Schubert: Winterreise Mark Padmore and Kristian Bezuidenhout

• Franz Schubert (1797 - 1828): Winterreise, D. 911:
• 1 1. Gute Nacht 05:46
• 2 2. Die Wetterfahne 01:41
• 3 3. Gefrorne Tränen 02:14
• 4 4. Erstarrung 02:50
• 5 5. Der Lindenbaum 04:46
• 6 6. Wasserflut 04:06
• 7 7. Auf dem Flusse 03:12
• 8 8. Rückblick 01:57
• 9 9. Irrlicht 02:41
• 10 10. Rast 03:09
• 11 11. Frühlingstraum 03:57
• 12 12. Einsamkeit 02:48
• 13 13. Die Post 02:11
• 14 14. Der greise Kopf 03:06
• 15 15. Die Krähe 01:54
• 16 16. Letzte Hoffnung 01:59
• 17 17. Im Dorfe 02:52
• 18 18. Der stürmische Morgen 00:48
• 19 19. Täuschung 01:21
• 20 20. Der Wegweiser 04:01
• 21 21. Das Wirtshaus 03:55
• 22 22. Mut 01:21
• 23 23. Die Nebensonnen 02:51
• 24 24. Der Leiermann 03:37
• Total Runtime 01:09:03

Info for Schubert: Winterreise

A journey into the Romantic self: It is clear from its genesis that Schubert did not have any strict dramatic action in mind in this song cycle. Unlike Die schöne Müllerin, Winterreise tells no story; it is a journey into the interior, into ever-deeper realms of loneliness. As Peter Gülke has put it: ‘The only progress the wanderer makes is a progress in perception, the agonising discharge of his memories, constantly threatened by regressions. . . . Continually in search of confirmations of his condition, he observes with an all too alert, painfully keen sensibility, and like an egocentric melancholic refers everything to himself or selects objects so that they can serve as mirror images and corroborations.’ To that extent, the sequence of the songs is not of decisive importance, since ‘each of the melancholies he experiences is the worst at the time’ (Gülke again).

The testimony of his friends justifies us in relating this ‘psychological profile of a melancholic character’ to Schubert himself. Nikolaus Harnoncourt once described the boundlessly subjective as the decisive factor in Schubert’s music. In Winterreise, the composer allowed his friends to look more deeply into his heart than ever before, which of course tended to repel sanguine characters like Schober. The ironic refraction and distance of the typical Viennese is here sublated (aufgehoben, in the Hegelian sense). Schubert’s friend Johann Mayrhofer immediately recognised this. For him, the cycle was a symptom of ‘how much more serious the composer became. He had been long and seriously ill, he had gone through disheartening experiences, and life had been stripped of its rosy colour; winter had come for him. The poet’s irony, rooted in despair, had appealed to him; he expressed it in cutting tones.’ The winter and the journey of the title are therefore, in the sense of Romantic irony, to be understood as the winter of life and a journey deeper and deeper into unhappiness, experienced by none other than the composer himself. Hence his feelings are isolated from his environment; they do not expect understanding on the part of his friends. The world of the melancholic is self-centred and hermetic.

strong>Mark Padmore, tenor
strong>Kristian Bezuidenhout, fortepiano

Mark Padmore
was born in London, grew up in Canterbury and studied at King’s College, Cambridge. He has established an international career in opera, concert and recital and his performances in Bach’s Passions have gained particular notice throughout the world. As well as regular appearances at many of the world’s leading opera houses, he appears with the Munich Radio, Berlin, Vienna, New York, London Philharmonic, London Symphony and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestras and has conceived projects exploring both Bach St John and St Matthew Passions with the OAE. In addition, his work in the recording studio has attracted considerable acclaim, most notably Schubert’s Winterreise with Paul Lewis which won the Gramophone magazine Vocal Solo Award for 2010 and Schumann’s Dichterliebe with Kristian Bezuidenhout which won the Vocal Solo category of the 2011 Edison Klassiek Award. Mark is Artistic Director of the St. Endellion Summer Music Festival in Cornwall.

Kristian Bezuidenhout
Kristian Bezuidenhout was born in South Africa in 1979. He began his studies in Australia, completed them at the Eastman School of Music and now lives in London. After initial training as a modern pianist with Rebecca Penneys, he explored early keyboards, studying harpsichord with Arthur Haas, fortepiano with Malcolm Bilson and continuo playing and performance practice with Paul O’Dette. Bezuidenhout first gained international recognition at the age of 21 after winning the prestigious first prize as well as the audience prize in the Bruges Fortepiano Competition.

Bezuidenhout is a frequent guest artist with the world’s leading ensembles including Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Orchestre des Champs Elysées, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Concerto Köln, Chamber Orchestra of Europe, Netherlands Radio Philharmonic Orchestra and Collegium Vocale Gent, in many instances assuming the role of guest director. He has performed with celebrated artists including John Eliot Gardiner, Philippe Herreweghe, Frans Brüggen, Trevor Pinnock, Christopher Hogwood, Pieter Wispelwey, Daniel Hope, Jean-Guihen Queyras, Isabelle Faust, Viktoria Mullova, Carolyn Sampson and Mark Padmore.

Since 2009, Bezuidenhout has embarked on a long-term recording relationship with Harmonia Mundi. Recordings include Mozart Violin Sonatas with Petra Müllejans, and Volumes 1-7 of the complete keyboard music of Mozart (Volume 1 was awarded a Diapason Découverte and Caecilia Prize and Volume 3 was recently awarded the German Preis der deutschen Schallplattenkritik). Other projects for Harmonia Mundi include Mendelssohn piano concertos with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra and Schumann Dichterliebe with Mark Padmore - both recordings won the Edison Award. His recording of Beethoven violin sonatas with Viktoria Mullova (ONYX label) won an ICMA and an ECHO Klassik award for the best chamber music album of 2011. In 2013 Bezuidenhout was awarded the ECHO Klassik Award for Concerto Recording of the Year (Mozart Concertos with the Freiburg Baroque Orchestra) and nominated as Gramophone Magazine’s Artist of the Year.

Recent concerts include appearances with the Mozarteum Orchester Salzburg, Freiburg Baroque Orchestra, Rotterdam Philharmonic Orchestra and 2014/15 performances include Seattle Symphony, Chicago Symphony, Concertgebouworkest, Berner Symphonieorchester, English Concert, Il Giardino Armonico and Rotterdam Philharmonic. Recital performances include New York, London, Wroklaw, Salzburg, Barcelona and Frankfurt, among others.

Booklet for Schubert: Winterreise