Christian Gerhaher, Baritone.
In this CD by Christian Gerhaher and his long-term pianist Gerold Huber, we hear songs by Haydn and Beethoven, juxtaposed by Lieder composed by Arnold Schoenberg and Alban Berg. What all four of these composers describe to us in their own way is loneliness, longing, and hopeless love.
We get to hear three arias by Franz Josef Haydn that are fore-runners of the Lieder genre perfected by later composers.
In the famous Beethoven song cycle “Ferne Geliebte” as well as the ever-popular “Adelaide”, Gerhaher’s renditions are really amazing. The terrific clarity of his delivery, and the sheer musical phrasing are outstanding.
The other major work is the Schoenberg song cycle ‘The Book of Hanging Gardens’, a cycle of 15 songs, on which Christian Gerhaher gives an in-depth exposition of his interpretation in the included booklet.
The ‘Altenberg Lieder ‘by Alan Berg completes the recital with great conviction as well as magical beauty.
Here is something quite different from this recording: Christian Gerharer sings Mozart (from the Magic Flute):
And next, The Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, conducted by Herbert Blomstedt and Christian Gerhaher perform the songs “Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht” and “Ging heut Morgen übers Feld” from the “Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen” by Gustav Mahler
Tags: Beethoven, Schoenberg, Alban Berg, Haydn, Ferne Geliebte, Gerharer