Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin; Ständchen; Der Musensohn

COMPOSERS: Schubert
LABELS: RCA Classical Navigator
WORKS: Die schöne Müllerin; Ständchen; Der Musensohn
PERFORMER: Fritz Wunderlich (tenor), Kurt Heinz Stolze, Rolf Reinhardt (piano)
CATALOGUE NO: 74321 29241 2 ADD (1957)
As a ‘Classical Navigator’ this reissue seems to be intended as something of an introduction to Schubert’s Die schöne Müllerin; and from the point of view of voice alone, Fritz Wunderlich (who died in 1966) is a seductive enough advocate, with his serious, wide-eyed response, each word lovingly enunciated in his brook-clear tenor. Melody is Wunderlich’s prime joy and interest: almost any recording by the current younger generation of lieder singers (let alone Peter Schreier and Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau) will yield more verbally and interpretatively. It’s also curious – and reprehensible – that there is no text: even the list of songs has no English translation. More for the collector than the newcomer to lieder. Hilary Finch