Photograph: Amy T Zielinski/Redferns
Matthias Goerne and Kristian Bezuidenhout devoted the entirety of their recital to songs by Beethoven – unfamiliar territory, for the most part, despite the prevalence of An die ferne Geliebte and a handful of favourites such as Adelaide. This was a programme that primarily gave us an opportunity to assess and reappraise a body of work all too frequently overlooked.
Beethoven’s songs push at the limits of the genre, sometimes with the variability that comes with innovation. The two versions of An die Hoffnung, one performed in each half, tell a story of compositional development in themselves. The first, from 1805, has a lyrical immediacy. The second, written 10 years later, pushes towards an operatic scena with its recitative and bi-partite aria. The Gellert Lieder from 1802 have the hymnic quality we associate with some of Beethoven’s slow movements – that of the Emperor Concerto, for instance.
Currently on fine form, Goerne sang with fine lyrical warmth. Beethoven could be notoriously unkind to singers and the vast span of Die Ehre Gottes aus der Natur pushed him a bit in his upper registers. But elsewhere, lines were immaculately sustained and shaped, texts subtly nuanced. Adelaide was breathtaking. An die ferne Geliebte brought with it a wonderful range of muted vocal colour. Playing a copy of an 1824 fortepiano, Bezuidenhout emphasised the sparse yet emotionally telling quality of Beethoven’s piano writing. A beautiful, thoughtful and thought-provoking evening.
