Christian Gerhaher opens Park Avenue Armory's restored hall with Schumann

By David Allen, 02 October 2013

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Reviewed at Park Avenue Armory, New York City on 1 October 2013

Schumann, Myrthen, Op.25

Schumann, Liederkreis, Op.39

Schumann, Drei Gesänge: Die Löwenbraut, Op.31 no.1

Schumann, Kerner Lieder, Op.35 (Zwölf Gedichte)

Christian Gerhaher, Baritone

Gerold Huber, Piano

Gerhaher and Huber beguile in Schumann at Wigmore Hall

Mark Valencia, 16th December

In the first of four Schumann recitals, the regular duo partners treat a packed Wigmore Hall to a glorious evening of Lieder.

*****

Emotionally compelling Gerhaher and Huber at Wigmore Hall

Nick Boston, 12th February

The German baritone and his frequent recital collaborator perform tragic evocations of insanity in Lenau settings with intense impact.

*****

Lords of all they purvey: Gerhaher and Huber perform Brahms

Mark Valencia, 12th December

The pleasure of Gerhaher’s comforting persona and his instinctive convergence with Huber’s pianism won over the Wigmore Hall audience – as they invariably do.

****1

Live audiences return to Wigmore Hall with Gerhaher and Huber

David Karlin, 13th September

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

****1

Polished perfection: Winterreise at the Musikverein

Chanda VanderHart, 18th January

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.

****1

A Winterreise where the pianist leads the psychological journey

Mark Valencia, 16th January

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

****1

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David Allen

David is a PhD student at Columbia University, where he studies international history. A lapsed pianist and organist, he writes on concerts on both sides of the Atlantic, and blogs at Unpredictable Inevitability.