An die ferne Geliebte - Christian Gerhaher, Part 1/2

Piano by Gerold Huber
In Search of Beethoven

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Music

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• beethoven
• 01

[TheEnoculator]

I have to agree that he's nothing special. Singing with his arms crossed already restricted his breathing, I could tell by his legato that he didn't have the breath to sustain longer phrases. He's no DFD, he doesn't have that beauty in his timbre. Comparing him to Bostridge, Mikolaj and Quasthoff, this guy is rather forgettable.

[Tinkerbelle276]

Surely the proof of a great voice is the thrill it causes to the listener. I nearly pass out when I hear Gerhaher sing.

[cheradinine8]

@OliSheff I agree with you Oli, naturally... In fact I would say he is the greatest German lyric Baritone since DFD retired... I heard his Wie Todesahnung in Vienna in 2010 and was stunned at the beauty of his voice, as was the rest of the audience...

[OliSheff]

@greyzorro1 I totally agree with you. I would say greatest lieder interpreter as there are many people with a more beautiful voice than he has, and he admits that fact. He lost a quality in his voice with age as his depth of interpretation increased, facts that are not wholly unrelated. If you listen to him singing "Wie Todesahnung" from the 1949 recording of Tannhäuser, he has a beautiful voice. It is on spotify.

[chadafaud]

Self-correction: The Schlusnus recording was made when he was 51.

[chadafaud]

I have to agree with ottakar27 on this. I agree that his voice and certain interpretative touches are attractive, but he cannot breathe or support the voice consistently enough to phrase on the basis of the harmonic rhythm, so his choices often seem oddly arbitrary and an overarching thrust of the performance fails to materialise, making listening tiring. The ghostly touch of F-D bothered me less, though. Try the great recording by Schlusnus (made when he was in his 60s!)

[greyzorro1]

@OliSheff to say he "copies" DFD is a compliment i would say.Hes not a DFD clone anyway and brings his own syle which only adds to Lieder and it can only help he studied under one of the greats (if not greatest) Lieder singers.His voice has a modern tone that advances the style and is to be admired.

[OliSheff]

@ottokar27 With great respect, he is one of the most talented lieder singers and, for a matter of fact, opera singers and to say he is feebly copying dieskau is a little harsh. He has participated in Dieskau masterclasses and I'm sure he has learnt from them, but he is an intelligent man who knows how he wishes to convey pieces, and to criticise him for copying Dieskau would convict him of copying the tradition of lieder singing.

[cloudintrousers]

this man's voice is beyond beauty.

[ottokar27]

a perfect representation of what's wrong with lieder singers today. no vowel consistency, breath support all over the place, and his feeble attempt at copying dieskau isn't fooling anyone.