Pears and Britten, on the other hand, are alien from the first moment you hear them. You can well imagine why Mom and Dad are happy to find a more suitable husband for their little girl-- this guy is a geek, a weirdo, an outsider, not someone you could ever feel comfortable with. It's the quality of the voice, the strangely-flavored German, the little hitches and twitches in the rhythms, the occasional odd emphases. It's as if this protagonist is from another planet and the text and the music are being filtered through the Universal Translator. It's recognizable, yes, but everything is just that little bit "off," so that you are constantly off-balance and on edge. The expected progression away from what is comfortable and accustomed to a state of profound loneliness and alienation doesn't quite happen. When Pears sings "Fremd bin ich eingezogen, fremd zieh ich wieder aus," it seems exactly true: he was weird when he came and he is still weird when he leaves, and somehow, thanks to Britten's playing, the whole outside world reflects his weirdness. When I try to imagine this fellow, I think of Heine's "Der arme Peter"-- the people who see him say that he looks as if he has just stepped out of the grave, but he is actually on his way to the grave. And he has had a "kick-me" sign on his back since birth. This "Winterreise" protagonist seems very similar, someone who could never fit in and has nowhere to go but down to destruction. If I follow Fischer-Dieskau and Gerald Moore through "Winterreise," as I have done countless times, there is a mounting anxiety and uneasiness, as the wanderer feels himself drifting further and further away from life as everyone else lives it and finally realizes that he can never get back, that he will be isolated for the rest of his life. There is an underlying horror in "Der Leiermann," as if the wanderer is looking in a mirror and seeing his own face and realizing that this is what he has become. With Pears and Britten, on the other hand, it's almost as if he is going home to where he belongs. It's eerie. The cycle never resolves itself, you don't reach catharsis. Maybe it's what Schubert had in mind, I don't know. I just know that it makes me profoundly uncomfortable and I'm glad I have experienced it."

Excellent. One of the best Tenor versions available.

Ramon Kranzkuper | Gainesville, FL | 07/04/2001

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Having listened to at least ten Winterreises, this one being (surprisingly) my latest, it is difficult to write a review that speaks only of this recording (Pears and Britten) without comparing. But since a review consisting solely of comparisons is of no use, I'll do both: I'll write about this recording, and I'll compare, too.For those of you for whom this will be your first Winterreise: although the lyrics are simplistic, the range of emotions and depth of feeling in Winterreise are so great that each interpretation, each singer, each accompanist, can make it sound very different. One cannot afford to listen to only one performance of the Winterreise and leave it at that. Many listeners who enjoy the Winterreise the first time go on to looking at other recordings. The first one you listen to is important, since that probably be the most lasting impression you'll get of the work; and so, one needs to be find a good "first Winterreise".You can't go wrong choosing this one (Pears and Britten) as your first. With the exception of Fisher-Dieskau's, this is one of the better Winterreises I've heard. It is highly listenable, and Pears' voice carries through well enough in most parts. The words I'd use to describe Pears' performance is "heartfelt, sincere". I think Britten's accompaniment has been overrated in the reviews you'll read; I feel there is a certain unwarranted flamboyance about it. But that should not detract from Pears' inspired voice. If Winterreise is hyper-emotional and sentimental, Pears is more than up to the task; in fact, he sometimes overdoes it, but usually with pleasant results.There is a certain quality about this performance that I cannot find the right word for - "compelling" comes close. It is difficult not to enjoy Pears and Britten.There is not much more that I have to say to beginning Winterreise listeners. "Get this recording" probably sums it up.For those of you who have listened to Fischer-Dieskau's Winterreises, and want to listen to a Tenor version - this one is one of the best, if not the best. Let me put it this way: after Fischer-Dieskau, every Winterreise must be tested against that standard, and one usually finds more faults than positives with every recording. This is one recording about which I have relatively few complaints.Pears' tone sometimes crosses the line from "heartfelt" to "whining". And he has this curious manner of abrupt note-changing at the beginnings of words: as a result, the words sometimes do not seem to flow from one to the next as they do in speech. This can be distracting at times.I am sorry to have to say this, but the fact is that listening to any good Winterreise, this one for instance, only makes one see what it is that sets Fischer-Dieskau apart! I have no intentions of downplaying this excellent performance. It may not make sense to compare, too, since Pears is a tenor. But the fact remains that when one listens to any great Winterreise side by side with Fischer-Dieskau's, one rediscovers what makes F.-D. rise above all the rest.The ability to carry the power of the emotion in some places - that is where I feel Pears fails, to an extent. To those familiar with "Winterreise", the ending of "Auf dem Flusse" is a case in point. With particular reference to his 1962 recording with Moore, stanzas like those make F.-D.'s voice seem almost superhuman in its ability to carry the emotion."

Die Winterreise D.911 (The Winter Journey)

Mr Bassil A MARDELLI | Riad El-SOLH , Beirut Lebanon | 04/17/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"
As far as I know, Schubert was the youngest composer ever. By his premature death at 31, the world lost potential masterpieces - forever. Poet Franz Grillparzer wrote him a commemoration inscribed at his tombstone that reads: "Here music has buried a treasure, but even fairer hopes."



Franz Shubert (b 1797, d 1828) was the father of Song Cycle (D 795) written by poet William Muller. Later - 1827 - one year before he died, Shubert composed Muller's Winterreise - Winter Journey - D 911 considered the peak of `'German Lieder. `'.



On his death bed - 1827 - Beethoven said of him "Schubert's intelligence is divine". Schubert outlived Beethoven by only one year.



In this recording we can listen to 24 tenor/piano works out of about 600 pieces written and composed within such very short life span.



This young composer is often referred to as the founder of the Lied. (I.e. Schubert is the founder of the German art songs of the nineteenth century for voice and piano).



When first spoke about `'Winter Journey'', he told his friends "I am going to sing a cycle of sinister lieder to you.....They have touched me more than others." His friends were surprised as he never disclosed his plans to anyone.



Nothing upset Schubert more than the death of `'the grand master Beethoven''. The young composer took part in Beethoven's funeral and carried one of the candles. A few months later, when he felt his hour was nearing, he asked to be buried at Beethoven's side. Beethoven's death caused a great grief to Schubert, heartbroken he couldn't compose again. (Perhaps until after six months)



"Winterreise" is therefore separated in two groups, one written before and the other after Beethoven's death.



Peter Pears (tenor) and Benjamin Britten (piano) have been exceedingly good at performing all 24 Lieder.



One has to be in quiet mood to accept the absence of the traditional melodious music. In these songs Death is ubiquitous from `Gute Nacht' to `Der Leiermann'' .... Why one should love life ....should we still love it once we know it will be lost ....Winter ... Snow ... Frozen rivers....slippery grounds ...the looks of the cemeteries at the end of the road.



My God !!! Only the living can appreciate the full meaning of this work.



"