Die Taube

This seventh volume in the series 'Fritz Wunderlich – The SWR Recordings' focuses on the singer's legacy of lieder, which he began performing early in his career. Wunderlich's performance of Schumann's Dichterliebe, recorded live at the 1965 Schwetzingen Festival, was considered by the singer himself to be one of his best interpretations ever. The pianist was Hubert Giesen, one of the most distinguished accompanists of his era. He worked closely with Wunderlich, who was already an international star at the time. This compilation provides a unique overview of Wunderlich's lieder performances – from the start of his career until his tragic and untimely death.

Making their debut on Resonus with a ravishing programme of ‘Songs of Love and Death’ by Robert Schumann is the critically acclaimed duo of baritone Simon Wallfisch and pianist Edward Rushton. Alongside what is perhaps Schumann’s best-known Wanderlieder song series, Dichterliebe, Op. 48, from 1840, this distinguished pairing have explored two further series from Schumann’s notoriously productive ‘Liederjahr’ of 1840 – his Op. 35 setting of twelve poems by Justinus Kerner, and the Fünf Lieder, Op. 40, containing four songs by Danish writer Hans Christian Andersen. Simon Wallfisch is one of Britain’s most sought after Baritones, at home on the opera and concert stage. In 2017, Simon made his Wigmore Hall debut live on BBC Radio 3.

When Deutsche Harmonia Mundi released this disc of lieder by Schumann, Schubert, and Mendelssohn in 1994, it was considered a part of the historically informed performance practice movement because it featured performers closely associated with the movement. Prior to this release, tenor Christoph Prégardien was best known for his work with Gustav Leonhardt and Philippe Herreweghe, while fortepianist Andreas Staier made his mark playing continuo with Musica Antiqua Köln. Listening to the disc a decade later, however, the performances sound less like a memento of their time than like still vital artistic achievements.

Following his successful Handel album, Martin Stadtfeld releases "Piano Songbook", his first album entirely with his own arrangements of themes from well-known classical works, as well as ten short "piano songs" of his own. On the one hand, the album contains 20 short pieces that refer to well-known melodies of classical works, among others by Bach, Mozart, Handel, Vivaldi, but also by Dvorák or Beethoven.