ESSENTIAL RECORDINGS
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FRANZ SCHUBERT - Schwanengesang D. 957 - Piano Sonata D. 960 - Matthias Goerne (Baritone) -
Christoph Eschenbach (Piano) - 3149020213926 - Released: April 2012 - Harmonia Mundi 902139/40 Last september, I posted a review (here)
of another recording of Schwanengesang by Franz Schubert, also on the Harmonia Mundi label,
which I considered to be a prime example of music making of the highest order. I especially praised tenor Mark Padmore and pianist Paul Lewis for their
intense interpretation of the song Der Doppelgänger, marked by depth of emotion and a high level of characterization. I admired their slow,
heartfelt rendition which posts a time of 4:56, considered a bit too slow by some. Well, on this new recording by baritone Matthias Goerne
and pianist Christoph Eschenbach, that same Der Doppelgänger rings in at an incredible time of 6:26, a full 1 minute
and 30 seconds longer. Critics have often unjustly remarked that Matthias Goerne has a tendency to overact and exaggerate the emotional aspects of
certain pieces, so they would certainly have a field day with this one. I don't see it as overdone at all. After all, the poem this song is based on deals
with terrifying imagery. The "double" that the protagonist sees in the pale moonlight, is he a fevered hallucination, is he real, or is he the ghost of his
own suicide? It's a psychologically horrifying song that begs to be emotionally charged, and Goerne and Eschenbach are just glad to oblige. The piano
creates a perfect sombre background to a singer deeply tormented by the vision of his life left behind by lost love. Gripping! Truly gripping!
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