Here's something you don't see every day: an exciting album of obscure Schubert songs. Although it looks like just another volume of yet another complete edition (specifically, Vol. 17 of Naxos' Deutsche Schubert Lied Edition), this effort by baritone Detlef Roth and pianist Ulrich Eisenlohr, devoted entirely to songs on poems by Schubert's Austrian contemporaries, is anything but a dreary slog through the composer's lesser achievements. In fact, it's wonderful. Roth and Eisenlohr lavish a rare depth of commitment and ...
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Here's something you don't see every day: an exciting album of obscure Schubert songs. Although it looks like just another volume of yet another complete edition (specifically, Vol. 17 of Naxos' Deutsche Schubert Lied Edition), this effort by baritone Detlef Roth and pianist Ulrich Eisenlohr, devoted entirely to songs on poems by Schubert's Austrian contemporaries, is anything but a dreary slog through the composer's lesser achievements. In fact, it's wonderful. Roth and Eisenlohr lavish a rare depth of commitment and musical imagination on these songs, creating rich moods, vivid characters, and many very beautiful moments. Certainly, not every song on the album is great, but every performance on it is; there isn't a dull track in the bunch. Roth's singing is warm, flexible, and clear, and he finds an impressive variety of inflection and color. Eisenlohr is even better at the piano; his instincts for pacing, articulation, and style are perfect, and he takes absolutely nothing for granted. Together, the...
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