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AUF dem WASSER zu SINGEN,
an amazingly beautiful song by Franz Schubert, Op 72 (D 774)
a drop dead gorgeous piano transcription by Franz Liszt
I first heard "Auf dem Wasser zu singen" in the piano transcription by Franz Liszt, and fell hopelessly in love. It was a recording by Jorge Bolet, not the fabulous one you will find below. I have since heard many others, a number of which can also be heard below, and with almost each new performance I am convinced that this latest one is THE one. The same happens when I hear the vocal versions and this song remains what may well be my greatest source of musical pleasure.
There is a huge range of interpretive difference between many of these performances, a wide range of tempi are chosen by pianists and singers alike and it is fascinating to discover how much liberty one can take and still make it work. Yes, I know, there will be those of you who will be tempted to judge what you hear by the one wonderful performance you carry with you in your hearts. But I urge you to listen with open minds and ears. There is so much to be enjoyed.
Today, my favorites are Lisa della Casa, Jorge Bolet, Frieda Hempel, Vladimir Sofronitsky, Irmgard Seefried, Egon Petri, and of course Hermann Prey and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf. What wouldn't I give for a recording of Hans Hotter singing this song.
There are many other fine performances and several which, while not entirely satisfying, still offer some valid ideas. There is only one that leaves me cold in spite of the beautiful playing and that is the performance by Yuja Wang in which I find myself enamored of the technical proficiency and wondering what happened to the essence of the music.
I give some of my favorites first. I'm not trying to influence you, of course, just want to make sure you don't miss them in case you have time for only a few. But if you find this music as beautiful as i do, you will want to hear them all, twice.
And at the very end, for those of you with an open ear . . .
MARGARET PRICE, Welsh soprano
Wolfgang Sawallisch, piano
Geheimnis, An Franz Schubert
02:28 ➢ Romanze
06:20 ➢ Auf dem Wasser zu singen
recorded in 1971
JORGE BOLET
Cuban-American pianist (1914-1990)
recorded in 1983
ELLY AMELING, Dutch soprano
Rudolf Jansen, piano
LISA DELLA CASA, Swiss soprano
Karl Hudez, piano
recorded in 1957
HERMANN PREY, German baritone
Leonard Hokanson, piano
recorded in 1957
VLADIMIR SOFRONITSKY
Russian pianist (1901-1961)
recorded live in 1955
FRIEDA HEMPEL, German soprano
Bruno Seidler-Winkler, piano
recorded in 1935
DIETRICH FISCHER-DIESKAU, German baritone
Gerald Moore, piano
recorded in 1958
EGON PETRI
Dutch-German pianist (1881-1961)
recorded in 1929
IRMGARD SEEFRIED, German soprano
Gerald Moore, piano
recorded in 1948
DIETRICH HENSCHEL, German bass-baritone
Helmut Deutsch, piano
EVGENY KISSIN
Russian pianist (b 1971)
ELISABETH SCHWARZKOPF, German-Austrian-British soprano
Edwin Fischer, piano
recorded in 1952
DAVID DANIELS, American countertenor
Martin Katz, piano
recorded in 1999
SERGEY KOUDRIAKOV
Russian pianist (b 1978)
BRIGITTE FASSBAENDER, German mezzo-soprano
Erik Werba, piano
recorded in 1974
Bryn Terfel, bass baritone
Llyr Williams, piano
[I include this excerpt because it is the only example I could find by a bass baritone, and his is a glorious voice.]
SERGEI LEMESHEV, Russian tenor
BRIGITTE ENGERER
French pianist (1952-2012)
ANNELIESE ROTHENBERGER, German soprano
Günther Weissenborn, piano
IAN BOSTRIDGE, English tenor
Julius Drake, piano
recorded in 1998
BERTRAND CHAMAYOU
French pianist (b 1981)
video recorded in 2014
BARBARA BONNEY, American soprano
Geoffrey Parsons, piano
SASHA CHERKAS, Belarussian treble
NATALYA LUNDTVEDT
contemporary Belarussian pianist
recorded in 2011
ELENA GERHARDT, German mezzo-soprano
NAUM SHTARKMAN, Sovei-Russian pianist
ELIZABETH SCHUMANN, German-American soprano
ADELE GRABOWSKI, mezzo-soprano
Lucas Barkley, piano
video recorded in 2013
MARIA NEMTSOVA
Russian Pianist (b 1984)
"Gretchen am Spinnrade"
04:00 ➢ "Auf dem Wasser zu singen"
video recorded in 2010
LUCIA POPP, Czeck soprano
Irwin Gage, piano
recorded in 1983
DENYS MASLIUK
Ukranian pianist (b 1978)
2008 Video
VESSELINA KASAROVA, Bulgarian mezzo-soprano
Friedrich Haider, piano
recorded in 1999
IDIL BIRET
Turkish pianist (b 1941)
recorded in 2011
Dame JANET BAKER, English mezzo-soprano
Geoffrey Parsons, piano
recorded in 1980
GABRIELE SEIDEL-HELL
contemporary German pianist
CHRISTA LUDWIG, German mezzo-soprano
Geoffrey Parsons, piano
recorded in 1961
BODA BALÁZS
contemporary Hungarian pianist
recorded in 2011
CHERYL STUDER, contemporary American soprano
CATHERINE van LOO
contemporary Belgian pianist
FRIDA LEIDER, German soprano
Michael Raucheisen, piano
recorded in 1943
JURA MARGULIS
Russian-German pianist (b 1968)
KARITA MATTILA, Finnish soprano
Ilmo Ranta, piano
DANIIL TRIFONOV
Russian pianist (b 1991)
followed by "The Trout" 03:47
ELIZABETH GRÜMMER, German soprano
Gerald Moore, piano
YUJA WANG
contemporary Chinese pianist
recorded live in 2010
ELISABETH EBERT, German soprano
Dieter Zechlin, piano
RENÉE FLEMING, American soprano
Christoph Eschenbach , piano
recorded in 1997
MURRAY PERAHIA
American pianist (b 1947)
BARBARA STREISAND
For those of you who enjoy murder mysteries, here is my first with a strong musical polemic as background
Murder in the House of the Muse
which is also available as an audiobook.
And this is the more recently published second mystery in the series:
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