Schubert, Die Schöne Müllerin

Tenor Julian Prégardien certainly has plenty of competition with this recording of Schubert's song cycle Die schöne Müllerin, D. 795. However, his entry into the field is distinctive in several ways and can stand with any of the other recent ones. Lieder buffs will remember that the singer's father, Christoph Prégardien, not only recorded this cycle but did so with a historically oriented pianist, Andreas Staier, at a time (1992) when historical performances of Schubert were not so common. Julian's second-generation recording certainly has a "family resemblance," but it is no knockoff, and it has several key attractions.

Schubert set the poetry of over 115 writers to music. He selected poems from classical Greece, the Middle Ages and the Renaissance, from eighteenth-century German authors, early Romantics, Biedermeier poets, and Heine. The Deutsche Schubert-Lied-Edition presents all Schubert’s Lieder, over 700 songs, grouped according to the poets who inspired him. Thanks to the Neue Schubert-Ausgabe (New Schubert Edition), which uses primary sources, the performers have been able to benefit from the most recent research.

Schubert's devastating song cycle, Die Schöne Mullerin is not solely for the singer, but exists as an equal duet between pianist and voice. Listeners will experience Jonas Kaufmann's voice from an entirely new perspective, as he sings romantic Lieder. Kaufmann's outstanding ability to communicate though the music with his versatile voice is heartwarming. Helmut Deutsch, a renowned collaborative pianist, brings his intelligence and sensitive artistry to bear in these heart-rending performances.

Uncritical admiration is appropriate for these Schubert Lieder, where no forcing, no technical difficulties, not even a single spoiled note are to be found. It is not possible to perform Die schöne Müllerin and the other songs more heartily, more expressively than Fritz Wunderlich and his congenial, subtle accompanist Hubert Giesen do and, fortunately, will be able to do again and again, on these two records that every music lover will have to listen to stirringly.

Schuberts Die schöne Müllerin ist eine Bewährungsprobe für jeden Liedsänger. Der Südtiroler Bariton Andrè Schuen hat sich ihr gestellt und veröffentlicht den zeitlosen Liederzyklus als sein Debütalbum bei Deutsche Grammophon – gemeinsam mit dem Pianisten Daniel Heide.

Thomas Guthrie's arrangement of the "Schöne Müllerin" for small ensemble transports the listener back to a world of sound that Schubert knew from the musical evenings in the homes of his friends - those gatherings where the singing was accompanied by guitars, strings and, if available, a piano. Unlike the lieder recital, where the singer stands at the grand piano in a large hall, in this intimate atmosphere the listener is drawn much more into the drama and emotion of Schubert's music. The singer Thomas Guthrie is supported by Bjarte Eike and members of his ensemble Barokksolistene.

This first release in an exclusive recital collaboration with harmonia mundi presents Julian Prégardien’s reading of a cycle that explores quintessentially Schubertian themes: nature, love, solitude, death. Taking full advantage of the unique timbres of a Graf-style fortepiano, the young German tenor and Kristian Bezuidenhout create an expressive palette of exceptional variety, full of striking contrasts.