Search - Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Franz [Vienna] Schubert, Johannes Brahms :: Elisabeth Grümmer: Berlin & Munich

An Answer To a Prayer.

John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 01/04/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It's amazing what treasures one can discover when browsing around Amazon.com! Discovering this 2 CD set, and quickly receiving it in the post soon after seemed like the answer to a prayer. Here's more than two hours of lieder recital items compiled from broadcasts dating from 1948 to 1970. No allowances need be made for changes of acoustic or recording quality. One can listen entranced and undisturbed until, after the last track, applause breaks out after the last of Richard Strauss' "Four Last Songs". If there is a welcome disturbance, it is the appearance of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and a chorus, joining the singer in a Schubert setting of a song from Goethe's "Faust". In his autobiography, Fischer-Dieskau provides a wondrous appreciation of Elisabeth Grümmer, allocating more space to it than to comments about all his other colleagues put together. I shall not attempt anything similar, adding only that a reminder of the extremely low price should be enough to urge all lovers of German lieder to add this to the trolley."

Disappointed by first listening

DorianLS | United States | 08/04/2003

(2 out of 5 stars)

"After reading the rapturous reviews of this 2 CD album, I purchased it last week. There is a lot of music for the price, and the recording quality it good considering the age of the recordings. But I found myself less than enthusiastic about Elisabeth Grümmer's singing. I was particularly interested in the Schubert lieder. What I value most in lieder singing is naturalness and a certain pleasingness to the ear - lieder is after all song, not opera. Grümmer's voice seems to me more suited to the latter. I can think of a dozen or two contemporary lieder singers who I would much prefer over Grummer. Of the rest of the music on the album, I can't venture to say anything as I have only begun to explore this CD. But for Schubert lieder, stick with Fischer-Dieskau, Brigitte Fassbaender, Ian Bostridge, Sarah Walker,Richard Jackson, Janet Baker, Felicity Lott, Barbara Bonney,Elly Ameling, Stephen Varcoe (a remarkable voice - his version of Am Bach im Fruhling and Auf der Donau, cannot be beaten), Matthias Gorne, Cheryl Studer (her versions of I'm Fruhling, Der FluB, and Am See are wonderful) and innumerable others - in no particular order. While I'm at it, I have also listened to Bryn Turfel's recent recording of Schubert lieder. It has been highly reviewed in many quarters, but none of his performances would be my first choice."

Beauty Pure!

song junkie | 09/03/1999

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Grümmer's voice was probably the sweetest voice ever recorded.She bares her soul in each and every recording and makes you gasp at the sheer beauty and urgency of what she sings; She simply bares her soul. This 2-CD together with her recording of Humperdinck's "Hänsel & Gretel" recently re-issued under EMI's "Great Recordings of the Century" MUST move you to tears!I am really at a loss for words here - just get it, sit back and listen to the greatest voice of the century!!!!"