Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau sings Schubert - Der Erlkönig (Video)

[rosemaryebyron]

Beautiful

[Marleton93]

This is absolutely amazing! I love pianos!

[djschlom]

I was once able to take a master class with Gerald Moore. What an amazing experience. He was THE leider accompanist for quite some time. One of DFD favorites on recordings to be sure.

[koreanhotladyboy]

Great!!

[Tenorlyrico89]

absolutely fantastic. very exact tremolo from the accompaniment......good resonance from dieskau...

[poupou6363]

C'est l'histoire d'un garcon fou et son pere essaie de le ramennait chez lui mais le roi des aulnes plus presisement la mort essait de le recupere enfin bref si vous vous vouler plus dinfo demander :) je serait ravie de vous en dire plus

leila 13 ans

[LaleRarw]

i think its not 'dramatic' enough.. but good, exactly what i need!

[aModernDandy]

His face when he sings the Erkönig's parts is terrifying - especially around 3:07 when he sings "Gewalt".

[Ritorneremo1]

Der Singer hat alles verstanden. Wunderschön! Aber schwer ums Herz...

[dererlkoenig01]

For me, the erlking is the death. The boy is badly ill, so he can see the death, who wants him to come with him. The father can't see the death, so he thinks his son just dreams. I think it's great work of all three, goethe, schubert and fischer-dieskau.

PS: Sorry for my bad english.

[lovejesustv]

Love his rendition of this aria!!!

[sheltiegirly]

Haha,das hatte die ganze Klasse vor lachen umgehaut,als wir das hörten-am schluss sagt er ja: In seinen Aarmeen,das Kind waar tot.

Und tot sagt er so schnell und gefühlslos.tot^^xD

Aber ansonsten schön!;)

[frlSockervadd]

i am practicing this right now (for about 6 months or so) for playing it at the silver wedding of my parents next autumn. my cousin will sing it =)

i am excited about it and a bit afraid ... but - about 12 months of practicing to gooo :D

[ExMyHeartOut]

Piano Guy = DEMON HANDS!

[Bitteneindanke]

@ExMyHeartOut this is just the "simple" accompaniment, look for liszt's transcription and see what demonic hands really mean.

[mattmillerkb]

bravo!

[11pote]

thank you, everyone, for making studying this piece a lot easier.

[Fagottissima]

14 ear- and eyeless people prefer Jessye Norman's interpretation -.-

[ilovemybestvideos]

wunderschön :)

[sophiadelphia]

i learned that the son is sick and has a fever. in his delirium he sees the erlkoenig.

[GeorgeBurrell]

When was this performance and who was the pianist please?

[OverFjell]

@GeorgeBurrell I don't know when, but the pianist is Gerald Moore

[GeorgeBurrell]

@OverFjell As I suspected. In F minor -seems to be the most popular key

[balladhe]

@GeorgeBurrell 14.05.1959, London :)

[irmgardfuerst]

@GeorgeBurrell Es war sicher vor dem Tod seiner 1.Frau Irmgard Poppen, also vor 1963.

[gorilis]

@GeorgeBurrell

This performance is ca. 1959



[singerboi588]

anyone who disliked this needs to take a look at real music again and the amazing emotion and energy it takes.

[TheDragon757]

Nichts für mich :D xD

[HerrWarja]

Wow, what a singer and actor!

[Thorneycroft1937]

This is even more fantastic than the interpretation by the goddess of german classical music Christa Ludwig, his expression is amazing when it comes to the line Und bist du nicht willig so brauch ich Gewalt.

[bernard1422]

Unless we are merely dealing with discrepencies in the recordings and hence the transmissions of this beautiful song, one can easily discern that Fischer-Diskau is German. His use of that language is clearly superior to that of Terfel. Conversely, however, Terfel's careful distinction and pronounced enunciation among the three characters(the father, the child and the Erlkonig) is way above that of Fischer-Diskau.

[MRobespierre63]

Quand cette vidéo a t-elle été faites?

Dietrich Disher-Dieskau est vraiment le meilleur, avec Schubert et Goethe. Quel magnifique trio!

[telecasterthommy]

is that Barry off of Eastenders

[Techmaninoff]

it's totally outstanding!

[WheatleyLP]

schrott



[chipncharge94]

@WheatleyLP werd erwachsen.

[vera62able]

LIsten to Hüsch, Kipnis, Svanholm, Lehmann, etc.

[vera62able]

LIsten to Hèsch, KIpnis, Svanholm, Lehmann, etc.

[Gonnakillyou]

lol, people thinking it's all about abuse. That's so 90s.

[trespalabres]

ich liebe erlkönig :D die version von schubert ist am besten^^

großartiges werk :D goethe ist einfach der beste^^

[Farhadalmani]

Fantastic, but bad quality!

[pdeteresa]

lol, our German class made a video of this song

[ascidro]

in my eyes goethes poem is about a rape of a boy from an relative, the child gets advances and tries to resist, the uncle goes further and further, makes advances but no one is listening to the boy, telling him that he is there isnt anything except in his imagination...

until the child is no more

my interpretation...

[OverFjell]

@ascidro A haunting interpretation

[mzr33d1]

@OverFjell it's not about rape.. the boy is fatally sick and he is riding the horse with his father to be seen by the doctor. the horse is galloping as fast as he can. the erlking (dieskau's occasional creepy grin) is the symbol of death and he wants the sick boy to come with him to his world. the boy tries to resist and pull through his sickess so he can see another day. but the erlking eventually tells the boy he will force him to come with him after he sees his resistance. the boy then dies.

[OverFjell]

@mzr33d1 I never said whether I believe it is or not, I simply think the idea of rape is an interesting metaphor.

[KradonEradia]

@mzr33d1 Indeed Goethe's poems are often something sexual and the topic of rape is taking the chief part in "Heideröslein" and based on the other poems of Goethe it is an adjucated guess to interpret it as a rape scene.

[mzr33d1]

@KradonEradia that may be true but this particular poem has nothing to do with rape.. of course, if german is not one's native tongue, only then would it be safe to assume that the creepy grin is indeed a rapist. but this song right here is a song about a boy entering the state of death. want some evidence?

[KradonEradia]

@mzr33d1 No, I think the same. Just meant, that everyone got his own thinking and interpretation of those poems. And I am a german myself, so I understand the whole poem and share the same interpretation!

[mzr33d1]

@KradonEradia that's cool. i will admit though, im not german.. i learned about this poem in my music class lol.

[raxkar]

@ascidro Then, what is the running part for? The father and son riding... I mostly see it as a sick boy hallucinating on the way to find help. But he die before. I see your point, but the introduction don't fit for me.

[ascidro]

@raxkar

the poem is from goethe, he starts it like that....you see, he was geheimrat...a high Beamter, something like a clerk of state.

No way he cold speak directly about taboos like abuse, a behavior that is still around nowadays.

The form of the First Rhyme is very strange in german.

It starts with the question who rides so late trough night and wind? -so implies the danger and the time running away...

and ends with he holds him secure, he holds him warm. - next words show, he isnt

[DieMikrowelle]

@ascidro

its not yours its scientifically accepted ^^

[nwesterhausen]

@ascidro I agree with your interpretation. Just had a class about this. And that interpretation seems so likely to be the metaphor for this. but @OverFjell it is also really nice to think of it as lovely fairy tale.

[OverFjell]

@nwesterhausen Is that sarcasm really necessary? I simply said that I thought his interpretation was interesting, what's the big deal?

[nwesterhausen]

@OverFjell I didn't think I was being sarcastic. In my opinion, the poem is nicely interpreted as a child who is raped, but also I like to read it without that interpretation. I mentioned you because you contented the poem was not about rape. Ever read any of the Brüder Grimm or Geothe's other stuff? Just curious about your thoughts on them.

[OverFjell]

@nwesterhausen My apologies, I see I have misinterpreted your post completely! I saw the latter half and assumed you were being sarcastic. I am sad to say I am rather unversed in many great works of literature, however I'm currently getting hold of as much as possible, with Goethe being at the top of my list. My partner has a copy of Brothers Grimm, I may have to read them

[ascidro]

@OverFjell Faust 1 i liked...but i guess rather difficult to translate into english...

Saw a boy a small rose, liked it a lot, ripped it out and took the wounds...i never understood that one :)

[nwesterhausen]

@OverFjell I loved reading the Brothers Grimm fairytales growing up... and today =] they are awesome. basically a must read.

[sophiadelphia]

@nwesterhausen when i read brothers grimm now, i notice how cruel and horroifying they are. how were we able to read their tales without having nightmares. so i spent some time in an american host family and the kids only knew dr. seuss books but no brothers grimm tales. my sister came and brought little red riding hood as an audio book. we had to turn it off because the kids were too scared. i guess when you grow up with such tales they don't scare you, but if you're not used to them, they do

[CH3CH2OCH2CH3net]

For his first song, lightning strikes Franz Schubert, the piano and the singer and creates the ultimate "ghost story" -— terrifying in its beauty, overwhelming in its impact.

This performance just leaves me shaken (in a good way). Can this song *ever* be sung better than this performance?

[sugarbabyxy]

Wow. He's the best interpretor I've ever heard.

[UncleTito72]

He is breathtaking. Considered the best and most influential singer of the 20th century by many. As an interpreter there was no other above him.

[tonyborbony]

@jimbob13ia What did I ever do to you? O-o

[OverFjell]

@tonyborbony Probably just a troll, I'll delete his comment

[tonyborbony]

@OverFjell Thanks, and I forgot if I've thanked you for your answer to my question, so thanks! 

[OverFjell]

@tonyborbony Hehe, anytime, my answer was a culmination of my own opinion and the WIkipedia article on this lied

[OverFjell]

@jimbob13ia What was the need?

[davidsch87]

"geschrieben von schiller, vertont von beethoven"

oder vielleicht doch geschrieben von heyne und vertont von schumann? ach ne, es waren ja e.t.a hoffmann und johannes brahms!

[1987Open]

goosebumps...

[knowotnyboles]

kein beethoven - SCHUBERT!!!!

[knowotnyboles]

actually there are 4 voices: the narrator (in the beginning & end) - then the father - then the son - then the erlking - etc.

[psnelke1]

geschrieben von schiller, vertont von beethoven

da kommt nationalstolz auf

[jeijeimus888]

@psnelke1 GESCHRIEBEN VON GOETHE,VERTONT VON SCHUBERT!!!!!!!!

[psnelke1]

@jeijeimus888 oh tut mir leid ich hatte damals glaub auch noch die ode an die freude auf :-D sorry habs zum falschen video geschrieben

aber mit der ode an die freude hab ich recht ? :D

[intelligide]

super

[tonyborbony]

Awesome... This song was part of my art exam... Just wanna check if I was correct. So if anyone could answer me these questions it would be awesome. :3 "What does the piano refer to in this piece?" "How do you hear there are three characters in this song?"

[OverFjell]

@tonyborbony The piano refers to the horse in this piece, a fierce gallop, the characters are differentiated through different timbres of voice, which Dieskau does phenomenally here

[tonyborbony]

@OverFjell Hmmm... I got one of the two right then. I thought the piano refers to Death (or the Erlkönig) that's rapidly approaching. Thanks for the answer!

[Buzaglod]

@tonyborbony 1. the piano imitates horses hooves 2. there are technically 4 voices, the narrator, the boy, the father and the earl king

[joshmcc18]

@tonyborbony there is actually 5 characters , 1. the narrator, 2. the father, 3. the son, 4. The Erl King, 5. The Horse . . the different volumes of the characters show them as a character. The boy is soft and almost scared. the father is forceful, and the Erl King is very quiet and spooky. The Horse gets louder and louder during the "riding" scenes and at the end when they reach the farm you can hear it slow down and get softer representing the horse slowing down.

[TarisWerewolf]

@tonyborbony - OverFjell was right about the piano representing the horse. Technically, though there are four spoken characters in the piece: The Father, the boy, the Erlking and the Narrator (at the beginning and the end). You can also differentiate them by the music. The Narrator is in the middle register, and is in the minor key, the Father is in the low register and sings in both modes, the child is in the minor mode and in a higher register, and the Erlking's music is in the major

[LelandPD]

Outstanding performance - Fischer-Diskau is the gold standard of Lied performance. His Erlkönig character will haunt my dreams

[TheGerman6th]

Wow you can really tell there are three different characters in this lied without even knowing the german! GREATNESS!!

[Samatnuss]

"s" Wer?

TOLLL! Übrigens

[MaximumBreaker]

TOLLL! Und wenn gleich s... was schreibt, einfach nicht beachten!

[Thebestmc999]

Der Anfang ist am Besten!

[rivale8]

Who cares if he lost or gained weight...like Callas. They were just living masterpieces.

[AlexandreJdB]

Lol, good night at 4:11!!!!!

[MaximumBreaker]

Goethe und Schubert und Dieskau, was will man mehr?

[newFranzFerencLiszt]

just because you say it that ignoble way to subscribe I won't do it, never

[AmericanEvita]

Most operaphiles adore Dieskau singing Schubert Lieder which is considered to be unbeatable. He was German, understood the music, singing with strong touches of expression and meaning. But most of these same folks who love his Lieder don't care for his other opera roles - the Count in Figaro, Don Giovanni, Scarpia in Tosca & etc. Why ? Dieskau had a fabulous baritone voice and his talent was larger than just Lieder. He was a great opera singer period. I love everything he sang!

[Deneb33]

I read that Schubert wrote praising letters to Goethe, but Goethe ignored him. Few people outside of Germany would know about Erlkonig if it wasn't for Schubert making it a song.

[spasticwalrus]

Amazing singer + amazing accompanist + Schubert = Unadulterated awesomeness.

[zakkwyldeverehrer]

THE version of "Der Erlkönig"

[SugarTomAppleRoger]

2...

Many times the boy cries out to his father to help him, but the father cannot see the Erl-king or his minions and writes his son's horror off as one natural phenomenon or another. Only when the boy is physically wounded does the father recognize that desperate measures are called for; though he rides with all his strength and skill, however, his boy expires before he reaches safety.

[SugarTomAppleRoger]

1....

It tells the tale of a father riding through the woods late at night with his son. The evil Erl-king (the origin of the words "Erlkönig" and "Erlenkönig," both of which forms appear in Goethe's ballad, is complicated and even confused; some say they are a translation, or mistranslation, into German of the Danish word for "Elf King"), visible to the young boy, but not to his father, calls out to the lad, tempting him with thoughts of games and dances.

[dappling484]

does anyone kno the key this one is in? i have one in the key of g but that seems too high for him

[AlexandreJdB]

Das ist ja reinste Hölle für den Begleiter!!!!!!!!!!

[jefftam1234]

I like how they after singing how Erlkonig lured and killed a kid in a dark valley followed by 'Good Night'.

LOL, I will sure try.

[sippndipp]

@oprecha: the earlkönig is about a disease that took foremostely childs and elder people. it was believed to come out of the trees - erle = alder tree. Nothing to do with sex. A father rides through the night to bring his son to the doctor - the boy is fading away, seeing the erlkönig (alderking) dying in his fathers arms when he arrives at the house...

[freak0147]

@sippndipp as far as i know, it comes from an danish version, where it was the elfking, the elf is "eller", so it was translated to german as erlkönig because the translator made an mistake, translating eller to erl

at least this is, what i heard

i dont even know if there is a proofed version

[petitequinte]

I love his delivery - he really brings out all the different characters. His creepy smile for the Erlking is just too awesome. ^_^

[gluehwuermchen8888]

who plays the piano ?

[OverFjell]

@gluehwuermchen8888 Gerald Moore

[CUITKIN]

@gluehwuermchen8888

That ;might be Gerald Moore.  It looks like him although I have only seen photos of him. He was a great accompanist

1

[SebastianBach99]

Oh, the uninformed comments people make on things they obviously know nothing about...Erlkônig a woman, nonsense! (It would then be Erlkônigin). And "sex offender" I suppose that was a joke. For centuries there have been legends of the supernatural world stealing beautiful human children for eternal play companions. BBC America's "Torchwood" did an episode on the theme.

Sometimes they give an elven child in return - hence the term "changeling."

[petitequinte]

@SebastianBach99 It was obviously intended as a joke; maybe in poor taste... But to us raised in the 20th & 21st centuries, who haven't grown up with those folk tales in mind, someone (however supernatural in nature) saying something like "I love you, your beautiful form entices me; And if you're not willing, I shall use force!" to a child has very different associations.

Thanks for the added context, though! I understand now that the poem is a different kind of creepy than what I thought.

[jackroks]

how did he lose so much weight throughout his life?!

[OverFjell]

@jackroks See, what happens, very early on in his career, Dieskau was full of a physical manifestation of awesome, and throughout his life, he radiated awesome where ever he went

[jefftam1234]

@OverFjell OMG, Best. Reply. EVER!

[Olibutters]

@jackroks : his wife died :(

[iriss8]

I think it is such a pity that it ends with V, I. Why does it have to? The drama of the play immediately is gone. It is not beautiful to end with it, it is not necessary. Why not just end with the dead of the child? It is a sad story, let it be one then..

[Finalcyba]

Sally ich bin ein guter könig

[idiotsrus92]

he reminds me a lot of Orson Welles

[porchito74]

maravilloso maestro Dieskau! por eso se ha ganado el lugar que tiene en la tradicion musical europea! que increible interpretacion!

[wardropper]

Gerald Moore at his best.

Fischer-Dieskau isn't bad either...

[Astradamors]

I have this on DVD, along with Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. This is a singing lesson. Note how for every character his mouth and facial expression changes. So for the father the voice sounds darker, rounder, more "coperto". For the child, more open, youthful. And for the elf, even more open horizontally, until the point where it sounds "buffo". What a great artist. Artists like this are true miracles.

[herlock1993]

gammelig

[Gonnakillyou]

@herlock1993 Guter Käse und Wurst stehen auch ne Weile, wenn du verstehst, wie ich meine.

[HanHelPes]

Ich liebe dieses Lied!

[ascohn]

@oprecha @OverFjell I agree. Totally hilar.

[sahandaman]

Fantastic recording! Love this piece.

Does anyone know when this recording is from? If it's already been asked, then sorry fuer den Spam :)

[TheBerler]

do you understand the lyrics and the thematice?

I'm from germany and happy and proud that this many english spieaking people listen to this excellent poem from Johann Wolfgang von Goethe

viele grüße aus dem schönen deutschen lande

[TaedetMeVitae]

I'm in love with this man. GENIUS!

[mimosakinox]

He's really a gem. Who else can tell the story like this? He's really brilliant with lieds. Thank you for posting this!!!

[Maurin1998]

WOW!!!

[megatwingo]

Danke für das Raufladen des schönen Liedes. Daumen hoch!

[jatriggs]

Great performance! Thanks for posting this!

[lilticklez]

The erlkonig is a chomo!!

[777CYB777]

Also wenn ich das Gedicht lese, bekomme ich das Gefühl, Goethe hat hier was ganz anderes sagen wollen, als das was man in der Schule anspricht.

Ich tarue mich das gar nicht auszusprechen, aber hier handelt es sich doch ganz klar um Kindesmissbrauch!

[BenjaminGER84]

@777CYB777

Selbstverständlich tut es das! ebenso um die sache an sich, wie auch die schweren umstände sich gehör zu verschaffen kommen zur geltung.

Nun würde mich aber interessieren was für eine interpretation ihr über den inhalt in der schule vermittelt bekommen habt..

[777CYB777]

@BenjaminGER84

Na das Übliche halt. Wie ist die Beziehung zwischen Vater und Sohn? Erlkönig-> dänische Mythologie, Satzaufbau, Rhytmus, etc.

Die Lehrerin hätte mich in der Luft zerrissen, hätte ich auch nur eine Andeutung in die Richtung gemacht.

[BenjaminGER84]

@777CYB777

schau mal ins wiki, da ist u.a. die these dabei das es sich dabei um den missbrauch durch geistliche handelt. also wenigstens die weitläufig anerkannten interpretationen des textes sollten doch gerade in der schule zur geltung kommen können. hab mich inzwischen auch mal an dem text versucht. würd mich über ne meinung von dir freuen.

gruß

[wodrak]

@BenjaminGER84 würde mich auch interessieren!

[BenjaminGER84]

@wodrak

auf welchen teil unserer unterhaltung beziehst du dich gerade ?

gruß

[wodrak]

@BenjaminGER84 ich meinte mich würde auch interessieren, was @777CYB777 in der schule dazu besprochen hat! aber wurde eigentlich schon beantwortet! :) gruß

[jtrstrings]

I am THRILLED to see this on Video!!!!!!! GRAZIE!!!!!!

[JBDchan]

Fantastic... I am about to cry at each time I listen to that Lied...

The piano, like the wind, and the singer, with all his different "faces"... Together, they drive us to the depth of the story, with crescendo, the ambiance is beautiful... *sorry for the bad sentences, but I m french and I feel so sad with this song...*

[IrjaHelena]

Erlkönig

[OverFjell]

@oprecha Best.Comment.Ever.

[ElementsConverge]

@OverFjell WIN.

[MusicPredominates]

@OverFjell : Your comment is one of the most sycophantic comments on Youtube !

[xxxxxPr0xxxxx]

@oprecha XD

[66darkfire]

@oprecha The ELF King actually

[Gonnakillyou]

@oprecha I tried hard, but I failed to see how he turned out to be a "sex offender". Rather seemed like a regular psychopatic child murderer to me.

What a silly zeitgeist.

[oprecha]

@Gonnakillyou You did not understand the joke.......basically, The Erlking, he's enticing the little boy to come with him in a very creepy pedophile way.In many parts of the world people who are pedophiles are usually put on a sex offenders registry.

[Gonnakillyou]

@oprecha I did understand the joke, but it was a bad one, because the scenario is a bit too lethal for it to work.

Besides, since when are paedophiles creepy? :P

[langleywil]

@oprecha The Erlkonig is actually a woman, but still the same it's creepy that she wants to take his soul away to "play"

[sejskk]

@langleywil No way, the Erlkonig is male...which is why the translation from the German is the Elf/Adler King.

[petitequinte]

@langleywil what everybody else said about the Erlkönig being male... besides, who said females can't be sex offenders?! :3

[MusicPredominates]

@oprecha : That is first class rubbish ; an oxymoron !

[MusicPredominates]

@oprecha : That is first class rubbish ; an oxymoron ! Anyways ¨the sex offender register¨ no matter which country you come from is something stolen from Nazism. Such proves the point that the denomination ´master race´ is not merely limited to adherents of Nazism.

[mcnurle2]

I love how well he changes his voice for the different characters of the story!!! His Erlking is just so evil.  A veiled sinister character at first but the he reveals the true nature of the Erlking at the end when he says he'll take the boy by force. Nobody wrote Lieder like Schubert!!!

[gokudabomb1]

i love how not only does he sing it well, he acts each part so well

he has a different face for each character

[acirka]

German culture at his best!

[Tinosmash86]

This guy is brilliant...I haven't heard anyone come close to him.

[Messin050]

Look his eyes and you see how a singer can be the greatest of so many generations...

[FeeTurbule]

@Messin050 Today I found an interview of Dietrich; he explains how intellectual Lieder are and that you cant just sing that as a melody. You need a deep understanding of the text, and to fully enjoy the listening too...

[CuriosusSum]

DFD has become more handsome over the years, wouldn't you agree? In his eighties he looks better than in his forties.

[kuglagerfeld]

What about the pianist? This is one of the trickiest song accompaniments and no one said anything about it. The pianist is, if I am not wrong Gerald Moore. Bravo!

[BigrthantheBoogieMan]

Absolutely gorgeous!

And because I'm currently doing a diction report, I must add that both his consonants and vowels are extremely precise throughout. ;P

[freemandiaz]

yeah, nice diction!

[ssbds]

Wunderschön! DFD ist wirklich einer der größten Liedsänger

[Treffelt]

@GangstaVillChill

Wenn man keine Ahnung hat, einfach mal die Fresse halten...

[Innos969]

richtig so.....das video wurde nich umsonst mit 5* im durschnitt bewertet.

[witwanggibon]

du liebes kind, komm geht mit mir, gar schöne spiele spiel ich mit dir.

I'm studying german and we have to play this tomorrow. I'm the 'Erlkönig'. :D

komm GEH mit mir, it's singular ;)

greets from g