Schubert: Winterreise, two 2004 recordings compared

This summer has seen a bumper crop of Winterreisen, with a disc due this month from French contralto Nathalie Stutzmann, and these two new readings from a tenor and baritone who are considered to be among the world’s foremost lieder interpreters. Both are exponents of a welcome move away from over-dramatisation, favouring instead a simplicity of approach that allows the music and poems to speak for themselves. That said, the impact of this dark work, from Schubert’s last year, is weighty and intense; both discs are compelling throughout.

Bostridge is particularly adept at communicating stark changes of mood: the new warmth of tone at the change from minor to major in Gute Nacht is something special. Equally moving is the switch from the dream-like opening of Frühlingstraum to the desperate tone of “und als die Hähne krähten”. Both singers capture the tragic self-awareness of “Ihr lacht wohl über den Träumer, der Blumen im Winter sah” [Well may you laugh at the dreamer, who saw flowers in winter]. Bostridge and Andsnes convey superbly the urgency and sense of desperation in Erstarrung, employing subtle use of rubato that is perfect in ensemble, and always sounding spontaneous.

The unusual phrasing of the opening of Letzte Hoffnung is very appealing from Andsnes, but it is Goerne’s soul that we hear weeping as the leaf falls and takes with it the wanderer’s last strength. Likewise in the admirably spacious Wasserflut Goerne is more terrifyingly woeful. For an example of Andsnes on top form, turn to Lindenbaum: a glorious singing tone, with the weight on the top of the right-hand triplets, and a sense of direction in the phrasing unmatched in any other recording I’ve heard, give this song its tragic weight. Refreshingly, this young Norwegian pianist never tries to say anything in the closing bars that has already been said in the body of the song: no lingering ritenutos or poignant pauses where they are not called for.

The acoustic of the Wigmore Hall is generous to both Goerne and Brendel, giving the piano a warm, rounded sound that I would consider appropriately Schubertian. Only the occasional unobtrusive cough between songs and, of course, the rapturous applause at the finish give away the ‘live’ element of this recording, made over two performances. As for Bostridge and Andsnes, I would suggest using whatever means available to get a ticket to the concert at the Usher Hall on the 29th, for on the evidence of this studio-recorded disc it promises to be a journey to remember.