Winterreise, song cycle for voice & piano, D. 911 (Op. 89)
The recordings of baritone Werner Güra and pianist Christoph Berner have shown their musical partnership to be one of the most formidable of the early 21st century. Their Hyperion recordings of Schubert's Schwanengesang and of songs and piano works by Mozart won Diapason d'Or awards and received Editor's Choice acknowledgements from Gramophone magazine. This outstanding 2010 release of Winterreise seems destined for similar accolades. The songs are among Schubert's most psychologically probing, and writing them put him ...
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The recordings of baritone Werner Güra and pianist Christoph Berner have shown their musical partnership to be one of the most formidable of the early 21st century. Their Hyperion recordings of Schubert's Schwanengesang and of songs and piano works by Mozart won Diapason d'Or awards and received Editor's Choice acknowledgements from Gramophone magazine. This outstanding 2010 release of Winterreise seems destined for similar accolades. The songs are among Schubert's most psychologically probing, and writing them put him into a state of acute emotional distress. The intensity of the composer's feelings is wrenchingly apparent in Güra's impassioned performances. He sings with such insight and spontaneity that he seems to have these songs embedded in his psyche. Every word and phrase feels honestly and agonizingly experienced, a chilling characterization of a man whose suffering has driven him to the end of his rope. Güra's technique is rock-solid and his voice is both exceptionally sweet and...
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