Fischer-Dieskau sings Schubert -- "Der Erlkönig"

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritoneGerald Moore, pianoFilmed in London, May 14, 1959link below to hear bass Alexander Kipnis sings this famous Schubert song: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v... talks easily and frankly of the great musicians he has known, of Brendel and Beecham, Karajan, Kleiber and Klemperer. His own favourite singer, he says without a moment's hesitation, was "the young Hans Hotter". His best partnership was with Gerald Moore, "the perfect accompanist, with such a rhythmic character to his playing of Schubert." But his greatest influence, Fischer-Dieskau makes clear, was the conductor Wilhelm Furtwängler. "He once said to me that the most important thing for a performing artist was to build up a community of love for the music with the audience, to create one fellow feeling among so many people who have come from so many different places and feelings. I have lived with that ideal all my life as a performer."--from an interview with Martin Kettle on his 80th birthday, at Guardian Unlimited Arts.the marvelous pianist Hugh Sung posted here an interesting article on the "cheating" Gerald Moore does in playing this piece to reduce some of his suffering: http://hughsung.com/blog/index... by by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe.Wiki article on it here http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/E... reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind?Es ist der Vater mit seinem Kind;Er hat den Knaben wohl in dem Arm,Er faßt ihn sicher, er hält ihn warm."Mein Sohn, was birgst du so bang dein Gesicht?""Siehst, Vater, du den Erlkönig nicht?Den Erlenkönig mit Kron und Schweif?""Mein Sohn, es ist ein Nebelstreif.""Du liebes Kind, komm, geh mit mir!Gar schöne Spiele spiel' ich mit dir;Manch' bunte Blumen sind an dem Strand,Meine Mutter hat manch gülden Gewand.""Mein Vater, mein Vater, und hörest du nicht,Was Erlenkönig mir leise verspricht?""Sei ruhig, bleibe ruhig, mein Kind;In dürren Blättern säuselt der Wind.""Willst, feiner Knabe, du mit mir gehn?Meine Töchter sollen dich warten schön;Meine Töchter führen den nächtlichen Reihn,Und wiegen und tanzen und singen dich ein.""Mein Vater, mein Vater, und siehst du nicht dortErlkönigs Töchter am düstern Ort?""Mein Sohn, mein Sohn, ich seh es genau:Es scheinen die alten Weiden so grau.""Ich liebe dich, mich reizt deine schöne Gestalt;Und bist du nicht willig, so brauch ich Gewalt.""Mein Vater, mein Vater, jetzt faßt er mich an!Erlkönig hat mir ein Leids getan!"Dem Vater grauset's, er reitet geschwind,Er hält in Armen das ächzende Kind,Erreicht den Hof mit Müh' und Not;In seinen Armen das Kind war tot.Who rides so late through night and wind?It is the father with his child.He holds the boy safe in his armHe holds him safe, he keeps him warm."My son, why do you hide your face so fearfully?""Father, do you not see the Elf king?The Elf king with crown and robe?""My son, it's a wisp of fog.""You lovely child, come, go with me!Nothing but beautiful games I'll play with you;Many colourful flowers are on the shore,My mother has many golden robes.""My father, my father, can't you hear,What the Elf king quietly promises me?""Be calm, stay calm, my child;It is the wind rustling in the dry leaves.""Do you want to come with me, fine lad?My daughters should already be waiting for you;My daughters lead the nightly folkdanceAnd rock you and dance and sing.""My father, my father, and can't you see there,The Elf king daughters in the gloomy place?""My son, my son, I see it well:It is the old grey willows gleaming.""I love you, your beautiful form entices me;And if you're not willing, I shall use force.""My father, my father, now he takes hold of me!The Elf king has wounded me!"It horrifies the father; he rides swiftly,Holding in his arms the moaning child.He reaches the yard with great difficulty;In his arms, the child was dead.louvepyramides provided this illuminating comment by Charles Rosen, from his "Piano Notes":"It is intersting to note that the most painful of all octave passages to execute are not to be found in Tchaikovsky or Rachmaninov or even in Listz , not even in the notorius Sixth Hungarian Rhapsody , but in the accompaniment to Schubert's Erlkonig.Those octaves obviously gave trouble even during the compser's lifetime when the piano had a much lighter action , since he wrote out a simplified version of this song - simplified for the pianist , that is . "

Channel: Music
Uploaded: November 30, 1999 at 12:00 am
Author: TheGreatPerformers

Length: 04:13
Rating: 4.87
Views: 269818

Tags: baritone  Erlkönig  Fischer-Dieskau  Goethe  lied  Lieder  Moore  Schubert  

Video Comments