Gramophone Editor's Choice - August 2009
Hans Hotter (1909–2003) began his singing career in Germany in 1930, but came to international prominence after the Second World War when he established himself as a leading exponent of the main Wagnerian bass-baritone roles. His powerful voice and magnetic stage presence made him ideal to play Hans Sachs in Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, Wotan in the Ring and the ill-fated hero of Der fliegende Holländer. An intelligent and refined singer who was able to scale down his huge voice to the demands of German Lieder, Hotter excelled on the concert platform, and he continued to give recitals for many years after he retired from the opera in 1972. He also occasionally appeared after 1972 in small operatic roles and he was a notable narrator in Schoenberg’s Gurrelieder, a part he was still performing well into his 80s. Hotter was one of the major artists signed to EMI by the legendary record producer Walter Legge in Vienna as soon as the Second World War ended and one of his first recordings for the company was the Brahms Requiem under Herbert von Karajan, an extract from which is included in this set. This 6 CD set is devoted mainly to German Lieder and includes an impressive collection of songs by Schubert, Schumann, Brahms, Grieg, Hugo Wolf, Loewe, Pfitzner and Richard Strauss recorded when Hotter was in his prime and generally accompanied by Gerald Moore. A number of tracks in this set are appearing in stereo for the first time on CD; their only previous stereo issue was on a local Angel LP in the USA. The programme also includes the Bach solo cantata ‘Ich habe genug’ and the final CD is devoted to operatic items, including solo extracts from Capriccio, Der Mond and Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg as well as two substantial duets from Der fliegender Holländer and Die Walküre with the outstanding Wagnerian soprano Birgit Nilsson. The two excerpts from Die Meistersinger are incomplete because the recordings were not released at the time they were made (1948) and some of the original 78 rpm masters had not survived by the time the items were issued on LP for the first time in 1982.
