Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is 85 this year, and to celebrate his birthday Audite has issued four discs of the great German baritone in previously unreleased broadcast performances of Lieder. These constitute a significant addition to the singer's vast discography, with two live concerts – both with outstanding pianists – and two discs of radio recordings that include some unusual repertoire. No Fischer-Dieskau collector will want to be without them. A Brahms recital given at the Berlin Philharmonie in 1972 has Tamás Vásáry at the piano. Fischer-Dieskau has always believed in the value of single-composer recitals; as he once put it: 'If you only do little dusters – three or four songs by one, and another, and then yet another – you lose the opportunity to think your way into the composer's mind.' This kind of focus wasn't only for the benefit of the performers but also 'so that the audience could be gradually drawn into a particular creative genius's way of thinking, and could follow him'. The Brahms programme ranges from relatively early songs like 'Wie bist du, meine Königin' and 'wie rafft' ich mich auf' (both from Op. 32, published in 1865 ), to later songs such as 'Wir wandelten' (from Op. 96) and 'Ständchen' (from Op. 106). The order of the recital is not chronological, but instead plots an emotional trajectory that reveals the expressive breadth of Brahms's Lieder. With unfailingly sensitive and intelligent accompaniment from Vásáry the result is just what Fischer-Dieskau set out to achieve – total immersion in the world of Brahms's Lieder, and not only to the music but also to the poetry: the diction throughout is not only extremely clear but also conveys profound understanding (Audite 95.635, 1 hour 6 minutes).

Another single-composer recital is devoted to Mahler. This was given in the Philharmonie, a year before the Brahms concert, with Daniel Barenboim at the piano. It includes songs from the Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Des Knaben Wunderhorn and two Rückert-Lieder. At his best, Fischer-Dieskau is magnificent here, although there are moments in louder songs when he's inclined to hector. There are many highlights, among them a marvelous performance of 'Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen', where Barenboim's playing comes close to matching the restrained passion of Leonard Bernstein on his Mahler recital with Fischer-Dieskau (Sony, deleted, but available as a download). Despite the occasional vocal mannerism, this is a concert marked by the kind of concentrated intensity that compels attention (Audite 95.634, 1 hour 1 minute).

A collection of broadcasts of Schumann, Beethoven and Mahler begins with Schumann duets sung by Fischer-Dieskau and Julia Varady, with Cord Garben at the piano. The Opp. 34 and 78 sets are here, along with four others, and they are affectionately done (with some downward transposition to suit the singers). Beethoven's Sechs Lieder von Gellert were made with Hertha Klust in 1951. The broadcast sound is remarkable for its age, and Fischer-Dieskau's voice is at its freshest, as it is for three songs from Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn recorded two years later with the same pianist (Audite 95.636, 57 minutes).

The last Audite disc has some particularly interesting repertoire. Eight religious songs by Reger with organ accompaniment (played by Ulrich Bremsteller) show the composer at his most approachable, and effortlessly ingenious too in the Passionlied, Op. 19, a kind of chorale prelude for voice and organ, along with songs like the lovely Geistliche Lieder, Op. 105. The most recent recording on these CDs dates from 1989 and it's again for voice and organ music: Heinrich Sutermeister's 1947 setting of words from two Psalms (70 and 86) for low voice and organ. The disc ends with a group of ten songs by Hindemith recorded in 1979 with Aribert Reimann – pretty much an ideal partnership in this music. They perform a mixed group of Brentano, Rückert and Novalis settings, ending with the early Drei Hymnen, settings of Walt Whitman in German translations. This is a most rewarding disc, in fine sound. For all four of these discs, there are notes in English, but the sung texts are printed ony in German, so it's appropriate to mention again the excellent Website www.recmusic.org/lieder where most if not all of them can be found with a little searching (Audite 95.637, 1 hour 4 minutes).

Drei hochdramatische Soprane erinnern auf Platte an ein goldenes Zeitalter des Gesangs. Im Zentrum steht dabei vor allem ein Komponist: Richard Wagner. Eileen Farrell, Ingrid Bjoner und Kirsten Flagstad gelingen dabei exemplarische Aufnahmen.

Der Fall Eileen Farrell gehört zu den Absonderlichkeiten des Klassikbetriebes. Erst im Alter von 40 Jahren debütierte die Sängerin an der Met, stand dort in sechs verschiedenen Rollen gerade einmal 47-mal auf der Bühne – und verließ das Haus nach nur sechs Jahren. Ihre Stimme jedoch gehört zweifelsohne zu den außergewöhnlichsten dramatischen Sopranen des letzten Jahrhunderts. Das erste Mal begegnete ich der Stimme Farrells auf einer DVD (VAI/Codæx) mit Alcestes Arie "Divinités du Styx" – ein luxurierender Sopran mit einem beeindruckenden Klangstrom –, und die bei Testament erschienene Aufnahme bestätigt das akustische Gedächtnis: Die Stimme verfügt über eine grandiose Fülle und einen üppig-reichen Klang. Ein Kritiker brachte es einmal auf den Punkt: "Sie ist unter den Sängern das, was Niagara unter den Wasserfällen ist." Zu Recht gerühmt wird ihre Aufnahme der "Wesendonck-Lieder" unter Bernstein; die nun vorliegende frühere Aufnahme unter Leopold Stokowski steht dieser in nichts nach, die Stimme wirkt sogar noch etwas frischer. Ihre Interpretation öffnet ozeanische Klangräume ("Träume") von schier endloser Fläche, was ihr mehr liegt als die exaltierte Emphase. Das ist auch das Einzige, was ihr "Heil dir, Sonne" aus "Siegfried" trübt: Immer hat ihr Gesang etwas Distanziert-Majestätisches, der große Ausbruch lag ihr nicht. Doch Autorität und Grandeur ("Ewig war ich, ewig bin ich") ihres Singens sind dafür Entschädigung genug. Sehr gut restaurierter Mono-Klang!

Ein ähnliches Schicksal wie Eileen Farrell ereilte Ingrid Bjoner, denn auch die norwegische Sopranistin ist (fast) der Vergessenheit anheimgefallen, weder Jürgen Kesting noch Jens Malte Fischer erwähnen sie in ihren Gesangslexika. Die norwegische Sängerin gehörte fast 30 Jahre dem Ensemble der Bayerischen Staatsoper an, auf deren Veröffentlichungen beim Label Orfeo sie post mortem zu späten Plattenehren kommt. Sie verfügte zwar nicht über die Klangfülle Farrells, doch ihre in allen Lagen ausgeglichene Stimme konnte in der Höhe wahre Leuchtfeuer entzünden. Die Killerpartie der Turandot bewältigt sie mit imperialer Autorität, dazu mit brennender Intensität, Beethovens "Leonoren"-Arie zudem mit dynamischer Flexibilität und erstaunlicher Virtuosität – und wiederum einigen gleißenden Noten. Im Gegensatz zu vielen Hochdramatischen klingt sie nie matronenhaft, und auch das oft charakteristische Vibrato-Wackeln ist nicht zu hören. Den "Sturz" in der gefürchteten Passage bis zum hohen B verzeiht man ihr. Als Brünnhilde versengt sie den Siegfried von Jean Cox und beeindruckt im Schlussgesang. Die Stimme ist hier, 1976, deutlich gereift, souverän geführt und stets textverständlich. Immer wieder durchleuchtet sie den Text und findet den richtigen Ausdruck im Klang ("Wisst Ihr wie das ward?"). Leicht durchwachsener Live-Sound.

Brünnhildes Schlussgesang findet sich auch auf einer CD mit Orchesterauszügen aus Wagner-Opern mit Wilhelm Furtwängler – gesungen von der großen Kirsten Flagstad. Selbst Farrell verfügte nicht über ihr einzigartiges Volumen. Mochten Birgit Nilssons Trompetentöne mehr Durchschlagskraft besitzen, Kirsten Flagstads Klangfluten war niemand gewachsen. Nicht nur deswegen klingt ihre Interpretation statuarischer als die von Bjoner, die die schlankere Stimme besaß. Bei Flagstad steht die heroische Komponente im Vordergrund, wo man bei Bjoner eher den Eindruck eines persönlichen Einzelschicksals hat. Ebenfalls aus dem Herbst ihrer Karriere stammen die RIAS-Aufnahmen, die beim Label Audite erscheinen. Die "Wesendonck-Lieder" klingen nicht mehr ganz taufrisch, doch findet sie mit der Wärme ihrer Stimme einen persönlicheren Ton als Farrell. Brünnhildes Schlussgesang hingegen gelang ihr unter Furtwängler suggestiver, wogegen die Aufnahme der "Vier letzten Lieder" jener von deren Uraufführung unter Furtwängler vom 22. Mai 1950 (ebenfalls mit Flagstad) klangtechnisch weit überlegen ist. Zwar sind wir heute in Strauss' "Schwanengesang" mittlerweile schlankere Stimmen gewohnt (Schwarzkopf, della Casa, Fleming), jedoch betört Flagstad durch ihr dunkles Timbre und die subtilen Klangfarben auf den dunklen Vokalen.

Kaum mehr überblickbar ist die Anzahl junger Pianisten und Violinisten, die...

My first reaction to receiving this release for review was, “Oh no, not another recording of Mendelssohn’s piano trios!” This now makes 22 versions I can lay claim to, at least three or four of which I’ve had occasion to review in these pages. I must cede pride of place, however, to Burton Rothleder who claims to have reviewed no fewer than 10 versions. Of those I have in my collection which he happens to have covered, I find myself in agreement with his conclusions about 90-percent of the time. I was favorably impressed and still am, for example, with the Wanderer Trio’s performances on Harmonia Mundi, and I’ve also found much to enjoy in recordings by the Mendelssohn Piano Trio on Centaur and the Amsterdam Piano Trio on Brilliant Classics. To this list, but reviewed by others, I would add the Florestan Trio on Hyperion and the Nash Ensemble on Onyx. With regard to one recent release, however, Burton and I will have to agree to disagree, and that is the Sony recording with Perlman, Ma, and Ax, which made Rothleder’s 2010 Want List. I found these performances to be sluggish, lumpish, and heavy-handed, their slowness in comparison to others quite easily proved by the timings. For me, they miss Mendelssohn’s quicksilver pulse and puckish humor.

I wasn’t quite sure what to expect from the Swiss Piano Trio, an ensemble I’d not previously encountered, though to confess, I did begin my listening with the difficult-to-dislodge idea in my head that Mendelssohn’s piano trios did not need another recording, no matter how good it might be. Imagine then my shock to have all of my doubts and reservations instantly swept away by the most captivating performances of these works I think I’ve ever heard.

Swift in tempo and fleet of foot, but not rushed or breathless; leggiero in bowing and phrasing, but not lightweight or thin in tone; rascally but not roguish in the Scherzo movements; emotionally expressive but not cloying in the Andantes; and strongly persuasive without making over-earnest pie of Mendelssohn’s opening Allegros, the Swiss ensemble plays these works with surpassing elegance, beauty, and absolute technical control and perfection.

In no small measure, this gorgeously recorded hybrid surround-sound Audite SACD is a glory to modern recording technology. The instruments are perfectly placed and perfectly balanced, and the sound is state-of-the-art. I’m not usually one to say, “Throw out all other recordings you have of these works,” but if I were so inclined, this new release would come perilously close to prompting me to say it. These magnificently recorded fantastic performances are urgently recommended.

Difficile de résumer la musique de Mendelssohn, autant héritier de la...

Few countries have shaped the experience of Christmas more decisively than Germany and, with one exception, the remainder of these discs are from German labels and ensembles. A highly enjoyable and off-the-beaten-track pair comes from the label Audite, whose releases are commonly issued in Super Audio format. The all-organ recital by Johannes Strobl on the great organ of the Abbey of Muri consists of music by l8th- and 19th-century South German, Austrian and Bohemian composers of whom I'd never heard. These preludes, pastorellas, pifas and the like, undemanding and undemonstrative as they are, make for instructive listening: the common emphasis on rocking cradle rhythms is a sufficient programme in itself. And let's be honest: no century has, more than the 18th, been confined to such a restricted pantheon of composing figures. It makes a change from Bach ... on which, however, more presently. The second disc, "Es ist ein Ros' entsprungen", fearures the organist Stefan Horz and the vocal ensemble Vox Bona in a wide-ranging programme centred on the famous tune. The choral items, composed in an accessible, modern style, are a mixed bag, but as an enterprising move away from the same old Christmas programming both discs together give a positive, coherent impression of the label's aims.

This is a rich harvest. Richard Franck (1858-1938) came from a distinguished...

The Audite label is busy reviving the music of Eduard and Richard Franck. In the...

Heinrich von Herzogenberg fu amico di Johannes Brahms (che era più vecchio di...

These discs provide an interesting contrast of playing styles. Kynaston plays the large late 18th-century organ in Amorbach Abbey, with a more recent fourth manual by Klais. Winters plays a new organ in early 18th-century Thuringian style, while Neu plays a new organ by Hendrik Ahrend.

Kynaston's recording is reissued from 1994, a fine sound if sometimes lacking in clarity. This is recognisably English playing, and none the worse for that, with a Passacaglia & Fugue starting quietly and with lots of stop changes. Indeed the impression of the disc as a whole is of someone used to using a sequencer! He is at his best musically, and with less fussy registration, in the C minor Fantasia & Fugue (BWV 537) which is given a fine performance. A worthwhile curiosity is Reger's arrangement of Bach's harpsichord Chromatic Fantasia & Fugue, using the full resources of this organ to great effect.

Winters is more period-style conscious, but often in a highly mannered and sometimes rhythmically disorganised way. The organ sounds gorgeous, but apart from one chorale prelude and the principal choruses of the preludes and fugues his registrations never get beyond 8ft and 4ft, leaving one wishing for more colour. The Vivaldi-Bach D minor Concerto is perhaps the most satisfying work here, and unlike Kynaston Winters uses exactly the registrations Bach asks for in the short opening section. Unfortunately the idiosyncrasies of his playing rule out a recommendation.

Neu is playing the smallest organ, but conjures the greatest range of colour – often ravishingly beautiful. Hendrik has learned his craft well from his father Jürgen. Here we have not just Bach, but also Buxtehude and Böhm, and two chorale partitas of the latter provide a feast of organ sounds. His playing is stylistically aware, sensitive to the individual works, and the programme is thoroughly enjoyable and strongly recommended.