What better way for tenor Jonas Kaufmann to begin his latest
recording, Liszt: Freudvoll und Leidvoll, than with the heroic
declamation at the start of “Vergiftet sind meine Lieder” (My
songs are poisoned), to lyrics by Heine? The glint in the voice
thrills, offering promise of what is to come. And despite the
unassailable fact that Kaufmann must work a mite harder to
produce his coveted sound, especially when he sings softly at
half voice in the title song, “Freudvoll und Leidvoll” (To be
full of joy and full of sorrow) — a song whose lyrics by Goethe
would have prompted a “why don’t you lie down and get
comfortable” greeting had the poet lived long enough to have
encountered Sigmund Freud — he is in significantly better voice
than in his last recital, Selige Stunde, which he recorded just
two months earlier.
Part of the difference may be due to
the music itself, which rarely asks the tenor to skip lightly
between notes as he moves up and down the scale. Yet another may
be due to Helmut Deutsch’s flexible pianism, and the nigh
perfect relationship between singer and long-term accompanist. I
have, at times, lamented the tendency for Deutsch and his
partners to interpret lieder in strict time, as though the
German romantic spirit has been extinguished forever with the
rise of Nazism. Here, however, Kaufmann and Deutsch are as free
and “Lisztian” as one could possibly hope for. Nothing is
routine, and nothing is taken for granted. Every phrase, every
word is caressed (when tenderness is called for) or hurled with
insight and intelligence.
The recording is also
supremely thought through. The title song, for example, appears
in two very different versions, the softly sung first setting,
second version from 1844 and the very different second setting,
probably from 1849. As was the case with some of Schubert’s
settings, Liszt’s multiple visits to poetry produced vastly
different responses. In the absence of a YouTube link to
Kaufmann’s performance, which I hope will appear soon, please
savor Diana Damrau’s rendition of the first setting, second
version from her marvelous recital with Deutsch from a decade
ago:
I expect I will not alone in considering this
recital among the duo’s most successful lieder recordings of
their long partnership ... even if you take into consideration
the differences in emission and flow between Kaufmann’s live
2012 recording of the second setting from Vienna that he
recorded in June 2020.
For readers who may hesitate at
the thought of purchasing (or streaming) a complete Liszt
recital, let’s recall how many of his 90 or so songs in five
languages abound with irresistible melody. Take, for example, “O
lieb, solang du lieben kannst” (O love as long as you can love)
in a performance that reveals much about Kaufmann’s current
vocal estate.
Then there’s the beautifully caressed “Es
muss ein Wunderbares sein” (It must be something wonderful), a
too-short exposition which is best auditioned when seated in a
safe location, lest you find yourself melting into a puddle.
Throw in one of Liszt’s three Petrarch settings, “Pace Non
Trovo” (I find no peace), which Leah Crocetto sang at the
Cardiff Singer of the World finals, and some other gems that
I’ll let you discover for yourself, and you’re likely to fall in
love with many of the 20 songs on this recital. The sonics are
anything but souped up — this was probably recorded in a living
room — but the naturalness of sound, especially when heard in
hi-resolution or hi-resolution MQA, hides nothing.
No,
Kaufmann doesn’t attempt the beloved, extremely challenging, and
supremely inward “O! Quand je dors” (Oh, when I sleep). His
decision seems wise, given the song’s upward ascent to an
extremely exposed floated high ending.
Which is not to
suggest anything other that most Kaufmann admirers will not want
to ascend to heaven before hearing his Liszt.