Search - Robert Schumann, Christoph Prégardien, Michael Gees :: Robert Schumann - Liederkreis, Op. 24; Kerner-Lieder, Op. 35

Two cycle of songs by Schumann, excellently sung by one of t

J. Vink | Netherlands | 08/31/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am a great admirer of Christoph Pregardien, both as a lieder (German songs) singer, and as soloist in Bach cantatas and oratoria; see for example my review of Schumann, Mendelssohn and Schubert Lieder based on Heine texts, which contains Schumann's Dichterliebe cycle.



Here we have another lied-recital, this time solely devoted to Schumann lieder. He is accompanied on a modern piano by Michael Gees. I had the pleasure of hearing the two in a very memorable recital at Lincoln Center. Michael Gees turned out to be a very interesting pianist, who treated the piano parts with both freedom and respect, himself being composer he probably knows that both are need for good interpretations.



The great qualities of Pregardien are his great voice (which for the low notes can have the gravity of a bariton, and can be very sweet for the higher notes) excellent diction, sense of timing and sense of drama.



One can admire all those qualities in the lovely song Stirb Lieb und Freud (Die Love and Joy), one of the highlights of this disc. It describes how the poet watches with a mix of sadness and admiration a devout girl who has decided to become a nun. His dramatic qualities can be admired in the interpretion of Belsazar, a song based on a text by Heine, which retells in verse the famous bible story, in which the king's death is announced with writings on the wall.



To summarize, this is an excellent disc. If you are just starting with listening to lieder, I would recommend the above mentioned CD with Pregardien singing Schumann, Mendelssohn and Schubert songs, as I think Schumann's Dichterliebe is the best of his lied cycles. But if you already have this, or another version, of Dichterliebe, do not hesitate to buy this disc."

Worth it for track #23 alone

Tom Lawrence | Cambridge, MA USA | 10/05/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I came across "Sangers Trost" during a time of personal grief. It was a comfort and companion, one of those perfectly crafted songs, beautifully realized by singer and pianist. I am fortunate to have found this song exactly when I needed to hear it. Five stars are not enough."