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Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, arguably the greatest lieder singer ever, has died today. R.I.P.
Russell
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The voice my choral masters steered me toward emulating, back in the day. Wonderful musician. Apparently a lovely man too.
This has been a musician's bad news week for me. Will celebrate his life though.
big j.
"... only a very few individuals understand as yet that personal salvation is a contradiction in terms."
fdsa
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As an ignorant youth developing an interest in classical music I was initially drawn to the operas of Verdi and Puccini - the frothy ones like Traviata, Trovatore, and Boheme. Otello and Falstaff were just too heavy and lacking in good tunes. And as for Wagner? I didn't like it, I couldn't understand it, but I tried again and again.
So one night in the late 1950s I was listening to a radio re-broadcast of a Bayreuth production of Parsifal. All was incomprehensible murk and gloom until a character called Amfortas started singing, and suddenly the perfection and clarity of the singer's voice illuminated Wagner's music for me, once and for all. The announcer at the end mentioned that the singer of the role was someone called Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, but I'd never heard of him. I did resolve to look him up and perhaps buy some of his records. But now I understood and loved Wagner as much as Verdi and Puccini, and Otello at last made sense.
A year or so later my room-mates at college bought me a double LP of something called Das Lied von der Erde by someone called Mahler for my 21st birthday, with DFD doing the baritone version (conducted by Paul Kletzki). That opened up a whole new world of music for me too, and although I now have about 15 different recordings of Das Lied, this is still the one I return to most frequently. Around the same time I heard Gerard Souzay sing Mahler's Kindertotenlieder live, which cemented my life-long love of Mahler and confirmed my view that a monumentally great musician can cast a light into the music of a composer where all before was darkness and doubt. Unfortunately I never did hear DFD live, so Souzay stays in my memory as the best I actually heard. Not a bad second.
Fischer-Dieskau's singing brought me to at least two composers whose music has become a strong influence in my life. I remain convinced that he was the finest male singer of the 20th century.
He is certainly one of the greatest artists of the 20th century. Here are a couple of recommendations beyond the usual:
For something a little unusual (for him and his recorded output, anyway), try an album called Haydn and Mozart Arias, London OS26182.
Today I listened to his recording of the Flying Dutchman, Angel 3616. This is conducted by Konwitschny.
There is a nice recording of him singing Beethoven Lieder, EMI C053-01138 M
He also made at least two recordings of Mahler's Kindertotenlieder, powerful songs that aren't done very often.
in our family home, pristine and waiting to be heard.
I live in another place now, have just a few.
Bernstein VPO King and DFD, Mahler Das Lied
Szell Angel (German Pressing and domestic), Mahler Songs of a Wayfarer etc, Schwarzkopf and DFD--legendary recording with great sound
a few others
I was able to hear Fischer Dieskau twice in recital and once on stage (as Mandryka) during the early Sixties, in Munich.
I think his greatest singing is preserved on a Schumann recital with Guenther Weissenborn, available in the US as a Decca LP and recently reissued on CD along with other songs on DGG. "High Fidelity" magazine included the vinyl disc in its "Greatest Recordings of the Century" (published in 1961), and I heartily concur.
I also enjoyed his opera singing on record, even the blustery "Falstaff" under Bernstein, the only performance to equal or surpass those by Toscanini and de Sabata.
Great man, great singer, great artist.
The DG CD recommended by Brian also includes a fantastic 1967 Dichterliebe with Demus.
The CD is widely available in Europe, but in the US the only reasonably priced ($10 + $3 shipping) source is Ariama, who is back-ordered.
Weissenborn is very beautiful. I copied it from a public library along with a Dichterliebe (also with Weissenborn) from the same era which is just great as well. This is just one of DFD's many recordings that I love.
Thank you, Dietrich, for giving us so much in a long, booze & nicotine-filled -- but I hope satisfying -- life.
There are several Amazon sellers who appear to be selling this CD (see link below).
I'm pretty sure that this is the 1957 recording, not 1967. I have it on DG Original Masters set.
The Kerner-Lieder with Weissenborn are from the mid Fifties and mono. They show the thirty-something singer at his considerable vocal peak.
The "Dichterliebe" with Demus is indeed from 1967 and in stereo.
The F-D, Jorge Demus Dichterliebe was recorded in 1965 and has been released several times on DG, the latest now on "Eloquence" coupled with his amazing Brahms on this two disc set. The Brahms recordings are new to CD. Yes, they're still mining the huge F-D recording legacy.
Edits: 05/20/12 05/20/12 05/20/12
One of the greatest lieder singers of the 20th century, and outstanding in opera as well. Also, his 1958 Beethoven 9th with Ferenc Fricsay is truly electrifying. Great dramatic presence, great voice.
He was 86 and had a long productive life. But he meant so much for so long to so many, that this is a striking loss. I first became aware of DFD when I borrowed the Fricsay recording of Fidelio from the public library, and was struck by his voice, diction and communication skills. He is still my favorite Pizarro. He sang so much so well- Mozart (has anyone else such both Papageno and Don Giovanni successfully?), Mahler (his two recordings of Songs of a Wayfarer, one with Furtwangler and one with Kubelik are magnificent), Wagner (probably the best Wolfram ever, for example), Verdi, and of course, his recordings of lieder. He was a pretty good conductor as well, by the few recordings I heard.
By all accounts he was also a great and good person.
Auf wiedersehen and RIP.
Gosh, for many years I had every recording he'd ever made -- then it got out of hand. I only saw him once, but what a once! NY Philharmonic, Bernstein conducting, Das Lied von der Erde. Managed to find the last empty seat, having second-acted it.
P.A.
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