Performer: Christian Gerhaher

A programme of Schubert and Berg Lieder are sung with ultimate mastery, albeit the programme goes long on melancholy and short on variety.

Soloists and choir, headed by a spellbinding Christian Gerhaher, brought real lustre to Schumann’s treatment of Goethe’s magnum opus.

An exquisitely matched pair of sopranos as Susanna and the Countess make up for some quirky casting elsewhere. 

Whether one prefers more raw emotion and large-scale architecture or is thrilled by perfectly sculpted individual masterpieces, this was undeniably chamber music of the highest order.

Huber’s morbid piano here was chilling and pointed the way to a harrowing finale that never quite materialised.

Instead of telling a story of spiritual enlightenment and ultimate redemption through faith, Pierre Audi's reading is bereft of mystery and magic.