Notes and Editorial Reviews
This 2-disc set, the latest in Deutsche Grammophon's "Portrait of the Artist" series, features selections from bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff's recital recordings from 1998 to the present. Many of these have been reviewed here, and for a summary of Quasthoff's superb artistry and individual treatments of this repertoire by Schubert, Schumann, Liszt, Strauss, Bach, and others, I refer you to our review archive. There's no question regarding this singer's extraordinary gifts, either in a technical sense or as an interpreter of songs--as I noted previously, he has a capacity, nearly unique among today's lieder singers, "to understand the communicative and emotive heart of a song and how
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to do the things that personalize it without subtracting from the music or text." He shows why sheer vocal beauty isn't enough in lieder singing--although he certainly offers no small amount of absolutely gorgeous sound!
This collection is well chosen to celebrate not only Quasthoff's full interpretive range, but also his impressive vocal range: his lowest-register notes (around a low E-flat) resonate with a power both thrilling and unexpected for a voice that also commands such upper-register lyricism and lightness.
Disc 1 includes several Schubert songs orchestrated by Reger and Offenbach (An die Musik, Erlkönig, Ständchen, and Greisengesang) and many others with orchestra by Weber, Wagner, and Strauss. We also get Quasthoff's sublime performance of Bach's BWV 82 (Ich habe genug) with the Berlin Baroque Soloists. Disc 2 contains songs with piano (played by the brilliant Justus Zeyen), beginning with Schubert's Auf der Bruck, a performance that, along with subsequent songs by Liszt (Die Loreley) and Loewe (Herr Oluf), epitomizes Quasthoff's versatility and dramatic artistry.
There's a surprise at the end: a previously unreleased encore from a Berlin concert in September, 2004. Here is Quasthoff, in a sensational six-minute-long "solo jazz improvisation" that answers the question, "what does such a gifted singer do in his spare time?" Even if you already own the other songs on their previous recordings, you just might owe it to yourself to hear this little gem. However, if you care about texts and translations, you'll need those earlier CDs because here the liner booklet is used only for an interview with the singer (fairly interesting) and full-page color pictures and promos for Quasthoff's discography. [7/28/2006]
--David Vernier, ClassicsToday.com Read less
Works on This Recording
1.
An die Musik, D 547 by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Conductor:
Claudio Abbado
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Period: Romantic
Written: 1817; Vienna, Austria
Notes: Arranger: Max Reger.
2.
Der Erlkönig, D 328 by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Conductor:
Claudio Abbado
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Period: Romantic
Written: 1815; Vienna, Austria
Notes: Arranger: Max Reger.
3.
Schwanengesang, D 957: no 4, Ständchen by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Conductor:
Claudio Abbado
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Period: Romantic
Written: 1828; Vienna, Austria
Notes: Arranger: Jacques Offenbach.
4.
Greisengesang, D 778 by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Conductor:
Claudio Abbado
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Chamber Orchestra of Europe
Period: Romantic
Written: 1823; Vienna, Austria
Notes: Arranger: Max Reger.
5.
Der Wildschütz: Fünftausend Taler by Albert Lortzing
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Conductor:
Christian Thielemann
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin State Opera Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1842; Germany
6.
Tannhäuser: O, du mein holder Abendstern by Richard Wagner
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Conductor:
Christian Thielemann
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin State Opera Orchestra
Period: Romantic
Written: 1845/1861; Germany
10.
Ich habe genug, BWV 82: Ich habe genug by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Albrecht Mayer (Oboe),
Rainer Kussmaul (Violin),
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Conductor:
Rainer Kussmaul
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin Baroque Soloists
Period: Baroque
Written: 1727; Cöthen, Germany
13.
Ich habe genug, BWV 82: Ich freue mich auf meinen Tod by Johann Sebastian Bach
Performer:
Albrecht Mayer (Oboe),
Rainer Kussmaul (Violin),
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Conductor:
Rainer Kussmaul
Orchestra/Ensemble:
Berlin Baroque Soloists
Period: Baroque
Written: 1727; Cöthen, Germany
14.
Auf der Bruck, D 853 by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone),
Justus Zeyen (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1825; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 11/2003
Venue: Bavaria Musikstudios, Munich, Germany
Length: 3 Minutes 27 Secs.
Language: German
15.
Heidenröslein, D 257/Op. 3 no 3 by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Justus Zeyen (Piano),
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1815; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 11/2003
Venue: Bavaria Musikstudios, Munich, Germany
Length: 1 Minutes 56 Secs.
Language: German
16.
Die Forelle, D 550 by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone),
Justus Zeyen (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1817; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 11/2003
Venue: Bavaria Musikstudios, Munich, Germany
Length: 2 Minutes 11 Secs.
Language: German
17.
Die schöne Müllerin, D 795/Op. 25: no 10, Tränenregen by Franz Schubert
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone),
Justus Zeyen (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1823; Vienna, Austria
Date of Recording: 05/2002
Venue: Live Great Hall, Music City, Paris, France
Length: 4 Minutes 17 Secs.
Language: German
21.
Myrthen, Op. 25: no 24, Du bist wie eine Blume by Robert Schumann
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone),
Justus Zeyen (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1840; Germany
Date of Recording: 11/2003
Venue: Bavaria Musikstudios, Munich, Germany
Length: 1 Minutes 54 Secs.
Language: German
22.
Songs (6), Op. 34: no 2, Auf Flügeln des Gesanges by Felix Mendelssohn
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone),
Justus Zeyen (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1836; Germany
Date of Recording: 11/2003
Venue: Bavaria Musikstudios, Munich, Germany
Length: 2 Minutes 28 Secs.
Language: German
23.
Songs (5), Op. 72: no 4, Verzagen by Johannes Brahms
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone),
Justus Zeyen (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1877; Austria
Date of Recording: 11/2003
Venue: Bavaria Musikstudios, Munich, Germany
Length: 3 Minutes 27 Secs.
Language: German
24.
Songs (5), Op. 72: no 5, Unüberwindlich by Johannes Brahms
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone),
Justus Zeyen (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1876; Austria
Date of Recording: 11/2003
Venue: Bavaria Musikstudios, Munich, Germany
Length: 3 Minutes 27 Secs.
Language: German
26.
Die Loreley, S 273 no 1 (1st version) by Franz Liszt
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone),
Justus Zeyen (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1841; Germany
Date of Recording: 10/1999
Venue: Teldec Studio, Berlin, Germany
Length: 6 Minutes 56 Secs.
Language: German
27.
O lieb, so lang du lieben kannst, S 298 by Franz Liszt
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone),
Justus Zeyen (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: circa 1845; Germany
Date of Recording: 10/1999
Venue: Teldec Studio, Berlin, Germany
Length: 5 Minutes 30 Secs.
Language: German
28.
Es muss ein Wunderbares sein, S 314 by Franz Liszt
Performer:
Justus Zeyen (Piano),
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1857; Weimar, Germany
Date of Recording: 10/1999
Venue: Teldec Studio, Berlin, Germany
Length: 5 Minutes 30 Secs.
Language: German
30.
Lieder (4), Op. 27: no 3, Heimliche Aufforderung by Richard Strauss
Performer:
Justus Zeyen (Piano),
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1894; Germany
Date of Recording: 11/2003
Venue: Bavaria Musikstudios, Munich, Germany
Length: 3 Minutes 16 Secs.
Language: German
31.
Lieder (8), Op. 10: no 1, Zueignung by Richard Strauss
Performer:
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone),
Justus Zeyen (Piano)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1885; Germany
Date of Recording: 11/2003
Venue: Bavaria Musikstudios, Munich, Germany
Length: 1 Minutes 44 Secs.
Language: German
32.
Lieder (4), Op. 27: no 4, Morgen by Richard Strauss
Performer:
Justus Zeyen (Piano),
Thomas Quasthoff (Baritone)
Period: Romantic
Written: 1894; Germany
Date of Recording: 11/2003
Venue: Bavaria Musikstudios, Munich, Germany
Length: 4 Minutes 3 Secs.
Language: German
Featured Sound Samples
Ich habe genug, BWV 82 (Bach): I. Aria: Ich habe genug, ich habe den Heiland
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