Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau

"A rewarding collection, characterised by some fine singing – but presented in thoroughly unhelpful fashion"
(MusicWeb May 2006)

The only recital Fischer-Dieskau recorded for Decca. Complete on CD for the first time. The great German baritone sings Mozart and Haydn.

The distinguished German bariton Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau celebrated his 80th birthday on 28 May 2005. Fischer-Dieskau's career started in 1947 when he sang in Ein deutsches Requiem at Freiburg, and in 1948 his opera career began in his native Berlin when he sang Posa (Don Carlos). Fischer-Dieskau is one of the greatest interpreters of lieder and has recorded a huge amount of this repertory (mainly for DG).

His operatic roles are equally numerous and his range of repertory extends from Mozart roles through to twentieth-century pieces such as Hindemith's Mathis, Berg's Wozzeck, Henze's Mittenhofer (a role he created), and Reimann's Lear. Fischer-Dieskau also sang in the world premiere of Britten's War Requiem and the subsequent Decca recording; he also recorded Britten's Songs and Proverbs of William Blake (with Britten as pianist).

While a large number of Fischer-Dieskau's recordings are on DG he has participated in a number of other important recordings for Decca: Das Lied von der Erde (Bernstein); Die Zauberflöte (Solti); Tosca (Maazel); Shostakovich Symphony 14 (Haitink) and Michelangelo Sonnets (Ashkenazy); several Verdi and Wagner operas.