Fischer-Dieskau, Dietrich (EN)

Fischer-Dieskau Dietrich, *28 May 1925 Berlin, †18 May 2012 Berg, German singer (baritone). He began his musical training by learning to play the piano; in 1941 he began voice lessons with G.A. Walter, which he continued with H. Weissenbom from 1942 onwards. In 1943 he was called up for military service. In 1945 he was taken prisoner and remained in American prisoner of war camps in Italy until 1947, where, taking advantage of access to musical literature, he pursued further self-education. He also gave recitals and organised ensemble performances with amateur groups, including H. Schütz’s Christmas Oratorio. In 1947, upon his release from the camp, he returned to Berlin, where he completed his vocal studies with Weissenbom at the Hochschule für Musik. That same year he made his stage debut: in Freiburg im Breisgau he sang a solo part in Brahms’s German Requiem, and in Berlin he gave recitals of songs by Schubert (Die schöne Müllerin) and Wolf (Italienisches Liederbuch). In 1948, he performed at the Berlin Städtische Oper, singing the role of the Marquis of Posa in Verdi’s Don Carlos. Since then, he has maintained an unbroken association with this theatre (later the Deutsche Oper). He created most of his famous roles in Berlin: Wolfram in Wagner’s Tannhäuser, Renato in Verdi’s A Masked Ball, Johann in R. Strauss’s Salome, and the title roles in operas by Mozart (Don Giovanni), Verdi (Falstaff), Busoni (Doktor Faust), Hindemith (Mathis der Maler) and Berg (Wozzeck). Between 1951 and 1970, he performed frequently in England; among other engagements, he took part in the world premiere of B. Britten’s War Requiem in Coventry in 1962, and in 1965 enjoyed success at Covent Garden in the role of Mandryka in R. Strauss’s Arabella. He also sang at the festivals in Edinburgh, Aldeburgh and Glyndebourne. He made his debut at the Salzburg Festival in 1952, and began performing at the Bayreuth Wagner festivals (mainly between 1957 and 1962) in the role of Amfortas in Parsifal in 1954. From 1955, he gave concerts in the USA. In 1957, he began working with the Wiener Staatsoper, and subsequently with the Bayerische Staatsoper in Munich; on these stages, he made a name for himself particularly in the operas of Mozart and R. Strauss. In 1971, he appeared in R. Strauss’s Salome at the Hamburgische Staatsoper; this performance (17 March), featuring W. Ochman and conducted by K. Böhm, was recorded on DG [Deutsche Grammophon]. However, contrary to what some sources state (MGG, Sángerlexikon by K. Kutsch and L. Riemens), he did not perform at La Scala. In 1973, Fischer-Dieskau performed twice in Warsaw: on 29 September, he performed Gesangsszene by K.A. Hartmann at a concert of “Warsaw Autumn” Festival, and on 2 October he gave a recital of songs by H. Wolf to texts by E. Mörike, accompanied by S. Richter; he then repeated this program in Prague, Budapest and Innsbruck, where DG made a recording. In 1973 he took up conducting, leading the Camerata Academica orchestra in a Haydn programme at the Salzburg Festival. He later devoted himself to the interpretation of Romantic music. He recorded a number of symphonic works by Schubert, Schumann, Berlioz and Brahms. He was also active as a writer. Fischer-Dieskau received numerous awards and honours: he was awarded the Berliner Kunstpreis (1950) and an award in Mantua (Orfeo d’Oro, 1955), and was awarded the Grand Cross of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany (1958), became a member of the Akademie der Künste in Berlin (1956), an honorary member of the Royal Academy of Music in London (1970) and the Kungliga Musikaliska Akademien in Stockholm (1971); in 1978 he has been named an Honorary Member of the Deutsche Oper in Berlin. He was also a member of the International Mahler Society in Vienna and the Schubert Society in Tübingen, which he chaired from 1972. He won the Grand Prix du Disque three times. In 1980, he received the Deutsche Phono-Akademie Award and an honorary doctorate from the Sorbonne in Paris.

Fischer-Dieskau’s vocal art was influenced by his youthful interest in conducting; at that time, he was drawn to the possibility of shaping the orchestral sound in diverse ways, and even of experimenting in this regard. Later – as a singer – he demonstrated the same inquisitive and analytical approach to vocal works, aided on the one hand by an infallible artistic intuition, and on the other by his constantly deepening musical and historical knowledge. His excellent vocal qualities, virtuoso skill, and natural acting talent allowed him to perform with equal success in all fields of vocal music: oratory-cantata, opera and chamber music. However, Fischer-Dieskau clearly preferred the solo song, occasionally enriching it with dramatic elements drawn from operatic performance (e.g. Wolf’s Der Feuerreiter, Der Jäger and Abschied). Fischer-Dieskau, depending on the original concept of the song he was trying to recreate, focused either on the textual aspect (Ravel’s Chansons madécasses on the DG recording) or emphasised the musical aspect, paying particular attention to the natural development of the phrase (Brahms’s songs). This duality of interpretation was sometimes strikingly evident in the case of song cycles by a single composer (Wolf, Mahler). Fischer-Dieskau’s voice, naturally warm and noble in tone, possessed a wide range of timbral variation and dynamic gradation. His developed parlando technique and ease in handling the tenor register (using falsetto) allowed him to deliver both dramatic and distinctive interpretations (Schoeck and Henze songs on DG recordings). He performed with many renowned pianists (G. Moore, J. Demus, D. Barenboim, S. Richter) and conductors (W. Furtwängler, Th. Beecham, O. Klemperer, K. Böhm, H. v. Karajan, P. Klecki, F. Fricsay and others). Fischer-Dieskau’s concert repertoire encompassed virtually the entire song, oratorio and cantatas written since the time of Schütz. His operatic roles also spanned a similar historical range (Handel, Gluck, Cimarosa, Mozart, Beethoven, Wagner, Verdi, Puccini, R. Strauss, Bartók, Berg, Hindemith and others). He devoted particular attention to contemporary music, premiering many stage and concert works, including B. Britten’s War Requiem (1962) and Cantata Misericordium (1963), H. Henze’s Elegie für junge Liebende (1966), M. Tippett’s The Vision of Saint Augustine (1966), and E. Křenek’s Spätlese (1973). W. Lutosławski composed Les espaces du sommeil for Fischer-Dieskau (premiered on 13 April 1978 at the Berliner Philharmonie). However, he gained the greatest recognition as a performer of Romantic songs; G. Moore, with whom Fischer-Dieskau recorded all of Schubert’s songs for male voice (over 500 works) on DG recordings between 1969 and 1974, called him “the greatest Schubert singer of our times.”

Literature: F. Herzfeld Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Berlin 1958; K. Höcker Gespräche mit Berliner Künstlern, Berlin 1964; G. A. Trumpff Ein Sänger Neuer Musik, “Neue Zeitschrift für Musik” 1964 No. 4; G. Moore Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, “Opera” (London) 1965 nr 16; J. Demus et al. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Berlin 1966 (includes a discography); R. Celletti Fischer-Dieskau. L’uomo, la voce, U personaggio, “Discoteca” IX, 1968; R. Vegeto Discografia del baritono Fischer-Dieskau, “Discoteca” IX, 1968 No. 80; K. Höcker Wandlungen der Konzertlandschaft, “Das Orchester” 1972 No. 5; J. Kański Rozmowa z Dietrichem Fischerem-Dieskau, “Ruch Muzyczny” 1973 No. 21; W.-E. v. Lewinski Neugierde auf Musik, “Musica” 1974 No. 6 (an interview with Fischer-Dieskau); H.H. Stuckenschmidt Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, “Opera News” 1975 No. 40.