Matthias Goerne’s live Winterreise is an improvement over his studio recording of Die schöne Müllerin, though it’s still marred by overinterpretation that, while apparently deeply felt, comes off as self-regarding. There’s little to fault with the voice per se–a warm lyric baritone with the ability to project ravishing pianissimos, and a mezza-voce that can leave you limp. Goerne amply demonstrates his command of a variety of vocal effects, from floating high notes to angry declamation that never disintegrates into barking. But he has a fondness for exaggerated dynamics, and at times, as in “Die Krähe”, he lapses into a sort of Schubertian sprechstimme. Even Goerne’s virtues sometimes can become too much of a good thing: that lovely mezza-voce, for example, is used too often throughout, sprinkled far too freely in “Frühlingstraum”. So by the time he twirls it around in the air endlessly at the word “ruhig” in “Einsamkeit”, we’re begging for mercy. Even “straight” renditions such as those of vintage singers like Gerhard Hüsch are less predictable than Goerne’s, where the effects come one after another as if on cue. With the closing “Der Leiermann”, we’re back to the quasi-sprechstimme style, broken after a decent pause by the applause of an apparently delighted Wigmore Hall audience. Goerne’s beautiful singing may have been engrossing in concert, but it’s insufficient compensation for effect-ridden interpretations that can discourage repeated hearings.
What does encourage rehearings is Alfred Brendel’s accompaniments. One of the benefits of having a major soloist in that role is that he’s bound to inhabit his playing with insights and personality not usually displayed by a career accompanist, insightful as such may be. Here, Brendel invests preludes and postludes with large-toned character, two such examples being his wind-driven piano in “Die Wëtterfahne” and the keyboard depiction of the “frozen teardrops” in “Gefror’ne Tränen”. Similar felicities abound, and I often found myself listening “under” the voice to focus on the piano. The close-up recording captures Goerne’s every intake of breath, and while the wide dynamics can make his stentorian outbursts uncomfortable at high volume levels, they reproduce voice and piano with a welcome naturalness.
