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7 of 7 people found the following review helpful:
2.0 out of 5 stars
A performance to treasure, 10 Jan 2004
First, not "FROM Brazil" but "IN Brazil"! I was born on the same wild East Anglian coast as BB, educated at the same school as BB, had some of the same teachers as BB, HOWEVER (and alas) I have never felt the same attraction for his music as I do for Tippett, Walton, Rawsthorne, Bartok, Lutoslawski, Messiaen, Ives or Ligetti. I have tried and tried to like Peter Grimes, Burning Fiery Furnace and the War Requiem, but unhappily all I hear is the Britten who hid his true self behind a snobbish mask of respectabilty. For me, eighty percent of BB's music is "dead behind the eyes". And yet, the moment BB sits down at the piano, magic happens. His recordings of Mozart concertos and of duets with Richter are divine music making.You will never hear the piano parts of Schubert's songs spring to such life as in BB's performances. Just listen to the modulation from minor to major in the first song of Winterreise, even after a hundred hearings, it gives me goose pimples. BB's playing just carries the story forward. Each song is characterised to perfection.I don't care if on occasions Pears goes into that twangy "english" nasal sound.(If PP had the richness of voice of Dieskau, that would be heaven on earth). Nevertheless his phrasing and variation in tone take you along Schubert's journey whether you understand German or not. Here are two GREAT musicians of the 20th Century performing one of great works of the 19th Century. Soon after the original recording was released, a friend who had both this Pears/Britten and the Dieskau/Moore version offered me one as a birthday present. I listened and listened to them both. But in the end there was no question. I chose the BB/PP version. Why? Because you won't hear music making like that more than once or twice in a lifetime. Pears and Britten were outstanding musicians. If you love Schubert, then their recordings of Schone Mullerin and Winterreise must be in your collection.
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4 of 5 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
The most profound recording of this work, 7 Dec 2002
By A Customer
I find this recording a most profound musical and emotional experience. There is a feeling of unity between the performers and Schubert which I haven't found in other versions. I think it helps that neither performer is very young - Pears wisely did not attempt to sing Winterreise until he was fifty.Britten's piano playing has his own unique subtleties, and with Pears you have the feeling of deep knowledge and experience behind every note. His treatment of the words is, as in everything he did, beyond praise. If Pavarotti is your idea of a tenor, you will not be able to appreciate this recording. If you want to hear the music, however, this is the one to buy.
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1 of 1 people found the following review helpful:
5.0 out of 5 stars
I wouldn't buy this one first, 19 April 2009
If you are new to lieder then I don't think you should start here. Let's face it: Winterreise is not exactly a barrel of laughs. And whilst Schubert is much more than a carefree songbird churning out one pretty tune after another there is that side to him. There are not many cheerful ditties here, though, that you can whistle gaily as you go about your daily routine. You will not get a balanced view of Schubert from Winterreise alone.
This cycle of 24 poems charts the descent into madness of an abandoned lover, set against the backdrop of a frozen landscape. There are few moments of relief and even when they occur all hope is quickly dashed. And yet....if you are into lieder then Winterreise is an absolute essential.
It is not necessary to say much about the performance except that it could not be bettered. These poems express the thoughts and musings of a young man, and although there are fine recordings by baritones and bass singers the songs were originally written for the tenor voice and to me this sounds right. Pears was in his mid-50s when the recordings were made but his very English voice does not sound too old for the part. And Britten's sensitive piano playing complements the voice in every way. The liner notes refer to one composer (Schubert) being interpreted by another (Britten). Having read other reviews of this recording I think this is a coded way of saying that Britten is, at times, rather free in his interpretation of Schubert's markings. Whilst I am a firm believer in the doctrine that "the composer knows best" I have to say that having heard a few other recordings and one live performance of Winterreise I am not aware of Britten doing any great violence to the score.
So to sum up: if you are new to Schubert's lieder I wouldn't suggest that you start here. There are plenty of good single disc selections available to start you off (modesty doesn't quite prevent me from suggesting that you follow up on a couple of my reviews). But when you have sampled some of Schubert's other work in this medium you must buy and listen to this, the greatest of all song cycles, and in a performance which has rightly been perceived as being a classic from the time of its original release. You will not be disappointed.
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~ Clifford Curzon
![Schubert - Winterreise - Britten [DVD] [2008]](http://ecx.images-amazon.com/images/I/514neUNYCZL._SL500_SS90_.jpg)
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