Hans Hotter recorded Schubert’s bleak, magisterial Winterreise cycle at least four times. This is his first version, made for Deutsche Grammophon in 1942, first issued on 78s and later reissued in DG’s deleted Dokument series. Like DG, Music and Arts includes texts and translations, and its transfer is superior. The sound is better balanced, less strident, and warmer than Hotter’s German radio Winterreise recorded a year later. At 33, Hotter already was a master word colorist and a gripping storyteller who constantly varied his tone to suit the mood of each song. Moreover, the baritone’s timbre is lighter and fresher here than in his riper 1955 EMI traversal. The latter, though, boasts Gerald Moore’s inspired keyboard contributions. Michael Raucheisen’s perfectly competent but workaday pianism is frankly not in the same league. Still, Hotter fans won’t want to miss this milestone of the great baritone’s early recording career. [3/22/2001]
