Schubert · Schwanengesang · Wolfgang Holzmair · Imogen Cooper

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Schubert · Schwanengesang · Wolfgang Holzmair · Imogen Cooper

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Schubert · Schwanengesang · Wolfgang Holzmair · Imogen Cooper
APE+CUE | Booklet | EASY CD-DA 12 | 273 MB | No Log | 1994

Most recordings of Schwonengesang offer extra songs these days, but this one has an idiosyncratic feature. Holzmair sings "Die Taubenpost" twice, once at the beginning of the disc and then as the penultimate song, a decision which the booklet tells us the singer made "drawing on experiences gleaned in the course of his many Lieder recitals", whatever that may mean. There can be little argument as to the selection of the additional songs, which includes other Rellstab and Seidl settings, as Schreier and Fassbaender have done before. Holzmair is particularly good at Herbst, where his mood of resignation captures well the picture of "clouds moving so threateningly and grey".

The partnership of Wolfgang Holzmair and Imogen Cooper has found a keen following at the Wigmore Hall in London. This first fruit of their contract with Philips makes an encouraging start without pushing the competition into second place. Philips have provided an intimate acoustic, which suits the pair well, as Holzmair is very much a Lieder singer who belongs in the drawing-room, not one who has ventured out from the operahouse, and Cooper accompanies him in a lightweight, staccato style, bordering on the selfconscious. Holzmair's baritone is appealing in the middle voice, where it sounds touchingly plangent (as in "In der Ferne") but asked to negotiate awkward phrases higher up, it can respond uncomfortably under pressure. Big climaxes often entail taking extra breaths to place the voice carefully, as in "Der Atlas". Almost every song has attractive details to offer—the tenderness of "Die Taubenpost" and the confiding intimacy of "Liebesbotschaft"—but the range of expression falls short of what this great cycle invites. The sum of Holzmair's performance is less than the appeal of its parts.

Comparisons with other young baritones reveal mixed conclusions. Andreas Schmidt has the better voice and a more outgoing manner, but he does not always tell the listener as much about the songs as Holzmair. Bryn Terfel is vocally in a different category, but can sound more like Wotan next to Holzmair's quietly-spoken baritone (try Terfel as a thunderous "Der Atlas"). Among senior figures, Schreier is better at winding up the tension in songs like "Der Doppelgdnger" and his performance sets its sights higher. But the true professional isinevitably—Fischer-Dieskau, who never misses a trick, knowing exactly how to put across every song to his audience. At least young baritones need no longer fear him as a rival in the recital-hall. RTF (Gramophone)