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Elisabeth Schwarzkopf - Salzburg
Recital 1956 Gottfried H. STÖLZEL (1690-1749)
Bist du bei mir (3:13) (attrib. J.S. Bach) Alessandro PARISOTTI (1853-1913)
Se tu m'ami (2:21) (attrib. Pergolesi) George Frideric HANDEL (1685-1759)
Atalanta, HWV 35: Care selve (3:30) Christoph GLUCK (1714-1787)
La rencontre imprevue: C'est un torrent impetueux (2:22) Ludwig Van BEETHOVEN (1770-1827)
Songs (3), Op. 83: no 1, Wonne der Wehmut (3:03) Franz SCHUBERT (1797-1828)
An Sylvia, D 891/Op. 106 no 4 (2:28)
Rosamunde, D 797/Op. 26: no 5, Romance "Der Vollmond
strahlt" (3:45)
Die Vogel, D 691/Op. 172 no 6 (0:49)
Der Einsame, D 800 (4:30)
Vedi, quanto adoro, D 510 "Didone abbandonata" (4:30) Hugo WOLF (1860-1903)
Goethe Lieder: no 9, Mignon "Kennst du das Land" (6:50)
Goethe Lieder: no 8, Philine (3:21)
Eichendorff Lieder: no 8, Nachtzauber (3:59)
Eichendorff Lieder: no 7, Die Zigeunerin (3:26) Richard STRAUSS (1864-1949)
Lieder (4), Op. 27: no 1, Ruhe, meine Seele (3:18)
Lieder (5), Op. 41: no 1, Wiegenlied (4:12)
Lieder (5), Op. 69: no 5, Schlechtes Wetter (2:02)
Lieder (4), Op. 36: no 3, Hat gesagt, bleibts nicht dabei
(2:15) Wolfgang Amadeus MOZART (1756-1791)
Warnung, K 433 (416c) (2:24) Robert SCHUMANN (1810-1856)
Myrthen, Op. 25: no 3, Der Nussbaum (3:24) Franz SCHUBERT
Die schone Mullerin, D 795/Op. 25: no 7, Ungeduld (3:12)
Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (soprano);
Gerald Moore (piano)
rec. 7 August 1956, Salzburg Festival ARCHIPEL
ARPCD0390 [69:57]
This CD contains a virtually complete Salzburg Festival recital
which Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Gerald Moore gave in the
Mozarteum in 1956. During the same festival she sang the
Countess in Le Nozze di Figaro. The soprano was then
at the height of her very considerable powers as a Lied interpreter.
The recital contains performances of works familiar from
both her studio recordings and from other similar live recitals.
A recording of this concert has been issued previously as
part of EMI’s Salzburg Festival Edition but I have been unable
to compare transfers. Sound on the Archipel release is clear
with little or no background noise, and in a believable concert
acoustic which includes applause – occasionally intruding
into the piano postludes of certain of the songs.
As always with Schwarzkopf, the programme creates an effective
arch from the early works at the opening through the Schubert
group and culminating in the intensity of the Hugo Wolf group
before a gradual lightening in mood with Strauss and the
encores.
The opening group of what might be called “early” examples
of the lied are sung well although occasionally with that
arch style of delivery which Schwarzkopf’s critics so disliked.
Handel’s Care selve in particular offers an impressive
display of legato singing and breath control and often featured
in the soprano’s recitals at the time. The Gluck song is
sung in German and is well done although again a simpler
approach might have served just as effectively. Schwarzkopf
treats Beethoven’s Wonne der Wehmut very much as a
forerunner of later lied masterpieces and performs it with
great intensity, indeed perhaps more than the song can comfortably
take.
The Schubert group is well performed although An Sylvia may
strike some listeners as somewhat imperious! In the Rosamunde Romance
Schwarzkopf creates a faultless sense of stillness through
use of restricted dynamics and legato. In Der Einsame soprano
and pianist catch the mood of the song to perfection and
the applause at the end is richly deserved. The Schubert
group ends with unfamiliar fare in the shape of Vedi,
quanto adoro. This song is in the style of an Italian
cantata which elicits quasi-operatic singing from Schwarzkopf
to bring the first half of this recital to an impassioned
close.
With the group of songs by Hugo Wolf we move on to more serious
fare and to some of Elisabeth Schwarzkopf’s most memorable
interpretations. Kennst du das Land is given a sovereign
performance with all the contrasting moods of the song vividly
characterised. The performances of this and the other Wolf
songs are broadly similar to her studio performances but
benefit from the extra freedom of a live performance. The
Strauss group, and the engaging encores, all provide further
evidence, if any were needed, of her pre-eminence in the
field.
Occasionally we are reminded that these performances were
the result of intense and repeated rehearsal. Some songs
are not performed with the spontaneity Schwarzkopf could
achieve elsewhere. Compare this to her 1956 New York recital
once available on EMI Références where several songs common
to both recitals take wing far more effectively.
Overall the disc demonstrates both Schwarzkopf’s skills as
a performer and, occasionally, mannerisms which were criticised
by her detractors. In particular the wide dynamic range she
employed in recitals, and which was not always evident in
her studio recitals, is well illustrated. There is no sense
of strain, no wobble, perfect legato and astounding breath
control. The performances always capture the attention even
if here and there we may not always agree with the style
of interpretation. As ever Gerald Moore offers sterling support
throughout.
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