When Schubert's "Die schone Mullerin" is performed - all too infrequently
- as a complete song cycle, something happens to No. 6.

"Der Neugierige" ("Curiosity") sometimes gets lost in the shuffle, in
anticipation of one of Schubert's big hits, "Ungeduld" ("Impatience"),
with its soaring offering of the heart: "Dein ist mein Herz."

It was very, very different tonight in Herbst Theater, as baritone
Matthias Goerne and pianist Eric Schneider blended their voices in a
delicate, gorgeous sound. The plight of the young love-struck miller's
anguish touched the heart, time became suspended, and instead of awaiting
"Ungeduld" impatiently, the listener wanted nothing more than silence,
to revel in the mood, in the music.

Goerne had successful recitals with San Francisco Performances before,
but tonight was truly special, a baritone performing on the level of
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Thomas Quasthoff. If that sounds an
exaggeration, there is an easy way to test the statement. Goerne and
Schneider will perform two more Schubert cycles in Herbst: "Schwanengesang"
(with Beethoven's "An die ferne Geliebte") on Thursday and "Winterreise"
on Saturday.

Whatever may happen the rest of the week, tonight will live in the
memory of those who were there - with, perhaps, an asterisk for "Mullerin"
purists.  Nobody could resist Goerne's beautiful delivery, the gorgeous
highs, solid lows, ravishing sound after sound, but almost all the songs
turned out to be more dramatic and "heavy" than the traditional
interpretation. For this listener, at least, that was no problem, given
the unity and excellence of the entire performance.

Goerne has to work extra hard to make an impact, being quite without
matinee-idol looks. With closely-set eyes, wearing a collar obviously
too tight, a Nixonian widow's peak crowning a boot-camp buzz-cut, he
must attract with his artistry alone, and he does do that, splendidly.

In "Am Feierabend," he produced a velvety overtone above a rock-solid
chest voice; in "Halt!," Goerne sang with utmost delicacy, conveying the
miller's all too temporary delight in the world's beauty; and then the
singer delighted the audience with the beauty of his voice at the end
of "Trock'ne Blumen."

Two or three times during the 75-minute cycle, a bit of an edge crept
into the voice, such as at the beginning of "Danksagung an den Bach,"
but otherwise, it was a vocally and musically flawless recital.

Schneider is no accompanist - he is an equal, great partner. Blending
the piano's sound into the singer's voice time and again, Schneider
played with uncanny mastery and authority, never looking at the music,
never leading or following, just "singing" an unforgettable duet.

The anonymous translation in the program was unmistakably by Emily Ezust,
in her simple, effective, contemporary idiom, which serves understanding
of the text, without calling attention to itself. Lieder translation is
more or less a labor of love only, so the sponsoring Colbert Artist
Management should not be miserly in giving credit. (I figured out who
did the translation by going to http://www.recmusic.org/lieder/merge.cgi?48.)

Janos Gereben/SF
www.sfcv.org
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