| Label: Wigmore Hall Catalog: WHLIVE0044 Format: CD Christopher Maltman, baritone; Graham Johnson, pianoFranz Schubert Die schöne Müllerin Acclaimed baritone Christopher Maltman will release the complete Schubert song cycles - Die Schöne Müllerin, Winterreise and Schwanengesang, on Wigmore Hall Live during 2011-12. Recorded over a series of live dates, Maltman has collaborated with one of the world's foremost authorities on lieder repertoire, piano-accompanist Graham Johnson, in a triumphant partnership. The first release, Die Schöne Müllerin, was Schubert's first complete song cycle, composed at the age of just 26. The work requires the singer to draw upon a range of moods, from raw emotional turmoil and unpredictability, to introspection and ultimately resignation. Maltman states that the work requires a "certain vulnerability" in its portrayal of the lovelorn young miller, and to achieve this, he and Johnson chose to transpose several of the songs back up to the outer reaches of the baritone range, closer to that of the tenor. The duo's decision to take the voice out of its comfort zone and embrace the tension this produces undeniably adds to the colour and characterisation which Maltman brings to the work: "These musical masterpieces present an endless pursuit and a constant re-examination." The next release in the cycle will be Winterreise in September 2011, followed by Schwanengesang in 2012, the live performance of which was critically-applauded in the Guardian: "Maltman's pianist was Graham Johnson, whose focused, detailed playing reminded us just how far Schwanengesang redefined the role of the accompanist" Maltman's decision to undertake these substantial recordings as a live project was a considered choice: "the live recording experience is where the real beauty lies; the little points, the little imperfections, the emotional stress, give the performance an organic feel, a rawness. It dials everything back to the most important element - the live performance."
Recent Reviews
Gramophone - June 2011 "Editor's Choice" "....Maltman's ardent, impulsive, intensely "lived" performance, partnered and inspired by the ever-illuminating Johnson, should be heard by anyone who loves the cycle." Richard Wigmore
Classical Music Magazine - 5* review - 23 April 2011 "Maltman brings great poise, fresh insight and a great instrument to bear in a reading that immediately engages the listener..."
Sunday Times - 4* review - 1 May 2011 "Maltman is a compelling narrator, making you see the pictures and moods described, and imaginatively mixing half-voice and vehement full tone. The Hateful Colour is thrillingly dramatic." David Cairns
International Record Review - May 2011 "It is exquisitely sung..." John T. Hughes
The Daily Telegraph - 4* review - 7 May 2011 "Christopher Maltman's baritone offers a variety of colour and he shapes 'Die schöne Müllerin' sensitively." Rupert Christiansen
La Scena Musicale online - 3* review - 3 April 2011 "...Christopher Maltman...gives a delicate account of the miller's girl attractions, sensitively shaped by Graham Johnson at the piano..." Norman Lebrecht
Classic FM Magazine - 3* review - June 2011 "Baritone Christopher Maltman brings a fierce intelligence and a wide range of vocal colour to his performance..." Gramophone - June 2011 "Editor's Choice"
"....Maltman's ardent, impulsive, intensely "lived" performance, partnered and inspired by the ever-illuminating Johnson, should be heard by anyone who loves the cycle."
Richard Wigmore Classical Music Magazine - 5* review - 23 April 2011 "Maltman brings great poise, fresh insight and a great instrument to bear in a reading that immediately engages the listener..."
Sunday Times - 4* review - 1 May 2011 "Maltman is a compelling narrator, making you see the pictures and moods described, and imaginatively mixing half-voice and vehement full tone. The Hateful Colour is thrillingly dramatic." David Cairns
International Record Review - May 2011 "It is exquisitely sung..." John T. Hughes
The Daily Telegraph - 4* review - 7 May 2011 "Christopher Maltman's baritone offers a variety of colour and he shapes 'Die schöne Müllerin' sensitively." Rupert Christiansen
La Scena Musicale online - 3* review - 3 April 2011 "...Christopher Maltman...gives a delicate account of the miller's girl attractions, sensitively shaped by Graham Johnson at the piano..." Norman Lebrecht
Classic FM Magazine - 3* review - June 2011 "Baritone Christopher Maltman brings a fierce intelligence and a wide range of vocal colour to his performance..." |