Schubert: Winterreise

A single spotlight reveals a book held by delicate hands, a supertitle reads, “He sent me his journal in the post.” Thus began the Joyce DiDonato/Yannick Nézet-Séguin recital of Schubert’s Winterreise in Carnegie Hall, December 2018 (viewable on YouTube), of which this CD is the audio record. Other women (famously, Lotte Lehman, Christa Ludwig, Brigitte Fassbaender) have essayed Winterreise, written for tenor, though often sung by baritones, but it was DiDonato’s brilliant inspiration to bring the rejecting woman front and center. The device—one lover’s words refracted through the other reading them—portends distance, but the result is powerfully intimate and heart-rending. Two examples: “Der Lindenbaum” recalls happier times while subtly introducing the prospect of death by suicide; with DiDonato the irony is shattering. Before she sang the concluding song, “Der Leiermann,” DiDonato put the journal aside, suggesting the woman identifies herself as closely with the hurdy-gurdy player as the narrator himself does, the lovers now united by their common identification with the figure of death. The effect is devastating. With DiDonato in her vocal and interpretive prime, Nézet-Séguin her full though discreet partner, and excellent live sound, this is unmissable by all who love this music.