Elisabeth Schwarzkopf - Lieder Recital - Classical - CD

Cut off by the Second World War, the tradition of Lieder recitals at the Salzburg Festival was not revived until 1953, when Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Gerald Moore embarked on a decade of yearly Salzburg recitals. These acclaimed performances, reinstated with an all Hugo Wolf recital to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the composer's death, were devoted mostly to the music of Wolf. Only one was devoted to another composer-Schubert-while another two were mixed programs.

The first of these mixed recitals was given in 1956 and the extraordinary results are captured here in this finely remastered live recording. As superb technicians, consummate interpreters, and savvy musical intellects, Schwarzkopf and Moore assemble a program that compels the listener to make seemingly far-flung yet ultimately convincing connections, such as hearing the seeds of Strauss's "Ruhe meine Seele" in Handel's long-breathed "Care selve." To be sure, Schwarzkopf is most fully in her element in the music of Wolf and Strauss; her performance of Wolf's "Der Zigeunerin" is nothing less than mesmerizing. But upon hearing the loving comprehension in their performance of Schubert's "Der Einsame," one sees why Schwarzkopf and Moore chose to devote an entire recital to that composer's music.