I'm currently in one of those frenzies that I think all of us get into
at one time or another.  For the past few weeks I've listened to one
piece of music on a daily basis, sometimes to the exclusion of anything
else.  This time it's Winterreise.

This latest obsession started with my September note about Goerne/Brendel's
Winterreise,

http://home.ease.lsoft.com/scripts/wa.exe?A2=ind0409&L=classical&F=&S=&P=17411

I noted that a BBC Music Magazine review of Goerne/Brendel praised the
version by Brigitte Fassbaender, which Robert Peters also enthusiastically
recommended.  With that as background, I lucked into a copy of the
Fassbaender recording at my local Tower.  It is just as sensational as
Robert said.  And it led me to revisit some other Winterreises I have,
as well as some that a kind listmember provided.  I've been listening
to Goerne/Brendel for the consensus new benchmark; Fassbaender/Reimann
for the female version and a darkhorse candidate for best performance,
if such a decision can or should be made; Fischer-Dieskau/Demus, because
F-D *has* to be on a list like this (and playing as I type this); Hans
Hotter/Gerald Moore for historical (1955); Christophe Pregardien/Andreas
Staier, for tenor and fortepiano; and Peter Schrier and Andras Schiff,
tenor and piano. I'm getting so familiar with Winterreise that I can
not only anticipate the subsequent songs, but in their correct pitches
as well.  I really should look into the Winterreise for small chamber
orchestra, and I'm soliciting recommendations for versions in other
languages, especially English.  Anybody?

What obsessions have other listmembers succumbed to?

Mitch Friedfeld