Since Fischer-Dieskau and Brendel performed the work on television and at Covent Garden (an unforgettable occasion), their account of Winterreise has been eagerly awaited on record. There are advocates of each of Fischer-Dieskau's five earlier recordings. I have admired them all myself in turn, indeed waxed rather lyrical over the latest DG version with Barenboim (2707 118, 11/80) and, in its CD form, over the later (1972) of the readings with Gerald Moore, which I think remains the most 'central' performance of the five (also DG).
I began to listen to this record with some foreboding as the baritone's most recent offerings, generally with Brendel, have shown wear and tear on the voice which could not be overlooked. It cannot be overlooked here in several climaxes where he goes through his now frayed tone. But I feel there is something so special about the partnership that the frailties have to be forgotten in appreciation of the sustained inspiration of the whole. Something, no doubt Brendel—as in the live accounts—has fired Fischer-Dieskau to even greater insights into the traveller's desperate situation and to give phrases such as ''wie weit nich bis zum Bahre!'' (repeated) in ''Der greise Kopf'' an even sadder, more drained inflection than in the past. The reading is basically the same in tempo and phrasing, but below the surface there seems even more concentration on the plight of the forsaken lover. It remains an intensely subjective performance, peppered with spat-out consonants and pointed emphases, but the detail, at speeds perhaps a shade quicker than in the past, are here marvellously integrated into the whole.
Brendel's achievement has been to illumine many a phrase with a fresh mind without ever making us aware of specific point-making. The sheer simplicity of the insistent accompaniments to ''Im Dorfe'' and ''Der Wegweiser'', the gentle lift given to ''Die Post'', the pointing of the staccato in ''Letzte Hoffnung'', and the many places where a counter-melody is given the benefit of this player's lean legato make his contribution as good a reasong as any for hearing this record.
His creative playing makes an absorbing comparison with Britten's in the famous Decca performance, now issued for the first time—and at mid-price (why no CD?)—on a single LP. The imagination of work is just as vital, but I have of late, in making my comparisons, found the effects just a little too calculated, the detail just a little too meticulous. Listen to ''Gefrorne Tranen''—and you will either agree or think that my view is lesemajeste. Pears, for all his wonderful accents and lyrical eloquence, can seem a little affected, and wanting in ideal German vowels, particularly beside my recommended version by a tenor—the recent Gramophone Award-winning Schreier/Richter performance on Philips. But that is an expensive proposition (on two discs) and it is probably ungrateful on my part not to welcome more unreservedly what many consider a classic reading, sounding as if it had been recorded yesterday rather than more than 20 years ago.
I suppose I return most often to Hotter (on a Pathe Marconi/Conifer import—so unobtrusively moving) and Schreier for my own listening, but I am convinced I shall want to hear quite often the latest Fischer-Dieskau, not least for Brendel's contribution. Incidentally, the balance, excellent on LP, is even more lifelike on Compact Disc.'