The Acme of Classical Music: A Homage to Baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, by Jacob Heilbrunn

[Ron Resnick]

This is a beautifully-written homage by Jacob Heilbrunn to baritone and conductor Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925 - 2012).

The Acme of Classical Music

A new release brings fresh interest to a hundred-year-old lyric baritone.

www.theamericanconservative.com

 

[astrotoy]

Thanks so much for the link to this article. I discovered Fischer-Dieskau in the early 1960's. I was starting in college and my freshman year, I took the year long introduction to music, Music 1. I was starting my classical record collection, and bought the Angel album of Fischer-Dieskau singing Schubert's Die Schoene Muellerin. Later, when I got the original EMI pressing, I found that the Angel version also included Fischer-Dieskau reciting the prologue and epilogue of the set of poems by Wilhelm Mueller from which the song cycle was based. The EMI version does not. This led me to eventually all of the EMI recordings of Fischer-Dieskau, mostly with the great accompanist Gerald Moore, singing Schubert and other classical sets of songs. FIscher-Dieskau also conducted several symphonies recorded on EMI.

Unfortunately, I was never able to hear him in person. Great to learn more details of his life.

Larry

 

[oldvinyl]

I have quite a few of his recordings. The Schubert Lieder boxes on DG, the Strauss Lieder on EMI, Hugo Wolf, Schumann, Brahms, etc. Quite an extraordinary repertoire! I have always enjoyed his singing and recordings.

 

[PHAA_]

First heard of him here (St. Matthew Passion / Richter) on CD, then hunted down the vinyl box set (which I still have and enjoy):

Johann Sebastian Bach / Karl Richter - Passio Secundum Matthæum (Matthäus-Passion)

View credits, reviews, tracks and shop for the 1958 Vinyl release of "Passio Secundum Matthæum (Matthäus-Passion)" on Discogs.

www.discogs.com

 

[ravenacustic]

A great German baritone lieder singer. More so in the first half of his career. Overall my favorite was Hermann Prey. My father always preferred Heinrich Schlusnus. Each to his own. No slouches here.

 

[Chop]

A great German baritone lieder singer. More so in the first half of his career. Overall my favorite was Hermann Prey. My father always preferred Heinrich Schlusnus. Each to his own. No slouches here.

I agree. I much prefer Hermann Prey. Never been a fan of F-D. Gunther Leib is worth investigating too. I consider him of similar quality though he never made it in the West. Quite light for a baritone.

 

[ravenacustic]

I agree. I much prefer Hermann Prey. Never been a fan of F-D. Gunther Leib is worth investigating too. I consider him of similar quality though he never made it in the West. Quite light for a baritone.

I heard Prey in NYC Carnegie and Metropolitan Museum of Art. I think maybe Philly too. Not to mention at the Met for Die Fledermaus. He was always spot on for intonation. DFD always it seemed to me had trouble centering his pitch. It’s a common problem even among some very fine performers.

 

[Chop]

I heard Prey in NYC Carnegie and Metropolitan Museum of Art. I think maybe Philly too. Not to mention at the Met for Die Fledermaus. He was always spot on for intonation. DFD always it seemed to me had trouble centering his pitch. It’s a common problem even among some very fine performers.

Thank you for the insight on DFD. I also find he had a tendency to get shoutier as he got older. Or, lets put that another way and say i preferred him in his earlier days when he sang rather than over emoted.