Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau at 100: Richard Wigmore discusses the great baritone's Winterreise recordings
Friday, May 23, 2025
The singer returned to Schubert's song-cycle throughout his career, leaving seven studio recordings as well as a handful of 'off-air' versions
The German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's 100th birthday falls on May 28. One of the most versatile singers of the last century – his operatic repertoire alone ranged from Gluck, Handel and Mozart via Verdi, Wagner and Richard Strauss to Berg, Busoni and Reimann – it's his devotion to song that remains his lasting legacy. To mark the anniversary of Fischer-Dieskau's birth, Gramophone's James Jolly spoke to song specialist and author of Schubert: The Complete Song Texts (Schirmer: 1988), Richard Wigmore.
They focused on Fischer-Dieskau's audio recordings of Schubert's greatest song-cycle Winterreise (1828) which include three with Gerald Moore, as well as versions with Klaus Billing, Hermann Reuter, Daniel Barenboim, Jörg Demus, Alfred Brendel, Murray Perahia and Maurizio Pollini.
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Listen to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's recordings with Daniel Barenboim and Gerald Moore (1963 and 1972) via Presto Classical, below:
