Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
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The German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (born May 28, 1925) is regarded by many[who?] as the finest Lieder singer of his generation.[citation needed] He is greatly admired for his interpretations, the tonal qualities and shadings of color in his voice, his exceptional rhythmic sense and his impeccable diction. Fischer-Dieskau has also performed and recorded many operatic roles.
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[edit] Early years
Albert Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau was born in Berlin to Albert, a principal, and Dora, a teacher. He started singing as a child and began formal voice lessons at the age of sixteen. When he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1943, Fischer-Dieskau had just completed his secondary school studies and one semester at the Berlin Conservatory. He was captured in Italy in 1945 and spent two years as an American prisoner of war. During that time, he sang Lieder in prisoner-of-war camps to the homesick German soldiers.
[edit] Singing career
In 1947, he returned to Germany where he launched his professional career as a singer in Badenweiler when he sang in Brahms' Ein Deutsches Requiem without any rehearsal—he was a last-minute substitute for a singer who was indisposed. He gave his first Lieder recital in Leipzig in the fall of 1947 and followed it soon afterwards with a highly successful first concert at Berlin's Titania-Palast.
In the fall of 1948, Fischer-Dieskau was engaged as principal lyric baritone at the Berlin State Opera, making his debut as Posa in Verdi's Don Carlos under Ferenc Fricsay. Subsequently, Fischer-Dieskau made guest appearances at the opera houses in Vienna and Munich. After 1949 he made concert tours in England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France and Italy. In 1951, he made his Salzburg Festival concert debut with Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer under Wilhelm Furtwängler. He made regular opera appearances at the Bayreuth Festival between 1954 and 1961 and at the Salzburg Festival from 1956 until the early 1970s.
As an opera singer, Fischer-Dieskau performed mainly at Berlin and at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He also made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, at the Hamburg State Opera, in Japan, and at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Festival. His first tour in the United States took place in 1955, when he was 29, with his concert début in Cincinnati on April 15th (Bach's Kreuzstab Cantata) and 16th (Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem). His American Lieder début, singing Schubert songs, took place in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on April 19th. His New York City début occurred on May 2nd at The Town Hall, where he sang Schubert's song cycle Winterreise without intermission. Both American recitals were accompanied by Gerald Moore.
In 1951, Fischer-Dieskau made his first recordings of Lieder with the pianist Gerald Moore, EMI Studios, London; they performed and recorded frequently until the latter's retirement in 1967 and were renowned above all for their performances of Franz Schubert. Their recordings of Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise are highly prized.
Fischer-Dieskau also performed many works of contemporary music, including Benjamin Britten, Samuel Barber, Hans Werner Henze, Ernst Krenek, Witold Lutosławski, Siegfried Matthus, Winfried Zillig, Gottfried von Einem and Aribert Reimann.
Beyond his recordings of "Lieder" and German repertoire, Fischer-Dieskau also recorded interesting performances in the Italian operatic repertoire. His recordings as Rigoletto alongside Renata Scotto and Carlo Bergonzi and also Rodrigo in Verdi's Don Carlo are probably the most respected of these ventures. Both these recordings, made right at the peak of his career, are very fine indeed (excepting perhaps performances of the quality shown by Tito Gobbi or Giuseppe Taddei at their peak ). Other roles such as the title role in Verdi’s Macbeth (opera) alongside Elena Souliotis, Scarpia (from Tosca) with Birgit Nilsson and Giorgio Germont in La Traviata are not often as successful, showing insight and inventiveness but lacking somewhat in idiomatic Mediterranean vocal colour or temperament - perhaps seeming too Germanic. However, as with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Maria Callas, Fisher-Dieskau's performances always seem thought-out and are often true to the score - practically anything with his name on it is worthy of interest.
Fischer-Dieskau retired from the concert hall in 1992 and dedicated himself to conducting, teaching (especially Lieder), painting, writing books, etc.
In a 1999 "Top Singers of the Century" critics' poll compiled by British Classic CD magazine, Fischer-Dieskau came second, behind Jussi Björling.
He is an honorary member of The Robert Schumann Society.
[edit] Personal life
In 1949, Fischer-Dieskau married the cellist Irmgard Poppen. Together they had three sons: Mathias (stage designer), Martin (conductor), and Manuel (cellist). Irmgard died in 1963 of complications following childbirth. Afterwards, Fischer-Dieskau was married to the actress Ruth Leuwerik from 1965 to 1967 and Christina Pugel-Schule from 1968 to 1975. Since 1977 he has been married to the soprano Julia Varady.
[edit] Partial discography
[edit] As singer
Fischer Dieskau recorded mainly on the labels EMI, DG and ORFEO.
- Bach, Johann Sebastian, Cantatas, with Karl Richter on the Polygram label
- Bach, Johann Sebastian, Jesus and bass parts in the Passions under a wide host of conductors, ao. Karajan, Klemperer, Furtwängler and Richter
- Bartók, Béla, "Bluebeard's Castle", with Fricsay
- Bartók, Béla, "Bluebeard's Castle", with Sawallisch
- Beethoven, Ludwig van, Fidelio, with F. Fricsay
- Beethoven, Ludwig van, "Fidelio", with L. Bernstein
- Brahms, Johannes, "Ein Deutsches Requiem", with R. Kempe
- Brahms, Johannes, Ein deutsches Requiem, with Otto Klemperer and the Philharmonia Orchestra on the Angel label
- Brahms, Johannes, Liebeslieder Walzer on the Deutsche Grammophon label
- Brahms, Johannes, Vier ernste Gesänge, Lieder, with Jörg Demus, piano on the Deutsche Grammophon label
- Britten, Benjamin, War Requiem, Benjamin Britten conducting, with Galina Vishnevskaya and Sir Peter Pears
- Busoni, Ferruccio, Doktor Faust, conductor Ferdinand Leitner
- Cimarosa,Domenica, "The Secret Marriage", with D. Barenboim
- MDebussy, Melodies, with Harmut Holl, piano, recorded 1988 for Claves Records, available in 2006 on Brilliant Classics
- Fauré, Gabriel, "Requiem op. 48" under Cluytens on EMI
- Haydn, Josef, "The Creation", with H. von Karajan
- Mahler, Gustav, Das Lied von der Erde, with Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic
- Mahler, Gustav, Lieder, with Daniel Barenboim, piano, on the EMI label
- Mahler, Gustav, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Des Knaben Wunderhorn, with Daniel Barenboim, piano, on the Sony label
- Mahler, Gustav, Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen and Kindertotenlieder with orchestra, with W. Furtwangler and R. Kempe, on the EMI label
- Mahler, Gustav, "Kindertotenlieder", with K. Boehm
- Mahler, Gustav, "Rückert Lieder, on the Deutsche Grammophon label
- Mozart and Haydn Discoveries, with Reinhard Peters and the Vienna Haydn Orchestra on the Decca label
- Mendelssohn, Lieder, with Harmut Holl, piano, recorded 1989 and 1991 for Claves Records, available in 2006 on Brilliant Classics
- Mozart, Wolfgang, "Magic Flute" with Ferenc Fricsay
- Mozart, Wolfgang, "Magic Flute", with K. Boehm
- Mozart, Wolfgang, "The Marriage of Figaro", with K. Boehm
- Mozart, Wolfgang, "Don Giovanni", with F. Fricsay
- Mozart, Wolfgang, "Don Giovanni", with K. Boehm
- Orff, Carl, Carmina Burana, with Eugen Jochum and the Chor und Orchester der Deutschen Oper Berlin on the Deutsche Grammophon label
- Puccini, Giacomo, Tosca, with Birgit Nilsson, and excerpts in German with Anja Silja, on Decca Records
- Reimann, Aribert, Lear, with the Bavarian State Orchestra on the Polygram label
- Schubert, Franz, Deutsche Messe, with Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks on the Capitol label
- Schubert, Franz, Die Winterreise, with Gerald Moore, piano, on the Deutsche Grammophon label
- Schubert, Franz, Die Winterreise, with Jörg Demus, piano, on the Deutsche Grammophon label
- Schubert, Franz, Die Schöne Müllerin, with Gerald Moore, piano, on the Angel label
- Schubert, Franz, Lieder, with Gerald Moore, piano on the Deutsche Grammophon label
- Schubert, Franz, Missa Solemnis and Masses in C major and E flat major, with Wolfgang Sawallisch and the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra on the EMI label
- Schubert, Franz, Schwanengesang, with Gerald Moore, piano on the EMI label
- Schubert, Lieder, with Harmut Holl, piano, recorded 1987 for Claves Records, available in 2006 on Brilliant Classics
- Schumann, Robert, Dichterliebe, Liederkreis, and others with Christoph Eschenbach, piano, on the Deutsche Grammophon label
- Schumann, Robert, Liederkreis, with Gerald Moore, piano, on the EMI label
- Shostakovich, Dmitri, Suite on Verses of Michelangelo Buonarroti and Four Verses of Captain Lebyadkin, with the Vladimir Ashkenazy and the Radio Symphony Orchestra Berlin on the Polygram label
- Shostakovich, Dmitri, Symphony No. 14 with Bernard Haitink and the Concertgebouw Orchestra on the Decca label
- Strauss, Richard, "Electra", with K. Boehm
- Strauss, Richard, "Arabella", with J. Keilberth
- Strauss, Richard, "Arabella", with J. Keilberth
- Strauss, Richard, "Die Frau ohne Schatten"
- Verdi, Giuseppe, "Maskenball" (in German language), with Fritz Busch
- Verdi, Giuseppe, "La traviata", with L. Maazel
- Verdi, Giuseppe, "Otello"
- Verdi, Giuseppe, "Falstaff", with L. Bernstein
- Verdi, Giuseppe, "Macbeth", with Elena Souliotis
- Verdi, Giuseppe, Rigoletto with Rafael Kubelík and the La Scala Orchestra on the Detusche Grammophon label
- Wagner, Richard, Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg, with Eugen Jochum and the Berliner Staatsopernorchester on the Deutsche Grammophon label
- Wagner, Richard, "Lohengrin" with R. Kempe (EMI)
- Wagner, Richard, "The Flying Dutchman", with F. Konwitschny (EMI)
- Wagner, Richard, "Tannhaeuser", with F. Konwitschny (EMI)
- Wagner, Richard, "Rheingold", with H. v. Karajan (DG)
- Wagner, Richard, Gotterdammerung, with Georg Solti and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra on the Decca label
- Wagner, Richard, "Tristan and Isolde", with W. Furtwaengler
- Wagner, Richard, "Tristan and Isolde", with Carlos Kleiber
- Weber, Lieder, with Harmut Holl, piano, recorded 1991 for Claves Records, available in 2006 on Brilliant Classics
- Wolf, Fruhe Lieder, with Harmut Holl, piano, recorded 1986 for Claves Records, available in 2006 on Brilliant Classics
[edit] As conductor
- Mahler, Gustav, Das Lied von der Erde
- Strauss, Richard, Arias from Salomé, Ariadne auf Naxos, Die Liebe der Danae, and Capriccio, with Julia Varady and the Bamberg Symphony Orchestra on the Orfeo label
[edit] Books
- The Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder: The Original Texts of over 750 Songs, translated by Richard Stokes and George Bird. Random House, 1977. (ISBN 0-394-49435-0)
- Reverberations: The Memoirs of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, translated by Ruth Hein. Fromm International, 1989. (ISBN 0-88064-137-1)
- Robert Schumann Words and Music: The Vocal Compositions, translated by Reinhard G. Pauly. Hal Leonard, 1992. (ISBN 0-931340-06-3)
- Schubert's Songs: A Biographical Study. Alfred A. Knopf, 1977. (ISBN 0-394-48048-1)
- Wagner and Nietzsche, translated by Joachim Neugroschel. Continuum International, 1976.
[edit] Further reading
- Neunzig, Hans A. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Trans. Kenneth S Whitton. Gerald Duckworth & Co, 1998. (ISBN 0-7156-2818-6)
- Whitton, Kenneth S. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: Mastersinger Holmes & Meier Publishers, 1981. (ISBN 0-8419-0728-5)
