Search - Yryo Henrik Kilpinen, Hans Udo Muller, Berlin State Opera Orchestra :: Songs of Yrjö Kilpinen

Certainly a singer to remember.

John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 06/02/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"The estimable German baritone Gerhard H?sch makes a welcome addition to the Dutton "Singers to Remember" series. So rich was his voice and so clear was his enunciation that his work in recording studios in the 1930s can hardly be forgotten by those who have sampled it on records over the years. His early champion in recording studios was the producer Walter Legge. Between them they gambled on finding a market for the issue of 400 copies of these recordings in the mid 1930s. So far as I can ascertain, the market for the vast number of songs by this Finnish composer who set many of his songs to German texts has not increased greatly in the meantime. The songs heard here are neither memorable for their vocal attributes - undistinguished melodically and routinely declamatory - nor for their uninteresting accompaniments. It is the work of the singer that deserves to be remembered. Many of the songs push H?sch to the upper end of his vocal range, but the vocalizing is always eloquent. Accompanying Gerhard H?sch at the piano in 19 of the songs is Kilpinen's wife, not his daughter as stated in the liner note. A few attractive songs by Kilpinen's contemporary Rasch have sometimes been added to these Kilpinen songs in H?sch reissues but this has not been done here, although running time is only 53 minutes."

A great singer promoting bad music

Anton Zimmerling | Moscow, Russia | 10/09/2008

(3 out of 5 stars)

"I agree with almost all assessments of Mr. Austin. I am a big fan of the great German baritone Gerhard Huesch, too. However, I have so say that Mr. Austin was extremely kind to Kilpinen's songs Huesch performs here by calling them 'not memorable for their vocal attributes'. It is simply bad music - professional, but second-hand and terribly boring. Yrio Kilpinen was Huesch's friend and Huesch recorded many of his songs. I wish Huesch recorded more Lieder by another friend of his, Hans Pfitzner, or more ballads by Carl Loewe instead: nobody felt and sang Pfitzner or Loewe better than him. I am not against modern Lieder at all - there are some lovely songs on Huesch's CD, Vol. 4 on Preiser, as Mr.Austin mentioned in passim. But this selection is difficult to tolerate even if you enjoy Huesch's voice in its prime. Why did not he record Sibelius's songs?"