Franz Peter Schubert

In his tragically short life, the Austrian composer Franz Schubert (1797–1828) wrote over 600 songs and effectively established the German lied as a new art form in the 19th century.

When Schubert Lieder on Record (1898–1952) was first released as an 8 LP set in 1982, the compiler, the late Keith Hardwick, explained that it was his intention to examine how Schubert lieder was performed in the days before Schwarzkopf, Fischer-Dieskau, Ludwig and Baker, and so he painstakingly sought out examples of recordings right back to the earliest days of sound recording in Europe. Fred Gaisberg, the Gramophone Company’s pioneering recording engineer, began making flat-disc 78rpm records in London in August 1898. Initially he chose material of a popular nature, but on 11 October 1898 the contralto Edith Clegg recorded Schubert’s Ave Maria, and it is this item that opens CD 1. Hardwick finished his programme at the end of the 78rpm era, and the results of his labours are contained on the first six CDs in this set.

In reviewing the LP set in Gramophone magazine, J. B. Steane, the doyen of vocal experts, wrote: ‘Schubert Lieder on Record ... is a magnificent achievement, imaginatively conceived and scrupulously presented; and the quality of recorded sound in transference from the old originals is superlative.’ The artists represented are truly international and include German, Austrian, Dutch, French, English, Irish, Russian, Australian and American singers. Purely as an example of the riches contained in the set, Steane picked out LP side 5 and wrote this about it: ‘It begins with Elise Elizza, silvery, haunting and unexpected; then Ottilie Metzger's glorious contralto; Friedrich Brodersen singing “Sei mir gegrüsst”, intensely expressive; magical touches of Hempel; finally superb Kipnis and the opportunity of comparing his “Gruppe aus dem Tartarus” with Metzger's or with Hotter's unpublished one, and his “Erlkönig” with no fewer than four others.’

The records are presented in roughly chronological order of recording, a pattern also followed in the later part of the set. In the days of 78s, many of the singers restricted themselves to a very small selection of the most popular songs, so this affords the opportunity to compare different interpretations of the same composition.

CDs 7 to 16 contain a programme of Schubert lieder performed by a wide range of singers from 1952 to the present day, but in selecting the artists and recordings for these CDs, every effort has been made to cover as many different songs as possible. The result is that the first six CDs contain 93 songs sung by 64 singers in a total of 128 performances, whereas the remainder of the set presents 30 singers in a total of more than 200 performances with very few songs repeated. CD 7 is devoted entirely to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau singing some of Schubert’s most substantial although rarely performed ballads. The next six CDs contain mixed programmes by a starry collection of singers, including Elly Ameling, Victoria de los Angeles, Nancy Argenta, Arleen Auger, Janet Baker, Ian Bostridge, Nicolai Gedda, Christa Ludwig, Lucia Popp, Christoph Prégardien, Hermann Prey, Kate Royal, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Fritz Wunderlich and many others. Then come complete performances of Die schöne Müllerin by Peter Schreier, Schwanengesang by Olaf Bär, and finally Winterreise by Thomas Hampson, which forms a link to the bonus CD, a penetratingly informative discussion by Thomas Hampson entitled: Schubert’s Journey – An Exploration with Thomas Hampson.

Sung texts and translations are included on the final enhanced CD (CD 17).

Following the Artemis Quartet‘s prizewinning Beethoven Quartet cycle on Virgin Classics, the Berlin-based ensemble has recorded Schubert’s last three quartets, works that Artemis cellist Eckart Runge praises for both their “incredible simplicity and purity” and their “almost terrifying modernism”.

Awarded both Germany‘s prestigious Klassik ECHO award and France’s Grand Prix de l’Académie Charles Cros in 2011 for their Virgin Classics Beethoven cycle, the members of the Artemis Quartet now release an all-Schubert CD. It presents the composer’s final three string quartets: No 13 in A minor, ‘Rosamunde’ (which draws on his incidental music for Helmina von Chezy’s play Rosamunde); No 14 in D minor, ‘Death and the Maiden’ (with its haunting second movement based on his song Der Tod und das Mädchen), and No 15 in G major.

Schubert and Beethoven were contemporaries in Vienna, and Beethoven is reputed to have returned some of the younger composer’s admiration, but, as Eckart Runge, cellist of the Artemis Quartet points out: “In some senses, Beethoven and Schubert could hardly be more different.” He goes on to say that “The Artemis Quartet’s intensive experience of performing and recording the Beethoven cycle between 2009 and 2011 has provided new perspectives on every other quartet we play. There is an almost terrifying modernism in these three late Schubert quartets, but it is totally different from the modernism of Beethoven. And, when placed together in a programme, the three quartets shine in another light: No 14 is concentrated and dramatic; No 15 is huge, symphonic, and cosmic, and No 13 is introspective and melancholy – less spectacular than the other two.

Brilliant operatic gems – 11 short-operas with all-star casts in a complete edition

When great masters compose miniature operas, the result is – well, masterly. Mozart, Weber, Schubert, Mendelssohn, Gluck, Lortzing and D' Albert: one-act operas from these famous pens are true gems of music history – and of the EMI archives. The Electrola recordings of these 11 short operas (mostly in Singspiel form) were made in the 1970's, but thanks to their all-star casts, which are nothing short of legendary, they seem as fresh as ever. Now EMI is releasing them in a complete edition for the first time.

"I was regularly surprised to find that there are still some undiscovered little jewels among the minor works of major composers" – thus Ekkehard Pluta in the magazine Klassik heute, reporting on these small but entirely fine works when they first appeared on CD in 1998: We hear the brilliant young Mendelssohn as composer of two Singspiele that were performed in the family circle, we hear Schubert's still little-known contributions to the musical repertoire of the Vienna Volkstheater, Weber's Abu Hassan and – especially delightful – works where the composer made fun of the music scene of his day, such as Lortzing's Opernprobe or Mozart's Schauspieldirektor. In addition to the commendable rediscovery of this repertoire, the recordings derive special appeal from outstanding singers, who wittily recreate the generally light-hearted spirit of these works: singers like Nicolai Gedda, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Edda Moser, Anneliese Rothenberger, Helen Donath, Hermann Prey and Kurt Moll.

Famed for her highly intelligent performances and deep engagement with music, Swedish soprano Miah Persson is in great demand throughout the world. She returned to Wigmore Hall last February with internationally renowned accompanist Roger Vignoles to perform a wonderfully emotive and dramatic programme.

Opening with some of the most celebrated Schubert Lieder, Persson revealed a refined interpretation of each song, searching deep within the texts to convey emotions from agony to ecstasy. With great passion, Persson then entered the Scandinavian sound world to complete her programme with Grieg’s stormy Six Songs and a beautiful collection of Sibelius’s most evocative settings.

The Art of Renée Fleming brings together 18 defining tracks spanning Renée’s finest Decca recordings, including favorite arias by Puccini, Handel and Gershwin and duets with Bryn Terfel and Plácido Domingo. Four special bonus tracks reflect Renée’s prominence beyond classical repertoire with two Broadway classics, Amazing Grace - which she memorably sang at the site of the World Trade Centre and a brand new version of Leonard Cohen’s Hallelujah.

Wonderful performances of Schubert and Beethoven by one of the most highly regarded pianists of the 20th century. The Schubert minatures were recorded at the legendary Sofia concert of 1958 and the sonata and bagatelles are studio recordings.

Rarely mentioned in the same breath as his illustrious colleagues Talich, Kubelík and Ančerl, Karel Šejna (1896-1982) was perennially second-in-command, yet despite failing to receive the credit he deserves he too played a crucial role in shaping the history of the Czech Philharmonic. Initially solo double-bass of the orchestra, he began conducting upon Václav Talich’s request and in 1939 was officially named its second conductor. And he also remained deputy after the departure of Talich, who was replaced by Rafael Kubelík, as well as after Kubelík’s emigration, when Karel Ančerl was appointed (originally against the orchestra members’ will) to the vacant post of chief conductor. Consequently, still playing “second fiddle”, Šejna went on to conduct dozens of concerts and make numerous recordings, which today rank among the finest in the Supraphon archives. Period critics branded him a flexible and vivid conductor who always required an understanding of the style and consistently worked with detail. In 1972, Šejna rounded off a half-century of work for the Czech Philharmonic with Mahler’s Symphony No. 4. Šejna’s sensitively remastered recordings from 1950-1962, from the bracing Mozart played “with a light hand” to Mahler’s fourth, are now released by Supraphon for the first time on CD.