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Elisabeth Schumann (1888-1952) Lieder by Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms   'The presentation of a song demands something, which can never be attained...

Elisabeth Schumann (1888-1952)


Lieder by Mendelssohn, Schumann and Brahms

 

'The presentation of a song demands something, which can never be attained by study, however long and conscientious, unless a natural gift is there. It is the gift of delivery or exposition, the gift of creating anew, by its union with music, the vision inherent in the poetry of the words: to bring it, as nearly as that is possible, visually as well as audibly before the hearer's sense. It would be idle to ask me any code of rules to that end; I do not believe that any such rules exist. My view is rather that the masterworks of song embody within themselves some secret powers; it is to the heart of these that we must seek to penetrate if we are to grasp their full significance.'

The above extract, which makes a successful connection between the successful rendering and true interpretation of song to a singer's poetic instinct, is found in Elisabeth Schumann's book German Song. (Although the book was actually written by Leo Rosenek, the ideas were essentially hers.) Elisabeth Schumann had an intuitive understanding of poetical texts. Even in school, where she was mostly bored, she never had difficulty interpreting the poetry she had to read.

Born in Merseburg, Saxony, in 1888, she had been surrounded by music from the start: her father, Alfred Schumann, was a music teacher and cathedral organist of Merseburg; her mother, Emma, possessed a beautiful though untrained voice, and would often sing locally. When Emma practised her songs or oratorio arias with her husband accompanying, little 'Lies' was allowed in the room, where she would crawl around under the piano and join in singing. At a charity event when she was four years old, someone suggested that little Lies might like to sing something to the gathering. She was lifted onto a table where she proceeded to sing a folksong, a Lied by Schubert and two by Robert Franz. Her voice was extraordinarily expressive for her age, and she was applauded enthusiastically. It was then that Alfred Schumann realised that his daughter's talent needed to be nurtured.

After having piano and music-theory lessons with her father and later with Otto Reubke in Halle, Elisabeth Schumann went to study singing in Dresden and Berlin. Her training was primarily operatic, and by the time she auditioned successfully for the Hamburg Opera at the age of twenty, she had studied 35 rôles. She began her operatic career in Hamburg in the autumn of 1909, and had the opportunity to work on Lieder with various conductors and repetiteurs, including Otto Klemperer with whom she had a scandalous love affair. At the time she was married to her first husband, Walther Puritz, and after he whipped Klemperer in public, the lovers eloped. Some months later she was reconciled with her husband; a year later, her only child was born. It was not long, however, before she discovered a shared love of Lieder with Carl Gotthardt, conductor and coach at the Hamburg Stadttheater. His exquisite piano-playing and understanding of both poetry and music brought her very close to him, and they became lovers. This affair led to the complete breakdown of her marriage, and in November 1918 she was divorced from her husband. Four months later she married Karl Alwin, a young conductor who had joined the Hamburg Opera just over a year earlier. Their marriage lasted more than fourteen years (when both artists were engaged by the Vienna State Opera), and their relationship was extremely productive. Not only was the restless, lively Alwin much more ambitious for his wife than she was for herself, but he was a brilliant pianist, the perfect partner for learning, practising and performing the Lieder repertoire. There was one drawback: Alwin admired his wife so much that he could not always be objectively critical. Fortunately at the Vienna State Opera there was an elderly repetiteur named Ferdinand Foll who had been a close friend of Hugo Wolf. Through working with him Schumann gained much insight into the significance of the union between words and music.

Naturally, the Lieder of Franz Schubert dominated Elisabeth Schumann's repertoire both in recital and in the recording studio. The German Romantic composers who immediately followed Schubert also figured prominently, and this anthology brings together all of the soprano's pre-war recordings of Lieder by Felix Mendelssohn, Robert Schumann and Johannes Brahms. In her book German Song, Elisabeth Schumann contrasted the Lieder of Schubert and Schumann, remarking that their choice of texts alone is a clear index of their differing thought and feeling. 'Schubert, in his amazing versatility, seized on poetry of almost every order - merry, grave, lyrical, dramatic, elegiac, and mystical. The great majority of the poems which Schumann set are lyrically romantic. Characteristic is his leaning towards the tender and gentle, even tragic, moods, towards spiritual grief turning to introspection or resignation'. She wrote further: 'If our view of Schumann as a truly lyrical composer needs confirmation, we find it in his choice of texts for the majority of his songs, and especially for the best of them; they are almost all taken from the out-and-out romantics... It is such purely lyrical songs which reveal Schumann's gifts at their best, and win for him his place among the greatest composers of German song'. Regarding Brahms, Elisabeth Schumann noted his 'two-folded leaning towards the lyrically romantic and the tragically dramatic'. She also observed that 'texts which are too realistic or which, like ballads, recount actual happenings, did not appeal to him'. As for two of Brahms's songs included on this disc, she wrote: "'An eine Äolsharfe' might well be described as the first song of Brahms's maturity. In contrast to Hugo Wolf's treatment of it, he has given the song a more compact shape and, by the recitatives at the beginning and in the middle section, lent it something of arioso character. It reveals, like many another song, Brahms's strong leaning towards the romantic". Of 'Vergebliches Standchen', Schumann wrote: "It has suffered from so many inartistic performances that it has fallen into some disrepute as a song of no great worth... The rustic character of the melody misleads many a singer into some monotony of performance which no more contributes to its effectiveness than the exaggeratedly pointed interpretation given by others, as though the piquant suggestions in the text - and there are several - brought it down to cabaret level. How far removed from any such thought was Brahms's conception of the song is clearly shown in the many dynamic shades of expression indicated for its performance".

Apart from the last eleven Brahms songs on this disc, all the items on this disc were made when Elisabeth Schumann was a member of the Vienna State Opera, the happiest, and in operatic terms, the most successful time of her career. She made her London debut in Covent Garden in 1924, singing Sophie in Der Rosenkavalier. She sang several more seasons at Covent Garden, and her popularity led to many recitals in London and throughout Britain. Except for Mendelssohn's 'Auf Flügeln des Gesanges', all the Lieder on this disc were recorded in London, mostly at EMI's Abbey Road studios. Despite her initial fear of its discerning public and her dislike of its cold, damp climate, she grew to love England. In the last year of her life she decided to make London her permanent home. Sadly, she died in New York on 23 April 1952, only a few days before her planned move.

The last eleven Brahms Lieder on this disc were made in the summer of 1938 during a very difficult time in Schumann's life. On 12 March 1938, the day Hitler marched into Vienna, she had to leave her beloved adopted city to embark on a concert tour of France and North Africa. She left with an aching heart, knowing that life in Vienna would never be the same again. Worst of all, she was leaving behind her lover of six years, standing, Dr Hans Krüger, a skin specialist who, being Jewish, was in great danger. A week later reports of anti-Semitic atrocities made her realise that she could never return to Vienna, and that she must do everything in her power to help Krüger emigrate to the United States. (They succeeded in emigrating later that year, after getting married in England.) During her tour she wrote to her British concert agents Ibbs & Tillett, begging them to find her work in England. She had left almost all her possessions behind and had very little money, and when she arrived in London hardly any concerts had been arranged. Fortunately HMV wanted her to make recordings. In the summer of 1938 she recorded 31 items, eleven of which were Brahms Lieder (more than all the Brahms songs she had already recorded up until that time).

Although she always maintained that her voice had lost some of its bloom during this difficult period, these recordings remain among the best she ever made. Elisabeth Schumann's accompanist in London had usually been George Reeves, but, following the Anschluss, Leo Rosenek, also a refugee from Vienna, desperately needed work. When Schumann explained the situation to Reeves he immediately agreed to let Rosenek take his place. Through HMV she acquired a work permit for Rosenek, and sent him money in order for him to make the journey from Amsterdam to London. Sadly, Reeves's kind gesture was not reciprocated, some time later, when Schumann wanted to help Reeves in the United States by letting him play for her, Rosenek would not give up a concert for him. At the end of 1949 Schumann's friendship with Rosenek was broken off permanently. She had recently performed in Berlin with the pianist Michael Raucheisen, and although the latter was denazified, Rosenek told Schumann that he would not play with anyone who had worked with Raucheisen, and thus could no longer have anything to do with her. Throughout the Second World War Schumann lived in New York. She had few concerts, and made only one recording (a Bach cantata for RCA Victor in the autumn of 1939). After the war she returned to London in 1945, and made a successful comeback. Gerald Moore served as one of her accompanists, and in his book Am I too loud? he wrote: 'My especial pet was Elisabeth Schumann. An adorable person who, like her singing, was all sunshine'. Schumann's sparkling personality was, indeed, one of her outstanding qualities. As an admirer once remarked: 'As soon as she walked on stage one knew that life was good'. This sunny personality lent a special charm to the more lighthearted and lively songs she sang, but at the same time her depth of feeling and awareness of life's tragedies enabled her to give deeply moving performances of the more serious Lieder in her repertoire. © Joy Puritz

Disc 1

6 Gesange, Op. 34 (text by H. Heine) (more info)
Performed by: Studio orchestra
Composed by: Felix Mendelssohn
Leo Rosenek, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Kristian Bezuidenhout,
Jan Kobow, tenor
Michael McMahon, piano
Kevin McMillan, baritone
Recording date: 23 June 1934


1.   6 Songs, Op. 34: No. 2. Auf Flugeln des Gesanges - 2:52


Lieder-Album fur die Jugend, Op. 79 (more info)
Composed by: Anonymous Traditional Robert Schumann
Stephane Lemelin, piano
Frida Leider, soprano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Friedrich von Schiller,
Johann Wolfgang von Goethe,
Hans Christian Andersen,
George Reeves, piano
Michael Raucheisen, piano
Stefanie Iranyi, mezzo-soprano
Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto
Sibylla Rubens, soprano
Donna Brown, soprano
Daniel Blumenthal, piano
Thomas Bauer, baritone
Uta Hielscher, piano


2.   Lieder-Album fur die Jugend, Op. 79: No. 26. Schneeglockchen - 1:26
3.   Lieder-Album fur die Jugend, Op. 79: No. 23. Er ist’s - 1:18


Myrthen, Op. 25 (text by J. Mosen) (more info)
Composed by: Robert Schumann
Stephane Lemelin, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Marian Anderson, contralto
Graham Johnson, piano
Felicity Lott, soprano
George Reeves, piano
Kosti Vehanen, piano
Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto
Donna Brown, soprano
Daniel Blumenthal, piano
Recording date: 18 February 1930


4.   Myrthen, Op. 25: No. 3. Der Nussbaum - 2:53


Lieder und Gesange, Book 3, Op. 77 (more info)
Composed by: Robert Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
George Reeves, piano
Recording date: 18 February 1930


5.   Lieder und Gesange III, Op. 77: No. 5. Auftrage - 2:19


Liederkreis, Op. 39 (more info)
Performed by: Studio orchestra
Composed by: Robert Schumann
Conducted by: Karl Alwin
William Aide, piano
Antonin Kubalek, piano
Eugen Wangler, piano
Frank Peter, piano
Erno Balogh, piano
Sarah Connolly, mezzo-soprano
Madeleine Jalbert, contralto
Francine Chabot, piano
Anita Keller, piano
Eugene Asti, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Michael Gees, piano
Ernestine Schumann-Heink, contralto
Christoph Pregardien, tenor
Vivian Hanner, mezzo-soprano
Gerald Moore, piano
Victor Braun,
Lotte Lehmann, soprano
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
Helmut Deutsch,
Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto
Michael McMahon, piano
Daniel Blumenthal, piano
Sebastian Bluth, baritone
Josef Protschka, tenor
Catherine Robbin, mezzo-soprano
Christian Elsner, tenor
Lois Marshall, mezzo-soprano
Recording date: 16 March 1937


6.   Liederkreis, Op. 39: No. 5. Mondnacht - 3:48


Romanzen und Balladen, Book 3, Op. 53 (text by W. Lorenz) (more info)
Composed by: Robert Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
George Reeves, piano
Marie-Nicole Lemieux, contralto
Daniel Blumenthal, piano
Recording date: 27 November 1933


7.   Romanzen und Balladen III, Op. 53: No. 2. Loreley - 1:07


6 Gedichte, Op. 36 (more info)
Composed by: Robert Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
George Reeves, piano
Recording date: 27 November 1933


8.   6 Gedichte, Op. 36: No. 2. Standchen - 1:37


12 Gedichte aus Liebesfruhling, Op. 37 (more info)
Performed by: Studio orchestra
Composed by: Robert Schumann
Conducted by: Bruno Reibold
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
George Reeves, piano
Lotte Lehmann, soprano
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
Thomas Bauer, baritone
Uta Hielscher, piano
Cord Garben, piano
Julia Varady, soprano
Susanne Bernhard, soprano


9.   12 Gedichte aus F. Ruckerts Liebesfruhling, Op. 37: No. 3. O ihr Herren - 0:56


6 Gesange, Op. 89 (more info)
Composed by: Robert Schumann
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
George Reeves, piano
Recording date: 29 November 1937


10.   6 Gesange, Op. 89: No. 6. Roselein, Roselein - 2:18


5 Lieder, Op. 49 (more info)
Performed by: Studio orchestra
Composed by: Johannes Brahms Peter Lerche
Conducted by: Walter Goehr Dino Olivieri
Thomas Muraco, piano
Beniamino Gigli, tenor
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Paul Heyse,
Ernestine Schumann-Heink, contralto
Karita Mattila, soprano
George Reeves, piano
Studio pianist, piano
Lotte Lehmann, soprano
Maureen Forrester, contralto
Recording date: 26 February 1935


11.   5 Lieder, Op. 49: No. 4. Wiegenlied - 1:35
12.   5 Lieder, Op. 49: No. 4. Wiegenlied - 1:59


5 Romanzen und Lieder, Op. 84 (more info)
Composed by: Traditional Johannes Brahms
Paul Ulanowsky, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Karita Mattila, soprano
George Reeves, piano
Lotte Lehmann, soprano
Susan Platts,
Friedrich Gurtler, piano
Rena Sharon, piano
Ilmo Ranta, piano
Inga Nielsen, soprano
Recording date: 26 February 1935


13.   5 Romanzen und Lieder, Op. 84: No. 4. Vergebliches Standchen - 1:34


6 Lieder, Op. 97 (text by K. Groth and C. Reinhold) (more info)
Composed by: Johannes Brahms
Patrice Michaels Bedi, soprano
Deborah Sobol, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
George Reeves, piano


14.   6 Lieder, Op. 97: No. 1. Nachtigall - 2:27


7 Lieder, Op. 95 (text by F. Halm) (more info)
Composed by: Johannes Brahms
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Friedrich Halm,
George Reeves, piano
Susan Platts,
Rena Sharon, piano


15.   7 Lieder, Op. 95: No. 4. Der Jager - 0:56


15 Volks-Kinderlieder, WoO 31 (Traditional lyricist) (more info)
Composed by: Traditional Johannes Brahms
Conducted by: Frank Bohme
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Gerald Moore, piano
David Shifrin, clarinet
Erica Goodman, harp
Carol Rosenberger, piano
Bejun Mehta,
Jochen Kowalski, counter-tenor
Shannon Hiebert, piano
Tracy Dahl, soprano
Recording date: 7 September 1936


16.   14 Volks-Kinderlieder, WoO 31: No. 4. Sandmannchen - 2:54


4 Lieder, Op. 96 (text by H. Heine) (more info)
Composed by: Johannes Brahms
Erno Balogh, piano
Tamas Vasary, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Gerald Moore, piano
Lotte Lehmann, soprano
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
Michael McMahon, piano
Ann-Katrin Naidu, mezzo-soprano
Robert Kulek, piano
Austin Miskell, tenor
Kevin McMillan, baritone
Recording date: 7 September 1936


17.   4 Lieder, Op. 96: No. 1. Der Tod, das ist die kuhle Nacht - 2:56


5 Lieder, Op. 105 (more info)
Performed by: Studio orchestra
Composed by: Traditional Johannes Brahms
Conducted by: Walter Goehr
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Recording date: 11 March 1937


18.   5 Lieder, Op. 105: No. 2. Immer leiser wird mein Schlummer - 3:03


5 Lieder, Op. 107 (text by D. von Liliencron) (more info)
Composed by: Johannes Brahms
Erno Balogh, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
George Reeves, piano
Lotte Lehmann, soprano
Recording date: 29 November 1937


19.   5 Lieder, Op. 107: No. 3. Das Madchen spricht - 1:23


5 Lieder, Op. 106 (more info)
Composed by: Johannes Brahms
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
George Reeves, piano
Andreas Schmidt, bass
Helmut Deutsch,


20.   5 Lieder, Op. 106: No. 1. Standchen - 1:50


15 Romanzen aus Die Schone Magelone, Op. 33 (more info)
Composed by: Johannes Brahms
Wolfgang Holzmair, baritone
Leo Rosenek, piano
Tamas Vasary, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Johann Ludwig Tieck,
Susan Platts,
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
Oliver Pohl, piano
Bruno Ganz, narrator
Gerard Wyss, piano
Roman Trekel, baritone
Rena Sharon, piano
Will Quadflieg, narrator


21.   15 Romanzen aus Die Schone Magelone, Op. 33: No. 9. Ruhe, Sussliebchen - 4:26


5 Gedichte, Op. 19 (text by E. Morike) (more info)
Composed by: Johannes Brahms
Hugo Diez, piano
Leo Rosenek, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Elisabeth Grummer, soprano
Recording date: 30 May 1958


22.   5 Gedichte, Op. 19: No. 5. An eine Aolsharfe - 4:11


9 Lieder und Gesange, Op. 32 (text by G.F. Daumer) (more info)
Composed by: Johannes Brahms
Leo Rosenek, piano
Tamas Vasary, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, baritone
Austin Miskell, tenor
Recording date: 15 September 1972


23.   9 Lieder und Gesange, Op. 32: No. 7. Bitteres zu sagen denkst du - 2:04


8 Lieder und Gesange, Op. 58 (text by A.F. von Schack) (more info)
Composed by: Johannes Brahms
Leo Rosenek, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Recording date: 6 July 1938


24.   8 Lieder und Gesange, Op. 58: No. 1. Blinde Kuh - 1:13


49 Deutsche Volkslieder, Book 6, WoO 33 (more info)
Composed by: Traditional Johannes Brahms
Leo Rosenek, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
David Shifrin, clarinet
Carol Rosenberger, piano
Bejun Mehta,
Hermann Prey, bass-baritone
Pamela Coburn, soprano
Geoffrey Parsons, piano


25.   No. 42. In stiller Nacht - 3:10


49 Deutsche Volkslieder, Book 4, WoO 33 (more info)
Composed by: Traditional Johannes Brahms
Erno Balogh, piano
Leo Rosenek, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Lotte Lehmann, soprano
David Shifrin, clarinet
Carol Rosenberger, piano
Bejun Mehta,
Hermann Prey, bass-baritone
Pamela Coburn, soprano
Geoffrey Parsons, piano
Recording date: 16 March 1937


26.   No. 25. Mein Madel hat einen Rosenmund - 2:04


49 Deutsche Volkslieder, Book 1, WoO 33 (more info)
Composed by: Traditional Johannes Brahms
Leo Rosenek, piano
Paul Ulanowsky, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Lotte Lehmann, soprano
David Shifrin, clarinet
Carol Rosenberger, piano
Bejun Mehta,
Hermann Prey, bass-baritone
Pamela Coburn, soprano
Geoffrey Parsons, piano
Recording date: 8 July 1938


27.   No. 2. Erlaube mir, fein’s Madchen - 1:18
28.   No. 6. Da unten im Tale - 2:05


49 Deutsche Volkslieder, Book 3, WoO 33 (more info)
Composed by: Traditional Johannes Brahms
Leo Rosenek, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Karita Mattila, soprano
Hermann Prey, bass-baritone
Pamela Coburn, soprano
Ilmo Ranta, piano
Geoffrey Parsons, piano
Recording date: 8 July 1938


29.   No. 15. Schwesterlein - 2:54


49 Deutsche Volkslieder, Book 5, WoO 33 (more info)
Composed by: Traditional Johannes Brahms
Leo Rosenek, piano
Elisabeth Schumann, soprano
Friedrich Gurtler, piano
Hermann Prey, bass-baritone
Pamela Coburn, soprano
Inga Nielsen, soprano
Geoffrey Parsons, piano


30.   No. 34. Wie komm’ ich denn zur Tur herein? - 1:39
31.   No. 33. Och Moder, ich well en Ding han! - 1:36

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