Bildschirmfoto 2021-12-05 um 11.29.09

10 Oct Review: Winterreise @ Stefaniensaal Graz

Colors of Love’s Sorrow
Klemens Sander captivated with “Winterreise”

Kleine Zeitung, October 6, 2021

In how many ways can emotions surrounding an unhappy love be expressed musically? Franz Schubert was able to do it in the 24 songs of his “Winterreise” in countless, ever new ways. Disappointment and resignation, initial resentment, daydreaming and rushing give way to deep hopelessness and even a longing for death.

In the series “musikabendeGRAZ” baritone Klemens Sander – harmoniously accompanied at the piano by impresario Christian Schmidt – touched with a credible interpretation of all these emotions. With warm timbre, text comprehensible and with full, beautiful sound in the heights as well as in the depths, the Upper Austrian convincingly traced the mood changes of the lyrical I in the Stefaniensaal.

The only disturbing thing was that Schmidt announced in the introduction that the song cycle would end well (in contrast to the “Müllerin”), that the last song, “Der Leiermann”, would give hope. One felt like a child being told that Bambi’s mother was not really dead. Fortunately, the power of Schubert’s music and Sander’s brilliant interpretation thwarted a hopeful “Leiermann”.

Eva Schulz

www.musikabendegraz.at

musikabende

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