Franz Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin

Soloists:

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (baritone), András Schiff (piano)



In 1991, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau finally agreed to perform Schubert's Die Schöne Müllerin at the Schubertiade in Feldkirch – he had not sung the song cycle in public for twenty years. The great baritone belonged to the inner circle of artists who give this unique Austrian chamber music festival its special character. He had performed Schubert there many times, but never Die Schöne Müllerin. Pianist András Schiff was another long-standing member of this inner circle, but this was the first time the two artists had collaborated in Feldkirch – which is why Austrian television (ORF) recorded the concert. The documentary significance of this film was underscored when Fischer-Dieskau retired from public life two years later. A few years earlier, at another Schubertiade, music journalist Franz Zoglauer interviewed Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. The resulting documentary about the singer, artist, and private individual complements the concert presented on this DVD. The singer talks about his affinity for Schubert's music and the composer's influence on the entire lied repertoire. Fischer-Dieskau notes that he has always regarded his numerous recordings as "snapshots" of a particular moment in time and never as definitive statements on the repertoire. He states that interpretation should always be able to respond to the surrounding situation, the accompanist, and the audience, and that in order to keep a composition alive and meaningful, the performer must always be prepared to approach the work in a new way. After returning to Die Schöne Müllerin in connection with this Schubertiade and working with András Schiff, the singer's approach was indeed new! Fischer-Dieskau had sung the song cycle often in the early stages of his career and made several studio recordings of it, the last of which was part of a collection of Schubert songs recorded with Gerald Moore in 1971. Then he set the work aside for eighty years. Recalling the Schubertiade performance, Fischer-Dieskau says that for the first time he tried to sing these songs as he had always imagined them: more guided by the story than by emotions, and reacting to the rich colors and expressive means of the piano part (which requires a sensitive pianist like András Schiff) with curiosity and openness, rather than focusing on the vocal melody. It was a unique opportunity not only for the audience in the hall, but also for the two artists, who experienced something truly exceptional in their collaboration on stage. The viewer can see this in the lively interaction between the artists, their spontaneous reactions to each other, their creative enthusiasm, and their rare artistic vitality. Both remember the evening as a special event and agreed without hesitation to release the recording on DVD so that it would be available to a wider audience.