Beethoven: Songs
This disc contains 23 of Beethoven's 88 original songs (as opposed to folksong arrangements, etc.), including the beautiful cycleAn die ferne Geliebte, the sixGellert Lieder(Op. 48), and 11 others. Beethoven's songs are more similar to those of Schubert (as character studies, with involved accompaniments) than to the usually strophic melodies of Mozart and Haydn. The cycle, in particular, offers shared materials among the songs and a return to the opening materials at the end, a procedure adopted by future composers (for example, Schumann in hisDichterliebe). The main problem, and perhaps the reason Beethoven is not considered a great song composer, is that his melodies, beautiful as they are, seem to be generated in instrumental thought rather than vocally conceived. Hence, successful performances require a close and equal collaboration between singer and pianist, which Genz and Vignoles offer here with much panache. Excellent recorded sound.--Paul Turok