Each time I listen to a recording with Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
there is always a lot to marvel at. Occasionally he can overdo
accents and sometimes resort to barking, but there is always
a thought behind and the sheer presence of his singing makes
him
so alive, even though his readings are characterized by deep
consideration and planning. That’s art in itself: to sound
improvisatory and spontaneous when every nuance, every inflexion
is carefully worked out.
On this disc we encounter him during roughly the first phase
of his career, though even when the earliest songs were recorded
he was an experienced artist – in spite of his age. He had made
his mark several years earlier, both as a Lieder singer and in
the opera house, and after he had married in 1949 he spent that
summer in Salzburg, where Furtwängler was deeply impressed by
him, hearing him in Brahms’
Vier ernste Gesänge, which
he recorded that autumn. In 1951 he had made his first Lieder
recital in Vienna and sang
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen in
Salzburg, with Furtwängler, who then recorded the songs with
him and engaged him to sing Kurwenal in the famous recording
of
Tristan und Isolde. In 1951 he also sang in London
and recorded for the first time with Gerald Moore, four songs
of which are included here (tr. 4, 8, 9 & 10). He returned
to these songs later on, not least
Die schöne Müllerin,
and who can say for sure that one of his versions of that cycle
or other cycles is the best. What is beyond doubt is that his
voice was at its freshest and his approach – seemingly – the
most spontaneous.
Three later when he recorded
Schwanengesang for WDR in
Cologne with the legendary Günther Weissenborn at the piano,
he is already the supreme master, not yet 30 and in total command
of his vocal and interpretative resources. His hairpin dynamics,
his sensitive pianissimo and his colouring of the voice to mirror
the poems are as admirable as on any recording I have heard.
What impresses even more is, however, his dark voluminous bass-baritone,
for which there doesn’t seem to exist any limits. On the one
hand he has that lyrical instrument, related to the French baryton-martin,
on the other he could compete with Hans Hotter for volume and
depth.
Der Atlas (tr. 2) is as good example as any, But
I could pick any song and feel that it has probably never been
better sung.
Am Meer (tr. 6) is a great favourite.
A year later he recorded, for the same radio station, Schumann’s
Liederkreis
Op. 39, and my only regret is that only eight of the twelve
songs are included here. I have long admired his later DG recording
with Christoph Eschenbach for its perfect balance between maturity
and youthfulness, but this 1955 recording is just as superb.
The concluding group of six Brahms songs were recorded three
years later and were originally issued on an LP, entitled
Ein
Johannes Brahms-Liederabend: Rückschau und Heimweh in den Gesängen
der späteren Zeit (DG 18 504 LPM / 138 011 SLPM). With the
ever reliable Jörg Demus at the piano this is as deeply probing
a reading as he ever did, and again it’s a pity there wasn’t
room for the complete programme.
Sound quality varies but it is never less than satisfactory,
also in the earliest sides from 1951, and the disc is a marvellous
introduction to the art of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, for those
who are not familiar with him, but also an ideal addition for
those who only own his later recordings. There is no better Lieder
singing to be found anywhere on records.
Göran Forsling
Dietrich
Fischer-Dieskau (baritone); Günther Weissenborn (piano) (1-3, 5-7, 11-18), Gerald
Moore (piano) (4, 8-10), Jörg Demus (piano) (19-24) 
