Noticeably absent from Philip Peters' list of the Schubert song cycle is
the recording on RCA Victor by mezzo-soprano Elena Gerhardt with Gerald
Moore at the piano, regarded in its day by one noted critic as "the very
essence of Schubertian lyricism."

Also, incomplete cycles from baritone Heinrich Schlusnus with Sebastian
Peschko or Franz Rupp at the piano (on London), bass Alexander Kipnis with
Egon Petri (on Columbia), and even tenor John McCormack (in English) with
orchestral accompaniment (on Victor).

The subscriber to the list who hoped for a reissue of the Richard Tauber
recordings (on the old Parlophone label), take note they have been reissued
(on the Pearl label) but be aware of the poor quality of sound in them.

Among available recordings, I would recommend any one of the following:

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, with Jorg Demus
Peter Pears, with Benjamin Britten
Hans Hotter, with Erik Werba (an earlier Hotter with Gerald Moore is not bad)
Lois Marshall, with Anton Kuerti
Christa Ludwig, with James Levine
Peter Anders, with Michael Rauchheisen

As the songs in this cycle will speak to you in a special way, almost any
version may please you depending on your threshold of pain from the loss
of love, and your degree of response to Schubert's melancholy landscape.

John Dalmas
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