Schubert: Winterreise
Roderick Williams (baritone), Iain Burnside (piano)
Williams knows that he must map the whole emotional journey of the cycle, from the relentless tread of ‘Gute Nacht’ at the start to the nagging sound of the hurdy gurdy at the end; but equally...
Schubert: Winterreise
Roderick Williams (baritone), Iain Burnside (piano)
Purchase product
Williams knows that he must map the whole emotional journey of the cycle, from the relentless tread of ‘Gute Nacht’ at the start to the nagging sound of the hurdy gurdy at the end; but equally...
About
Roderick Williams and Iain Burnside complete their survey of Schuberts song cycles with this recording of Winterreise. Composed in the late 1820s, towards the end of Schuberts tragically short life, Winterreise (Winter Journey) is a setting of twenty-four poems by Wilhelm Müller and describes a traveller leaving the town which was the home of the object of his unrequited love, to embark on a long journey, through a chill, wintry landscape, which ends in near-suicidal despair. This recording represents the culmination of a project that started back in 2015, when Williams accepted the challenge to prepare and perform all three song cycles in one season at the Wigmore Hall in London. Turning this challenge into a shared learning experience, Williams lead workshops and study days as well as numerous performances in a variety of venues. His blog covers the entire project and is a fascinating document well-worth reading: http://rwschubertcycleproject.blogspot.com/ As in the case of the previous instalments (Schwanengesang and Die schöne Müllerin), also recorded at Potton Hall, Suffolk, Roderick Williams is accompanied by Iain Burnside, who plays a Steinway Model D.
Contents and tracklist
Awards and reviews
April 2021
Williams knows that he must map the whole emotional journey of the cycle, from the relentless tread of ‘Gute Nacht’ at the start to the nagging sound of the hurdy gurdy at the end; but equally he understands that each song is also a self-contained story that, step by step, contributes to the existential tragedy of a rejected lover.
March 2021
Musically intelligent, dramatically resourceful and vocally cultivated, Roderick Williams brings a seasoned Shakespearean authority to the text, having already studied and recorded the piece in his native English...Rather than spotlighting key words, Williams sings in unbroken sentences and phrases…Burnside is so adept at making the listener feel Schubert’s remarkable shifts in emotional colour that the two create a satisfying, integrated musical package that doesn’t wear its insights on its sleeve or seek operatic volatility.
