Add to the recent splendid glut of baritones:  one Roman Trekel, somebody
I suspect is rather well-known in Europe, but certainly not in my Wild
Wild West.

Herr Trekel came to me courtesy of the new NAXOS "Deutsche
Schubert-Lied-Edition," delivering a remarkable "Winterreise."

It sounds like a smallish, but beautiful voice, lots of color, drama,
passion even, but not excessively so (as I recently complained about
others).  Very much a singer I'd like to hear more of, and witness live --
which, ultimately, is the only way to know a singer.

From the pages of musical relativity:  Trekel's accompanist, Ulrich
Eisenlohr, would have sounded at least adeuate if I only heard the
performance before the recent local glories of Steven (I apologize for the
incorrect "Stephen" -- maybe I was thinking of "St.  Stephen") Blier, MTT,
Helen Yorke, Jake Heggie, Lambert Orkis, Donald Runnicles, Gilbert Kalish,
etc., etc., a from-the-top-of-the-head list in no particular order.

Given this other glut, of exemplary accompanists, Eisenlohr seriously
suffers in comparison, with an occasionally downright noisy performance.
Schubert and "noisy" don't go well together.

But Trekel is a real find, regardless.

Janos Gereben/SF
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