Schubert: Winterreise D911

The second in Harmonia Mundi’s Winterreise triptych is again presented by a tenor, the lyric-voiced Werner Gura, but using a Rönisch fortepiano of 1872, played by Christoph Berner. Winterreise, composed in 1827, is the embodiment of Romanticism in music, the ultimate expression of ‘Sehnsucht’, that existential longing which haunts the creations of this artistic movement in all its forms. Born in Munich, Werner Güra studied at the Salzburg Mozarteum and completed his training with Kurt Widmer in Basel and Margreet Honig in Amsterdam, in addition to taking courses in acting with Ruth Berghaus and Theo Adam. After appearing at the Frankfurt and Basel operas, Werner Güra joined the Semperoper in Dresden in 1995, where he sang the principal tenor roles of Mozart and Rossini. He has sung Don Giovanni and Così fan tutte under Daniel Barenboim and René Jacobs, Il barbiere di Siviglia at the Berlin State Opera, Die Zauberflöte at the Paris Opéra, Die Entführung aus dem Serail in Dresden, and Bach’s Passions under Philippe Herreweghe and Peter Schreier. He has worked with the Berlin Philharmonic under Claudio Abbado and Adám Fischer, and with the Concentus Musicus Wien under Nikolaus Harnoncourt. As a lied interpreter Werner Güra has given recitals at the Wigmore Hall, the Concertgebouw, Lincoln Center, the Barcelona Schubertiade and the Schubertiade Schwarzenberg. Among his successful lieder recordings for Harmonia Mundi are programmes of Schubert (Die schöne Müllerin, Schwanengesang), Schumann (Dichterliebe, Liederkreise Op.24 & 39), Wolf (Mörike- Lieder), Mozart, and Brahms (Liebeslieder-Waltzer) – all celebrated by the international press.