Ludwig van Beethoven - Songs and Folksongs (Ian Bostridge; Antonio Pappano)

Information

Composer: Ludwig van Beethoven

1. An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98: I. "Auf dem Hügel sitz ich spähend"
2. An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98: II. "Wo die Berge so blau"
3. An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98: III. "Leichte Segler in den Höhen"
4. An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98: IV. "Diese Wolken in den Höhen"
5. An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98: V. "Es kehret der Maien"
6. An die ferne Geliebte, Op. 98: VI. "Nimm sie hin denn, diese Lieder"
7. Adelaide, Op. 46
8. Sehnsucht, WoO 134: I. Andante poco agitato
9. Sehnsucht, WoO 134: II. Poco andante
10. Sehnsucht, WoO 134: III. Poco adagio
11. Sehnsucht, WoO 134: IV. Assai adagio
12. 6 Gesänge, Op. 75: III. Aus Goethes Faust
13. Zartliche Liebe, WoO 123
14. "In questa tomba oscura", WoO 133
15. 8 Lieder, Op. 52: IV. Maigesang (Mailied)
16. Andenken, WoO 136
17. Resignation, WoO 149
18. 12 Irish Songs, WoO 154: IV. The Pulse of an Irishman
19. 12 Irish Songs, WoO 154: V. "Oh! Who, my dear Dermot"
20. 7 British Songs, WoO 158b: VI."O Mary, ye's be clad in silk"
21. 26 Welsh Songs, WoO 155: No. 25, The Parting Kiss
22. 25 Scottish Songs, Op. 108: No. 8, The Lovely Lass of Inverness
23. 25 Irish Songs, WoO 152: No. 1, The Return to Ulster
24. 25 Irish Songs, WoO 152: No. 8, "Come draw we round a cheerful ring"
25. 25 Scottish Songs, Op. 108: No. 2, Sunset
26. 8 Lieder, Op. 52: No. 7, Marmotte

Ian Bostridge, tenor

Antonio Pappano, piano

Vilde Frang, violin & Nicolas Altstaedt, cello (18-25)

Date: 2020

Label: Warner Classics

https://www.warnerclassics.com/release/beethoven

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Review

We could do a lot worse in the Beethoven year than listen more to his songs. Too easily overlooked, they represent a fascinating glimpse into an intimate side of their composer. Almost naive, and often movingly gentle, they show a Beethoven treading carefully in a nascent genre – we’re worlds away from the fist-shaking Promethean of the Romantic imagination, tearing up the rule book for the symphony and sonata.

Nevertheless, Beethoven still managed to innovate here, and is usually credited with writing the first song-cycle with his An die ferne Geliebte. This new recording from Ian Bostridge and Antonio Pappano is the third major account to be released this year, following those by Matthias Goerne with Jan Lisiecki (DG, 4/20) and Roderick Williams with Iain Burnside (Chandos, 6/20), not to mention the version from a sweet-toned Robin Tritschler with Malcolm Martineau, released late last year (Signum, 1/20).

Each of these recordings makes for fascinating listening, with this newcomer fusing Bostridge’s detailed, borderline fussy manner with Pappano’s sprightly playing, buoyant and delicate. One misses limpidness in Bostridge’s tone, admittedly, but he makes the songs his own in a performance that is never less than engaging and, as usual, conveys an unflinching and persuasive belief in the material.

He and Pappano are terrific in the ‘Song of the Flea’ and offer what feels like a fascinating glimpse into the composer’s workshop with his four ‘Sehnsucht’ settings, presented consecutively. There are more mellifluous accounts of ‘Adelaide’ and ‘Ich liebe dich’ out there, but in those and in a suitably intense ‘In questa tomba oscura’, the performances are nevertheless persuasive.

The folk-song arrangements are a little more problematic, with Bostridge sounding strangely unnatural with the language, failing to capture the necessary artlessness in the jollier songs, despite some lively tempos and superbly pointed playing from Vilde Frang and Nicolas Altstaedt – starry casting indeed. He’s better in the more melancholy numbers, such as the moving ‘Return to Ulster’ (although he sings Scott’s first three verses here, not the exact text as printed in the booklet).

In sum, though it doesn’t necessarily include first-choice recordings for any of these songs, this is a valuable and persuasive album from this high-profile duo.

-- Hugo Shirley, Gramophone

More reviews:
https://www.classical-music.com/reviews/choral-song/beethoven-songs-and-folksongs

https://www.allmusic.com/album/beethoven-songs-and-folksongs-mw0003358239

https://theclassicreview.com/album-reviews/review-beethoven-songs-and-folksongs-bostridge-pappano/

https://www.amazon.com/Beethoven-Ian-Pappano-Antonio-Bostridge/dp/B083XTHKD6

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Ludwig van Beethoven (baptized 17 December 1770 – 26 March 1827) was a German composer and pianist. A crucial figure in the transition between the Classical and Romantic eras in Western art music, he remains one of the most famous and influential of all composers. Beethoven is acknowledged as a giant of classical music, and his influence on subsequent generations was profound. His best-known compositions include 9 symphonies, 5 piano concertos, 1 violin concerto, 32 piano sonatas and 16 string quartets. Many of his most admired works come from the last decade of his life, when he was almost completely deaf.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ludwig_van_Beethoven

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Ian Bostridge (born 25 December 1964 in London) is an English tenor, well known for his performances as an opera and lieder singer. Bostridge only began singing professionally at age 27 and made his Wigmore Hall debut in 1993. His operatic debut was in 1994, at age 29. An EMI Classics exclusive artist since 1996, his CDs have won all of the major record prizes including Grammy Award (15 times nominee) and several Gramophone Awards. Bostridge was for a time the music columnist for Standpoint magazine. A collection of his writings on music, A Singer's Notebook, was published by Faber and Faber in September 2011.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ian_Bostridge

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Antonio Pappano (born 30 December 1959 in Epping, Essex) is an English-Italian conductor and pianist. After musical training in piano, composition, and conducting, he became a rehearsal accompanist at the New York City Opera by the age of 21. Pappano attracted the attention of Daniel Barenboim, and became his assistant at the Bayreuth Festival. He also worked in Barcelona and Frankfurt, and served as an assistant to Michael Gielen. Pappano was music director of the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden (2002-24), and of the Orchestra dell'Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia (2005-24).

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Antonio_Pappano

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