Matthias Goerne, Christoph Eschenbach, Salle Pleyel, Paris, May 11 2012
The Schwanengesang evening by Matthias Goerne & Christoph Eschenbach in Salle Pleyel was the last of 3 concerts dedicated to Schubert’s lied cycles.
Since the early retirement of Thomas Quasthoff a few months ago, Goerne is without doubt the most accomplished lied baritone singer of our time. Eschenbach – today mainly active as a noted conductor – remains an excellent pianist. His career as a pianist was always shared between “standard” repertoire and lied accompaniment: his recording of Schumann’s Dichterliebe with the legendary Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is among the very finest. I also keep in mind the Schöne Müllerin concert in Pleyel 2 decades ago – a memorable evening, fortunately available on DVD. Fischer-Dieskau, who taught both Goerne & Quasthoff, has died just a few days after this concert and 10 days short of his 87th birthday and will be sadly missed by all opera, religious music and lied lovers.