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music OMH, 5 Jan 2015 |
by Melanie Eskenazi |
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Liederabend, Wigmore Hall, London, 4. Januar 2015 |
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Kaufmann / Deutsch @ Wigmore Hall, London
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Great operatic voices do not always succeed in scaling down their power to
convey the delicate subtlety of Lieder, but Jonas Kaufmann, arguably the
current leading interpreter of the great Verdi and Wagner tenor roles, is at
his best not in the grand dramatic moments (though those are often
hair-raising) but in the phrases which require nuance and tenderness.
Kaufmann is fortunate in that he has in Helmut Deutsch, the Gerald Moore of
our time as his accompanist, and together they made this recital an evening
of exciting and at times revelatory interpretation.
‘Erstes Grün’ was
the perfect example of this partnership’s style; amongst Schumann’s songs of
1840, this one is surely the most heart-breaking (or, if you don’t warm to
this composer, the most self-indulgent) with its melancholy G major – G
minor combination and its almost breathless sense of hesitancy in the piano
part. It often brings Schubert’s ‘Frühlingsglaube’ to mind, and Kaufmann
sang it with just the right bittersweet edge to the tone, phrases such as ‘O
wie mein Herz nach dir verlangt!’ achingly tender but not even approaching
saccharine, with Deutsch’s playing suggesting all the youth’s longing.
‘Stille Tränen’ closed the short Kerner Lieder selection with a magisterial
performance, the sonorous, rolling phrases revealing superb breath control
and a glorious forte at ‘Schmerz.’
Dichterliebe showed Kaufmann’s
skill in building a narrative, from the languid desire of the first song to
the gloomy resignation of the last. The beauty of the singer’s tone and the
elegance of the playing were even throughout, although there were times when
one might have wanted a little more in the way of verbal emphasis. No
complaints, however, about the emphasis given to the penultimate stanza of
‘Aus alten Märchen’ – everything one wants from Lieder singing was here,
from expansive, emotionally charged phrasing to just enough pressure on
words such as ‘erfreu’n’ (gladden) to create that sense of pleasure mixed
with pain which is the hallmark of this composer’s art.
The recital’s
second half began with a stunning performance of ‘Der Engel,’ the first of
Wagner’s Wesendonck Lieder: they were intended to be sung by a woman, but
Kaufmann made a strong case for masculine interpretation of these poems and
Wagner’s tumultuous music. I know a few recorded versions where the singer
takes the first two lines in a single phrase, but cannot recall hearing
anyone do it in recital without obvious strain; Kaufmann not only achieved
that but had sufficient power to give ‘Engeln’ its rightful emphasis. The
grand operatic moments of ‘Stehe Still!’ and ‘Schmerzen’ were stirringly
done, phrases such as ‘Wie ein stolzer Siegesheld!’ (as a proud conquering
hero) thundering out into this tiny space.
Liszt’s Petrarch Sonnets
left us in no doubt that we were in the presence of greatness. ‘Benedetto
sia ‘l giorno’ was ideally balanced between the lines which allowed Kaufmann
to ‘let rip’ with his luscious italianità and those where he could display
his exceptional skill at pianissimi; ‘Laura’ was not merely sung and praised
but caressed, yet without undue sentimentality. That’s a tall order in this
music, as is the avoidance of the temptation to swagger and bluster; instead
of bull-dogging his way through, Kaufmann opts for an exceptional range of
vocal colour and nuance, the central line ‘In questo stato son, Donna, per
Voi’ aching with tremulous passion. Liszt’s virtuosic piano part held no
terrors for Deutsch, who played it with almost insouciant skill.
As
if to prove once more their ability to caress a phrase and produce soft,
delicately spun lines, the single encore was a hushed, beautifully nuanced
‘Mondnacht’ which sent us all out longing to hear more. This recital was,
unsurprisingly, the hottest ticket in (classical) town, so the fact that
when Kaufmann next visits the Wigmore it will be possible for more than one
recital to be scheduled is very good news.
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