Polished perfection: Gerhaher and Huber’s Winterreise at the Musikverein

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

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

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.

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

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

High Romance in a small Midlands town: the Oxford Lieder Festival opening concert launches an enticing series.