Visitors to this website will be familiar with my
enthusiasm for Mr Pullin’s sympathetic skills in recordings of British
music. Here he turns his attention to one of Schubert’s great song-cycles
and his intelligent musicianship and admirably clear-diction do well
for it. If he does understate the emotion this is, for me at least,
one advantage as Winterreise is one of the most despairing and
pessimistic of song sequences and can easily overwhelm a listener. Hugh
Mather is a responsive accompanist and recording and balance are both
excellent.
The insert does not reproduce the words, either original
or in translation, but summarises the thrust of each song well enough.
Definitely worth investigating.
Philip Scowcroft