Albert Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925-2012) was born in Berlin to Albert, a… Read Full Bio ↴Albert Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925-2012) was born in Berlin to Albert, a principal, and Dora, a teacher. He started singing as a child and began formal voice lessons at the age of sixteen. When he was drafted into the Wehrmacht in 1943, Fischer-Dieskau had just completed his secondary school studies and one semester at the Berlin Conservatory. He was captured in Italy in 1945 and spent two years as an American prisoner of war. During that time, he sang Lieder in prisoner-of-war camps to the homesick German soldiers.
In 1947, he returned to Germany where he launched his professional career as a singer in Badenweiler when he sang in Brahms' German Requiem without any rehearsal—he was a last-minute substitute for a singer who was indisposed. He gave his first Lieder recital in Leipzig in the fall of 1947 and followed it soon afterwards with a highly successful first concert at Berlin's Titania-Palast.
In the fall of 1948, Fischer-Dieskau was engaged as principal lyric baritone at the Berlin State Opera, making his debut as Posa in Verdi's Don Carlos under Ferenc Fricsay. Subsequently, Fischer-Dieskau made guest appearances at the opera houses in Vienna and Munich. After 1949 he made concert tours in England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France and Italy. In 1951, he made his Salzburg Festival concert debut with Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer under Wilhelm Furtwängler. He made regular opera appearances at the Bayreuth Festival between 1954 and 1961 and at the Salzburg Festival from 1956 until the early 1970s.
As an opera singer, Fischer-Dieskau performed mainly at Berlin and at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He also made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, at the Hamburg State Opera, in Japan, and at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Festival. His first tour in the United States took place in 1955, when he was 29, with his concert début in Cincinnati on April 15th (Bach's Kreuzstab Cantata) and 16th (Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem). His American Lieder début, singing Schubert songs, took place in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on April 19th. His New York City début occurred on May 2nd at The Town Hall, where he sang Schubert's song cycle Winterreise without intermission. Both American recitals were accompanied by Gerald Moore.
In 1951, Fischer-Dieskau made his first recordings of Lieder with the pianist Gerald Moore, EMI Studios, London; they performed and recorded frequently until the latter's retirement in 1967 and were renowned above all for their performances of Franz Schubert. Their recordings of Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise are highly prized.
Fischer-Dieskau also performed many works of contemporary music, including Benjamin Britten, Samuel Barber, Hans Werner Henze, Ernst Krenek, Witold Lutosławski, Siegfried Matthus, Winfried Zillig, Gottfried von Einem and Aribert Reimann.
Beyond his recordings of "Lieder" and German repertoire, Fischer-Dieskau also recorded interesting performances in the Italian operatic repertoire. His recordings as Rigoletto alongside Renata Scotto and Carlo Bergonzi and also Rodrigo in Verdi's Don Carlo are probably the most respected of these ventures. Both they recordings, made right at the peak of his career, are very fine indeed (excepting perhaps performances of the quality shown by Tito Gobbi or Giuseppe Taddei at their peak ). Other roles such as the title role in Verdi’s Macbeth (opera) alongside Elena Souliotis, Scarpia (from Tosca) with Birgit Nilsson and Giorgio Germont in La Traviata are not often as successful, showing insight and inventiveness but lacking somewhat in idiomatic Mediterranean vocal colour or temperament - perhaps seeming too Germanic. However, as with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Maria Callas, Fisher-Dieskau's performances always seem thought-out and are often true to the score - practically anything with his name on it is worthy of interest.
Fischer-Dieskau retired from the concert hall in 1992 and dedicated himself to conducting, teaching (especially Lieder), painting, and writing books.
On Friday, 18 May 2012, Fischer-Dieskau died in his sleep at his home in Berg, Upper Bavaria, ten days before his 87th birthday.
In 1947, he returned to Germany where he launched his professional career as a singer in Badenweiler when he sang in Brahms' German Requiem without any rehearsal—he was a last-minute substitute for a singer who was indisposed. He gave his first Lieder recital in Leipzig in the fall of 1947 and followed it soon afterwards with a highly successful first concert at Berlin's Titania-Palast.
In the fall of 1948, Fischer-Dieskau was engaged as principal lyric baritone at the Berlin State Opera, making his debut as Posa in Verdi's Don Carlos under Ferenc Fricsay. Subsequently, Fischer-Dieskau made guest appearances at the opera houses in Vienna and Munich. After 1949 he made concert tours in England, the Netherlands, Switzerland, France and Italy. In 1951, he made his Salzburg Festival concert debut with Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer under Wilhelm Furtwängler. He made regular opera appearances at the Bayreuth Festival between 1954 and 1961 and at the Salzburg Festival from 1956 until the early 1970s.
As an opera singer, Fischer-Dieskau performed mainly at Berlin and at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He also made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera, at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden in London, at the Hamburg State Opera, in Japan, and at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Festival. His first tour in the United States took place in 1955, when he was 29, with his concert début in Cincinnati on April 15th (Bach's Kreuzstab Cantata) and 16th (Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem). His American Lieder début, singing Schubert songs, took place in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on April 19th. His New York City début occurred on May 2nd at The Town Hall, where he sang Schubert's song cycle Winterreise without intermission. Both American recitals were accompanied by Gerald Moore.
In 1951, Fischer-Dieskau made his first recordings of Lieder with the pianist Gerald Moore, EMI Studios, London; they performed and recorded frequently until the latter's retirement in 1967 and were renowned above all for their performances of Franz Schubert. Their recordings of Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise are highly prized.
Fischer-Dieskau also performed many works of contemporary music, including Benjamin Britten, Samuel Barber, Hans Werner Henze, Ernst Krenek, Witold Lutosławski, Siegfried Matthus, Winfried Zillig, Gottfried von Einem and Aribert Reimann.
Beyond his recordings of "Lieder" and German repertoire, Fischer-Dieskau also recorded interesting performances in the Italian operatic repertoire. His recordings as Rigoletto alongside Renata Scotto and Carlo Bergonzi and also Rodrigo in Verdi's Don Carlo are probably the most respected of these ventures. Both they recordings, made right at the peak of his career, are very fine indeed (excepting perhaps performances of the quality shown by Tito Gobbi or Giuseppe Taddei at their peak ). Other roles such as the title role in Verdi’s Macbeth (opera) alongside Elena Souliotis, Scarpia (from Tosca) with Birgit Nilsson and Giorgio Germont in La Traviata are not often as successful, showing insight and inventiveness but lacking somewhat in idiomatic Mediterranean vocal colour or temperament - perhaps seeming too Germanic. However, as with Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Maria Callas, Fisher-Dieskau's performances always seem thought-out and are often true to the score - practically anything with his name on it is worthy of interest.
Fischer-Dieskau retired from the concert hall in 1992 and dedicated himself to conducting, teaching (especially Lieder), painting, and writing books.
On Friday, 18 May 2012, Fischer-Dieskau died in his sleep at his home in Berg, Upper Bavaria, ten days before his 87th birthday.
Der Lindenbaum
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Lyrics
We have lyrics for 'Der Lindenbaum' by these artists:
Arik Brauer Es ist uns der Gusta vergangen Es hat uns den Magn…
Franz Schubert Am Brunnen vor dem Tore Da steht ein Lindenbaum Ich träumt…
Franz Schubert; Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau Gerald Moore Am Brunnen vor dem Tore Da steht ein Lindenbaum Ich träumt' …
Konstantin Wecker Sie trieben's unter dem Lindenbaum Und liebten und zärtelt…
Nana Mouskouri Am Brunnen vor dem Tore Da steht ein Lindenbaum Ich träumt i…
Rundfunk-Jugendchor Wernigerode 8. Am Brunnen vor dem Tore …
Rundfunk-Kammerchor Wernigerode 8. Am Brunnen vor dem Tore …
Rundfunk-Männerchor Wernigerode 8. Am Brunnen vor dem Tore …
We have lyrics for these tracks by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau:
Der Erlkönig D328 Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? Es ist der…
Erlkönig Wer reitet so spät durch Nacht und Wind? Es ist der…
The lyrics are frequently found in the comments by searching or by filtering for lyric videos
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@gunterangel
Completely agree !
I'm German, and in imho Schubert's
"Die Winterreise" is the saddest piece of music ever ! 😭
Mozart's "Requiem" seems like party music against it....( ...of course that's a little hyperbole of mine...)
Schubert himself called it
a cycle of "Schauerliche Lieder"
( "eerie or creepy songs") when talking about them to his friends .
When they eventually had heard them , they would be baffled, even shocked . Never in their mind they could have imagined, that their friend Schubert would be able to compose such a dark music !
When his friend Schober told Schubert , that the only song he liked was "Der Lindenbaum", Schubert reportedly answered him calmly ( paraphrasing ) :
"Never mind ! For me they are the best I've ever written, and you will like them too one day ."
It's so sad, it's nearly depressing !
I tend to avoid to hear it in the winter months, because the expression of deep depression has such great impact...!
The last "Lied" ,
"Der Leierkastenmann ",
is simply heartbreaking ! 😭
Those repetitive and
monotonous empty fiths in the left hand of the piano accompaniment
( , illustrating the bourdon-bass of the old man's street organ, )
are an as simple as impressive and
subtile musical symbol of total depressive despair, loneliness, doom and ultimately death.
And I definitely prefer a rendition
by a bass/baritone singer, for instance those of
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau,
Hermann Prey and
Thomas Quasthoff.
The dark voice timbre fits the dark content of the lyrics the best .
@UserName-dv4ex
Am Brunnen vor dem Tore
Da steht ein Lindenbaum
Ich träumt' in seinem Schatten
So manchen süßen Traum
Ich schnitt in seine Rinde
So manches liebe Wort
Es zog in Freud und Leide
Zu ihm mich immer fort
Ich musst' auch heute wandern
Vorbei in tiefer Nacht
Da hab ich noch im Dunkel
Die Augen zugemacht
Und seine Zweige rauschten
Als riefen sie mir zu:
Komm her zu mir, Geselle
Hier find'st du deine Ruh
Die kalten Winde bliesen
Mir grad ins Angesicht
Der Hut flog mir vom Kopfe
Ich wendete mich nicht
Nun bin ich manche Stunde
Entfernt von jenem Ort
Und immer hör ich's rauschen
Du fändest Ruhe dort
Du fändest Ruhe dort
@fiorenzointagliata3252
@@moot9798
Da "La montagna incantata" di Thomas Mann.
"...Era la Canzone del Tiglio di Schubert, nient'altro che il notissimo Am Brunnen vor dem Torel...
...Ora, chi credesse che questi dubbi rechino pregiudizio all'amore, dovrebbe non intendersi affatto di cose
d'amore.
Al contrario, ne sono il condimento.
Essi soltanto conferiscono all'amore un pungolo della passione, sicché si potrebbe dire che la passione è
amore dubbioso.
Ma in che consistevano i dubbi della coscienza e del governo di Castorp circa la superiore liceità del suo
amore per l'a£ fascinante canzone e il suo mondo? Qual era stato questo mondo retrostante, che secondo il
presentimento della sua coscienza doveva essere un mondo d'amore proibito? Era la morte.
Palese follia! Come? Una canzone cosí meravigliosa? Un puro capolavoro, sorto dalle estreme e piú sacre
profondità dell'anima popolare; un sublime tesoro, il prototipo dell'intimità, l'incarnazione della
gentilezza! Quale odioso vilipendio! Già, già, benissimo, onestamente non si può dire che cosí.
Eppure dietro a questo soave lavoro sta la morte.
Esso mantiene relazioni con la morte, che si possono anche amare, ma non senza rendersi conto, nei
presentimenti d'uno che vuol governare, di una data non liceità di questo amore.
Secondo la sua originaria natura può non essere simpatia per la morte, bensí qualcosa di molto popolare e
vitale, ma la relativa simpatia spirituale è simpatia per la morte,... pura religiosità, del tutto sensata al suo
principio, non lo si dovrebbe minimamente contestare; ma al suo seguito si trovano prodotti delle tenebre.
Ma che cosa si metteva in mente? Da voi non se lo sarebbe lasciato togliere dalla testa. Prodotti delle
tenebre.
Tenebrosi prodotti.
Mentalità da aiutanti del boia e misantropia in nero alla spagnola con la gorgiera pieghettata, e piacere
invece di amore... quale prodotto di sincera religiosità...".
@gunterangel
@@moot9798
You've got it right !👍
The whole pretty depressing cycle,
"Die Winterreise" tells the sad story of a young man, whose girlfriend and fiancée had left him.
The lyrics of the "Lieder" take the perspective of this brokenhearted young man, who delivers his depressive thoughts .
Now, in the wintertime, he's walking restlessly thru the cold and snowy landscape and everthing he encounters during his walk thru the landscape, evokes new dark associations in him and his despair and depression becoming more and more serious within each song .
The "Lindenbaum" is the fith song of the cycle.
Here our protagonist is urged by his compulsive recalling of the happy past with his unloyal fiancée to pass the limewoodtree again ,
where he and his girlfriend had once spent happy hours carving words of
love in it.
So in the first verse, where he is recalling this happy past,
the main melody stands in mayor.
Whereas in the second verse this metric similar melody is changed in its minor mode on the same tone step, where he told us, how he is drawn to this place even now in the bleak winter.
The third verse is also in minor with
a complete new melody with the piano accompaning with quick triplets and chromatics painting the winter storm blowing the hat from our protagonist's head,
but who tells us, that he doesn't even return for it, indicating his depression.
The last verse returns then again to the main mayor melody, since our protagonist is slipping back to warmer memories of the limewoodtree.
So here at this point in the cycle
the protagonist is still switching between depressive mood and happy memories,
but he isn't suicidal yet.
Schubert expresses these mood switches of the protagonist by constantly shifting between mayor and minor keys .
The final drift in deep depression with a real suicidal mindset appears in the later songs like "Die Krähe" and "Der Wegweiser" and finally in the last song ,
"Der Leierkastenmann" .
In this song the deeply disturbed protagonist associates the view of an poor street organ player,
who doesn't get a dime by his playing, with the Grim Reaper :
"Wunderlicher Alter,
soll ich mit dir gehn...?"
( " Strange old man,
shall I go with you...?!)
At this point the protagonist seems obviously at the edge of suicide,
and here the cycle stops...!
Very dark indeed !
@michealb4199
Am Brunnen vor dem Tore,
Da steht ein Lindenbaum:
Ich träumt' in seinem Schatten
So manchen süßen Traum.
Ich schnitt in seine Rinde
So manches liebe Wort;
Es zog in Freud und Leide
Zu ihm mich immer fort.
Ich mußt' auch heute wandern
Vorbei in tiefer Nacht,
Da hab ich noch im Dunkel
Die Augen zugemacht.
Und seine Zweige rauschten,
Als riefen sie mir zu:
Komm her zu mir, Geselle,
Hier findest Du Deine Ruh!
Die kalten Winde bliesen
Mir grad in's Angesicht;
Der Hut flog mir vom Kopfe,
Ich wendete mich nicht.
Nun bin ich manche Stunde
Entfernt von jenem Ort,
Und immer hör ich's rauschen:
Du fändest Ruhe dort.
@lohengrin1212
Heute vor einem Jahr ist "Fidi" von uns gegangen doch er lebt in seinen Liedern weiter. Kein anderer Liedersänger war so erfolgreich wie er. Nicht umsonst hat ihn die renommierte Zeitung New York Times als den Jahrhundertsänger bezeichnet und ihn damit in eine Reihe mit Caruso, Callas und Domingo gestellt. In diesem Sinne: Ruhe in Frieden "Fidi" wir werden dich nie vergessen. Als Botschafter des deutschen Liedes bleibst du unerreicht.
@Erwin-cy5lm
Woran starb Dietrich Fischer- Dieskau ?
@jannybloemers9508
So wunderbar gespielt und gesungen❤herzlich dank,janny,die niederlande,
@erpollock
Fisher-Dieskau is the greatest baritone of the 20th century. Every word is clear, every note is given full measure, as in "lindenbaum" and "traum" at the end of the first two lines. I can actually pick up some German just listening to him with the translation beneath. Until now I had only heard him on recordings, but in these clips I see his emotional fervor, his complete concentration on the meaning. Truly great.
@letsschubertiad1966
What do you think about Hermann Prey?
@robertcressy3987
I totally agree with respect to the Lieder, and other recordings (e.g. Berg's Wozzec). I heard him sing Wintereise twice at the Edinburgh Festival, once with Brendl (above) and once with Barenboim. Stupendous! His volume in the crescendo pinned me back in my seat! And that of the pianissimi, you could hear a pin drop.
@rose-marietrembloy243
Und Quasthoff mit Barenboim?
@CarlinhosMongoose
Just finished reading Der Zauberberg, and since this is one of Hans Castorp's favorit songs, I had to hear it. Thank you for the post.
@thomaskember4628
I have been reading Der Zauberberg too and wandered to hear this song. This performance adds up well to Thomas Mann's criticism.
@dilaraguney
This is the same exact reason why I came here! I can understand why it was one of his favorites.