R.I.P Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
I was very sad to hear, first thing this morning, of the death at the age of 86 of legendary singer Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. I can’t add anything to the host of tributes that have already appeared, except to say that his voice will always be very special to me because his recording of Schubert’s Winterreise (with Gerald Moore on piano) was the first I ever heard of any Schubert Lieder.
Instead of trying to write an appreciation which couldn’t possibly to justice to the man and his musical legacy, I’ll just post this video and let it speak for itself. This is Winterreise in its entirety, performed in 1979 by Fischer-Dieskau with Alfred Brendel on piano.
Rest in peace, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925-2012).
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In the Dark 
May 19, 2012 at 4:05 pm
There is an obit for D F-D in the Guardian. I am not a great fan of Schubert’s lieder, but the one exponent to whom I enjoy listening is F-D. I have his 1985 version of Winterreise with Brendel, and I am listening to it even as we speak (type).
M
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May 19, 2012 at 9:34 pm
The death of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is indeed very sad. We should be thankful that he left a large body of recordings that will give pleasure to a great many people for many decades in the future.
Incidentally, the Guardian obituary is available here (and obituaries from other British newspapers include those in the Independent and the Telegraph).
Although I generally find music uplifting, Winterreise seems melancholic for me.
May 19, 2012 at 11:53 pm
It is melancholic, but sometimes that is what is required. There are other lieder that are a bit more jolly -at least, in tune, if not in words (E.g., die forelle, etc).
M
May 20, 2012 at 5:00 pm
Yes, it’s just Winterreise that has that melancholy feel for me. Other Schubert lieder and song cycles seem much brighter.
May 21, 2012 at 10:52 am
Bryn: You think Schone Mullerin is cheerful? I suppose it is, leaving aside the fact that the narrator suffers unrequited love, watches his beloved going off with some other bloke, and commits suicide by drowning. I find this cycle more harrowing than winterreise, precisely because of the flowering of hope that is then crushed. And neither of these cycles contains music as dark as some of the songs in Schwanengesang. But the darkness of all these three cycles is part of their greatness. There are indeed jolly Schubert lieder (the trout, e.g.), but these always seemed a bit superficial to me, and I was put off exploring the genre for many years as a result.
The person who opened my ears was Peter Schreier; no disrespect to Fischer-Dieskau’s place as a pioneer, but for my money no-one touches Schreier in this repertoire.
May 21, 2012 at 11:35 am
No, I didn’t say that Die Schöne Müllerin is cheerful. Die Schöne Müllerin certainly has very bleak aspects. However, it does have brighter parts as well. It has mixed emotions for me, although the narrative is towards death. Schwanengesang is varied, although the idea of a song cycle published posthumously is always a reminder of death.
I just find Winterreise uniformly bleak. For some reason, I do not feel any lightness, only bleakness.
May 22, 2012 at 12:31 pm
I don’t find Winterreise gloomy (although perhaps I should). Just austere.
A Fischer-Dieskau recording of it on vinyl was my first exposure to this amazing composition. He recorded it at least 3 times I believe, but perhaps the vinyl helps to date which recording it was.
May 22, 2012 at 12:39 pm
Duck dunn was the (white!) house bass guitarist on the brilliant early Motown recordings. I presume that’s him pumping it out in the Four Tops’ “Reach Out – I’ll Be There” which is a near-perfect single. I recall that he complimented Andy Fraser of Free for his bass playing on “All Right Now” – a compliment indeed, and deserved too.