Songs about love, they can no longer be counted. Winterreise, however, is a special case. This cycle starts exactly when love ends. And what follows is nothing but shocking. Gradually our hero loses all grip, his tracks are lost in a landscape of snow and ice. Schubert's friends were at a loss when the composer performed the first dozen of these grim songs to them. However, the composer assured
… them, "They are my favorites, and you will love them too." The Winterreise is now one of the largest song cycles ever. This music has been recorded on vinyl and CD countless times. Also for the Austrian opera and song singer this release is not the first time. In 2011 he recorded the Winterreise with the pianist Malcolm Martineau for the Onyx label. On the new Hyperion release (2017) he is flanked by the pianist Roger Vignoles. In 2016, Florian Boesch received rave reviews in the Dutch press for his concerts with Ernst Kreneks Reisenbuch aus den Österreichischen Alpen. (HJ)more
