Schubert: Die schöne Müllerin
Andrè Schuen (baritone), Daniel Heide (piano) (DG)
(scroll down for English review)
DG新簽的男中音Andrè Schuen，是新一代少數以藝術歌曲為中心的男中音。一般人會覺得DG簽得即是品質保證，不過近幾十年的DG或其所屬的環球古典，考慮的不只實力。但對我來說，另一個客觀事實才是真正的品質保證：他近幾年常被奧利地舒伯特節邀請獻唱。
我只是覺得這幾十年來，環球古典簽歌手，劣績班班，出一兩張見賣不夠數就擱在一邊，無聲無息就不再出碟。但問題是藝術歌曲又怎能賣到多碟？除非就是挑起購買者，有欣賞音樂以外的其他衝動。這張《美麗磨坊少女》的封面當然想賣樣，但實力絕對足夠，我欣賞Schuen不會扭玩奇怪的唱法，只用歌喉好好地唱。不是聽慣藝術歌曲的朋友，值得細心欣賞，單是唱（也不敢說詮釋了）一首歌曲，人聲其實也需要像演奏樂器那樣細緻圓渾的發音，才能接近頂尖水平的藝術歌曲演唱。
Andrè Schuen, the new DG signing, is a newcomer baritone eyeing the Lieder repertory. To many, signed to the yellow label is the sign of excellence but in these decades, artistry isn’t only what DG or Universal classic group looking for. To me, another fact does show he’s the real deal: he has been repeatedly appearing at Austria’s Schubertiade.
To me Universal is a notorious squanderer of vocal talents. It made numerous high profile signings but when a first disc didn’t reach the sales quota, these labels simply put those talents aside. But the problem is, how many copies can a Lieder disc sell? Unless you rouse the dwindling CD buyers in having non-musical impulses. This new Müllerin disc surely has a nice cover photo but the singing is really remarkable. Schuen didn’t need to fool around with special interpretation and simply used his voice well. For those who aren’t into Lieder you might pay more attention to Schuen’s masterful control. On top level, simply delivering a song is a feat in itself. You’d never imagine singing a line can be as sophisticated as the tone production of playing an instrument.