Dear Doris (Long Thurber) and co-vocalisters,
I'll split my answer in two parts:
first the one on the Schubertiade, tomorrow the one on
me (much less interesting)
The Schubertiade exists since 25 years and has been
described as 'the Bayreuth for Schubert lovers'.
In a nice Austrian scenery people can listen to
concerts by excellent musicans who perform mostly
Schubert music. Even more interesting - for me - were
the masterclasses, which should be given this year by
Brigitte Fassbaender (in May, then I was not there)
and Dietrich Fischer Dieskau. Since DFD had to undergo
some surgery, Gundula Janowitz jumped in.
On one hand this was kind of disappointing, on the
other hand I have had some kind of special fondness
for Janowitz since many years, though this was mostly
based on her 'Vier letzte Lieder' and I did not know
her Schubert. But more about the masterclass later.
(As a matter of fact I am going back to the
Schubertiade this weekend, for one of the special
jubilee Schubertiade concerts, given by Cecilia
Bartoli, so in the next days I will not have much time
to write, since I have to wash my cloths etc.)
As an example I will give the program for next year:
'The Schubertiade 2001 will be enriched by a number of
concerts of music by Johannes Brahms, one of the
greatest Schubert admirers of the 19th century. The
following are among the artists who will be appearing
in 2001:
Soprano
Juliane Banse, Barbara Bonney, Felicity Lott
Mezzo-soprano
Cecilia Bartoli, Michelle Breedt, Vesselina Kasarova,
Angelika Kirchschlager, Ann Murray, Violeta Urmana
Countertenor
David Daniels, Andreas Scholl
Tenor
Ian Bostridge, Christoph Genz, Christoph Prégardien,
Michael Schade, Peter Schreier, Rainer Trost, Marcus
Ullmann
Baritone
Olaf Bär, Stephan Genz, Christian Gerhaher, Matthias
Goerne, Robert Holl, Dmitri Hvorostovsky, Simon
Keenlyside, Christopher Maltman, Thomas Quasthoff,
Alfred Reiter, Bo Skovhus
Piano
Alfred Brendel, Bernd Glemser, Eduard and Johannes
Kutrowatz, Alexander Lonquich, Oleg Maisenberg,
Mitsuko Uchida, Anatol Ugorski, Arcadi Volodos,
Christian Zacharias
Chamber music
Alban Berg Quartett (with Heinrich Schiff), Artemis
Quartett, Hagen Quartett, Hugo Wolf Quartett (with
Mihaela Ursuleasa), Leipziger Streichquartett (with
Christian Zacharias), Quatuor Mosaïques (with Sabine
Meyer), Trio Fontenay (with Juliane Banse), Trio Jean
Paul, Waldstein Trio, Wiener Klaviertrio, Wiener
Streichsextett (with Angelika Kirchschlager), Wiener
Virtuosen, Christian Tetzlaff and Leif Ove Andsnes,
Benjamin Schmid, Pieter Wispelwey and Dejan Lazic,
Paul Meyer, Alban Gerhardt and Markus Groh in addition
to Oktett Hanna Weinmeister, Daniel Sepec, Thomas
Kakuska, Valentin Erben, Alois Posch, Norbert Täubl,
Radovan Vlatkovic and Milan Turkovic
Orchestras
The Camerata Academica Salzburg will give two concerts
conducted by Sir Charles Mackerras (soloist Gil
Shaham) and René Jacobs (soloist Andreas Scholl).
Readings
Gert Westphal
Masterclass
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Schubertiade in the Media
The prestigious place the Schubertiade enjoys in the
annual round of music festivals is also reflected by
the international media coverage:
"The annual Schubertiade is like a particularly fine
Sauvignon Blanc: it is the dry white wine of music
festivals, delicate and prestigious, a taste that
appeals to the more discriminating palate. Once
acquired, though, it can easily become the passion of
a lifetime, not to say mildly addictive. The
combination of Schubert's lieder and chamber music,
and the scenery of Vorarlberg are just as intoxicating
to the dozens of aficionados who return year after
year."
Daily Telegraph
The Schubertiade Schwarzenberg concerts also won the
praise of foreign critics:
"The hills are alive with the sound of Schubert. This
must be the only festival in the world with a concert
hall boasting breathtaking views of lush alpine
meadows and jagged peaks, where the clinking of
interval drinks blends with the melodious chime of
cowbells, and where the signal to return to your seat
is a Schubert duo blasted from the balcony by a pair
of horn players. But the most remarkable thing about
the Schubertiade is that a festival of this calibre
has remained so secret for 25 years."
The Scotsman
"What is the secret of the success of a festival that
has no big operas, no big symphony concerts (the
Schubert symphonies under Harnoncourt in 1992 and the
Amsterdam Concertgebouw were more or less an
exception), not a schilling of public subsidy, and
takes place far away from the clamour of the world? It
is, without doubt, the quality and also the intimacy
of the concerts, the selection of works, and the
possibility of experiencing both music and nature
together in an atmosphere of peace and spirituality."
El País
"One of the loveliest festivals is being celebrated.
Without pomp. Just music. And with the fragrance of
nature."
el Periódico
There is only one drawback: concerts are quite
expensive (at least for somebody from a Euro-country),
so I did not visit all concerts: I concentrated on
tenors, after all I was there to learn!
More:
http://www.schubertiade.at/
Best greetings,
Dre
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