Schumann: Frage

Christian Gerhaher’s ability to balance head and heart is remarkable, and it makes genuine events of his recitals and recordings. Frage, a title that translates as Question and is taken from one of the Op. 35 Kerner settings, launches Gerhaher’s two-year project devoted to recording all of Schumann’s songs. It’s an auspicious start: With crystal-clear diction and a remarkable range of colour, Gerhaher’s way with these pieces points up their freshness and Schumann’s extraordinary subtlety in lifting poetry into song. Those 12 Kerner settings form the core of the programme and are beautifully done, but everything is performed with total mastery by singer and pianist—Gerhaher’s long-time friend Gerold Huber—alike.