Wolf: Italienisches Liederbuch [CD]

A Fischer Dieskau recording with Irmgard Seefried predated this on DG, but this is the one to collect.
The singers, Fischer-Dieskau with Dame Elisabeth, are perfectly matched, both individually accomplished in the high art form of the romantic German Lied (there you go..the Berlin-Prussian heritage!) recording Wolf's Spanishe Liederbuch about the same time, that is while in their vocal prime, for DG. If you want to hear Irmgard Seefried in Wolf (though I don't know why, as Schumann was the limit of her interpretative powers) go to her collaboration with Eberhard Waechter in the Spanish Songbook on DG which I feel is better than the DFD/Schwarzkopf version.

My personal favourite from the Italian, if I had to choose, would be "Auch kleine dinge" ...even little things: the whole cycle a string of pearls, perfectly polished minatures. Fischer Dieskau throws it out in that spontaneous unstudied way which is art concealing art. But in the major numbers it is quite clear he has studied and practised these songs inside out: and he has the vocal power to deliver them!

And the piano part is not mere accompaninent, but it is equal to the singing in this project, as tricky and nuanced as the vocal line, and Gerald Moore's playing is perfect. Is it me, or am I correct in feeling DFD has stolen the lion's share of the most beautiful melodic songs in the liederbuch?

If you wish to have one CD to remember his artistry then you could do a lot worse than this recording.

If you fall in love with these songs you may want to explore more current recordings...my advice: don't bother!
You will waste your time and money.

The only performance that comes anywhere near this artistic summit is the contemporaneous Philips recording with Souzay, Ameling and Dalton Baldwin on piano. This is now highly collectible and astronomically expensive out of its rarity value I suppose. It throws a different light on the cycle as a whole and individual songs, some of them at least, are magnificently sung with a different chemistry. Some who dislike Schwarzkopf might prefer this. But Souzay (past his best) sounds very shallow and vocally deficient compared with Fischer-Dieskau.

But for next to nothing if you acquire this EMI CD you will be getting the very best out there.

Go for it!

Certainly a Great Recording of the Century so why only four stars? Mainly because I'm not a great fan of Wolf's songs but also because Schwarzkopf is at times too shrill to be expressive. Fischer-Dieskau is at his commanding best. Played only once recently but I also have the LPs and have never felt that it's a set to be loved, only admired.

this is a classical recording with Dieskau and Scharzkopf plus Gerald Moore. The Lieder are Italian folksongs, sardonic but also loving. The whole is enchanting. For me I wonder as ever when I listen as to hoe a nation that gave us such beauty gave us also such horror. Behind DiesKau I hear the poor devils at Auschwitz.