Franz Schubert: "Die Schöne Müllerin"; Mark Padmore, tenor; Paul Lewis, piano (Harmonia Mundi); "Die Winterreise"; Werner Güra, tenor; Christoph Berner, fortepiano (Harmonia Mundi); "Heliopolis"; Matthias Goerne, baritone; Ingo Metzmacher, piano (Harmonia Mundi)Three major Schubert song discs, issued about the same time and by the same recording label, might seem to tax the limited market for this music -- until you examine the individual artistic trajectories.
The hugely acclaimed Mark Padmore/Paul Lewis "Winterreise" recording all but demanded a follow-up with Schubert's other great song cycle, "Die Schöne Müllerin." And even by the high standards set by many past recordings of this piece, Padmore delivers a rare combination of depth, vulnerability and linguistic precision.
As for Werner Güra, his many other excellent German lieder recordings led inevitably to "Winterreise," a rather different experience from Padmore. Accompanied by the slim but penetrating sound of the fortepiano, Güra deploys a gleaming, robust, frankly operatic tenor to portray a heartbroken protagonist who doesn't go quietly into the winter landscape but is like an angry, wounded animal, fighting almost to the end, when he accepts his fate.
The fourth volume of Matthias Goerne's ongoing Schubert series lacks the vocal freshness or precision of his earlier years -- and that blunts the inventiveness of his phrasing. The program, however, is a valuable cross section of Schubert's vast song output, steering clear of the often-heard greatest hits but also avoiding the composer's more obscure, justly neglected items. Conductor Ingo Metzmacher turns out to be a memorable pianistic collaborator.
In fact, all three discs are as notable for their pianism as for their vocalism.
DAVID PATRICK STEARNS, PHILADELPHIA INQUIRER
