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New York Times
3 days ago
- Entertainment
- New York Times
What I Learned From Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, a Sublime Voice
One September morning in 2009, I glanced at my watch over and over, nerves fluttering in my chest. I was sitting in the front row of a packed concert hall in Schwarzenberg, Austria, surrounded by other vocal students. At precisely 10:30 a.m., the baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau stepped onto the stage. It was the first day of his master class at the Schubertiade, and it was the moment I would meet the artist who had shaped my musical life. I was just 12, growing up in Bavaria, Germany, when I first heard Fischer-Dieskau. Leonard Bernstein had called him 'the greatest singer of the 20th century,' and few would disagree. When my music teacher played us a recording of his interpretation of Schubert's 'Winterreise,' something stirred within me. This voice was different. Immediate. Truthful. Over the years, I listened to dozens of Fischer-Dieskau's recordings, studied them, grew with them, and was continually astonished by them. Now I stood before him. The old video footage of that master class still shows how nervous I was: my vibrato wavering, my breath shallow, my stance unsure. What I did not realize at the time was how open and attentive he was with me. At the end of the course, he offered to work with me privately. For the next three years, I had the privilege of studying with him regularly at his homes in Berlin and Bavaria. Those hours remain among the greatest gifts of my life. In the months leading up to his centennial on Wednesday, I was granted access to his personal archive: letters, diaries, programs, photo albums. It was a journey to find out more about the man behind the name, affectionately known to his friends as FiDi. And it was an immersive experience that helped me to shape my new album 'For Dieter: The Past and the Future.' This recording features songs that defined his artistic path; songs that shaped the singer who would became one of the most revered vocalists of his time, including works from his family circle; songs by Brahms, Schubert and Wolf; as well as compositions written especially for him by Britten and Barber. Through my access to his archive, I was also able to accompany the album with a book that offers a deeply personal portrait of a multifaceted, fascinating man. Born in 1925 in Berlin-Zehlendorf, the third son of Albert and Theodora Fischer, Fischer-Dieskau grew up in an educated and cultured household. His musical gifts were evident early on, and his father, a school principal and avid composer, nurtured them. A shy, anxious child, he did not fit the image of the ideal Nazi soldier. Still, he reluctantly joined the Hitler Youth and was drafted into the army in 1943, serving on the Eastern Front before being taken prisoner in Italy. One of the deepest traumas of his childhood was the loss of his brother Martin, who suffered from epilepsy and was taken from the family's home under the Nazi 'euthanasia' program. He was murdered just weeks later. This experience, Fischer-Dieskau later said, left an indelible mark on his soul. It fueled his deep mistrust of totalitarian ideologies — and his quiet, profound humanism. It was in an American prisoner of war camp near Pisa, Italy, that Fischer-Dieskau's talent was discovered. He began by singing a cappella for fellow prisoners, later accompanied by a piano that was strapped to a truck and transported from camp to camp. In captivity, he began learning much of the song repertoire that would later define him. His first years of apprenticeship began behind barbed wire. Upon returning home in 1947, his rise was meteoric. Fischer-Dieskau became a leading figure in the cultural rebirth of postwar Germany. With him, the lied, or art song, was reborn: Brahms's 'Vier Ernste Gesänge,' lesser-known songs by Schubert and Schumann that were rediscovered, Mahler's 'Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen' and 'Kindertotenlieder' heard anew. Critics spoke of his power to breathe new life into long-forgotten repertoire. Fischer-Dieskau's tone was warm, resonant, intelligently shaped. He interpreted from the text, painted with sound and infused every phrase with meaning. The song recital itself was reimagined under his influence — no longer a miscellany of works, but a carefully curated, thematically cohesive experience. What struck me most in our work together was his uncompromising dedication: Nothing was taken for granted. Every detail was questioned, explored and rediscovered. His tireless pursuit of deeper understanding in text and music, his desire to uncover hidden structures and harmonies, was magnetic. FiDi was not an artist who merely 'delivered'; he sought to recreate, anew, each time. His presence — intense, demanding, inescapable — filled the room with an atmosphere that is difficult to describe but left a lasting imprint. All of these qualities are vividly present in his recordings. Take, for example, the aria 'Mache dich, mein Herze, rein' from Bach's 'St. Matthew Passion.' His voice possesses an almost transcendental serenity, enveloped in a gentle aura of peace. Each phrase is shaped with the precision of an instrumental line, every note adorned with a perfectly even vibrato. The clarity and expressiveness of his consonants reveal his deep connection to the text, using language as his primary vehicle of communication — yet always within the most seamless legato. Even when the text repeats, he finds fresh nuances and colors. There is something disarmingly direct about his voice, but his artistry is never self-serving; the music is always placed above the performer. Unlike many of his contemporaries, he trusted technology. Early on, he recognized the power of recorded media to bring his art to wider audiences. His relationship with the microphone — often jokingly described as his 'longest marriage' — was profound. He treated the LP not only as documentation, but as a stand-alone artistic medium. According to one source, his discography contains over 1,000 releases, in addition to a wealth of radio and television performances. So legendary was his presence in classical music that in the 1999 adaptation of 'The Talented Mr. Ripley' — though set in the 1950s — Tom Ripley is shown traveling with some of Fischer-Dieskau's Schubert recordings. Despite his fame, he was plagued by self-doubt throughout his life. Concert days brought intense anxiety, psychosomatic symptoms and exacting standards — for himself and others. He was not always easy to be around, but perhaps it was precisely this extreme commitment that made his art so singular. Fischer-Dieskau was far more than a German singer. His openness to foreign-language repertoire, shaped by his time as a prisoner of war, made him a symbol of reconciliation. In New York, London and Tel Aviv, audiences flocked to hear him — some in search of a different Germany, others hoping to reconnect with the cultural depth of the homeland they had fled. His voice held something healing, almost redemptive. In the Netherlands, he was honored with a laurel wreath bearing the inscription 'To the beloved enemy.' He was the first German artist to perform in Israel after the Holocaust, with Daniel Barenboim, and was met with rapturous acclaim. The United States embraced him. He toured the country 17 times. In a letter from 1971, he wrote with delight about the 'enormous fun' he was having. He felt that nowhere else had he encountered such an open, fresh, curious audience. 'How dull and unspontaneous old Europe feels by comparison,' he wrote. His first wife, Irmgard Poppen, recorded her impressions in a travel journal from 1958: 'There is an audience here that longs for the old European culture — rare to find in Europe itself nowadays. You can feel how alive the musical spirit still is here.' Privately, his life was marked by tragedy and inner turmoil. The early death of his beloved Irmel, as he called his first wife, plunged him into a deep crisis in 1963. Alone with three young children, consumed by guilt, he stood on the brink of collapse. Later marriages provided only temporary solace. In a 1972 letter to his half brother Achim, he wrote with disarming honesty: 'I haven't had much luck with women. I know my life and circumstances are difficult — I'm nervous and awkward — but still, despite everything, the yearning for a peaceful haven is strong.' It wasn't until his marriage to the soprano Julia Varady, in 1977, that he found the enduring partnership he had so long desired. Yet he remained a seeker — intellectually, artistically, existentially. He sang, conducted, taught, wrote, painted over 5,000 artworks and, for decades, smoked at least a pack of cigarettes a day. Fashion, too, was a secret passion. In letters, he detailed his shopping sprees across Europe, describing fabrics and cuts of the latest suits and women's clothing. Despite all his rigor, he retained a great sense of humor into old age. Of all our shared hours, I most vividly remember the moments when, unnoticed by the world, he let his mischievous spirit shine through — dancing through the living room, laughing. One day, as I arrived at his home, he met me at the door and said seriously: 'Julia and I were talking over breakfast. We both think the name Benjamin Appl is too complicated for an international career. From now on, you should call yourself Ben Appl.' I paused, and though I said nothing, what ran through my mind was: 'Yes, Herr Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.' What moved me most was his emotional state in the final weeks of his life. He had devoted himself to music, to art, with almost complete surrender — relentlessly, unflinchingly and at great personal cost. He spoke openly about not having been the ideal father or friend. That honesty still echoes in me today. Our last meeting, just weeks before his death in 2012, was cloaked in a quiet stillness. As I entered his home near Munich, a space he had largely designed and furnished himself, bearing his unmistakable touch, I sensed the atmosphere had shifted. We worked on Schubert's 'Harfner Songs' — music about solitude, transience and death. He often wept, asking the great questions of life, wondering whether his career had meant anything, or if he was already forgotten. Then suddenly, through tears, he fixed his gaze on me and said with a trembling voice: 'Forgive me, I always tried to sing these songs truthfully, but I never succeeded.' It was a devastating moment. I knew it would be our last. A few weeks later, he passed away — quietly, peacefully, as if one of his songs had simply faded into silence. Fischer-Dieskau set standards like few others in the 20th century. And yet time marches on. To many in younger generations, his name no longer resonates. But this new project of mine, with its accompanying book, is my homage to his legacy. An attempt to keep it alive. A gesture of gratitude. A confession. And perhaps a quiet message to him: 'You gave us so much. And we have not forgotten you.'
BBC News
17-05-2025
- Entertainment
- BBC News
Leonard Bernstein honoured by plaque for his Chichester Psalms
A plaque is to be unveiled in a West Sussex cathedral to honour one of the greatest composers of the 20th Century. Leonard Bernstein, who wrote the music for West Side Story, was commissioned to score the choral Chichester Psalms by the former Dean of Chichester, Walter Hussey, in 60th anniversary is being marked on Saturday by a special performance of the work in the presence of Bernstein's son Dame Patricia Routledge, a Chichester resident who worked with the composer, said it was "a timely recognition of the worldwide significance of this beautiful work". She said: "Chichester Psalms continues to resonate across generations, and it is only fitting that its legacy is honoured here, where it all began."The plaque has been organised by Bernstein in Chichester, the organisation that brought his legacy to Chichester in 2018 with a festival of events throughout the city in celebration of the composer's 100th American composer and conductor died in 1990 aged a film biography about his life, was Oscar nominated in 2024. Saturday's milestone coincides with the cathedral's 950th anniversary – a year-long celebration of its history and Very Reverend Dr Edward Dowler, The Dean of Chichester, said: "This plaque will serve as a lasting tribute to one of the most cherished musical connections in our history. "This moment will not only honour Leonard Bernstein's extraordinary legacy but also reaffirms the ongoing contribution of Chichester Cathedral to the choral tradition."
New York Times
02-05-2025
- Entertainment
- New York Times
Our Dad, Leonard Bernstein, Would Want His Music Played at the Kennedy Center
Our father, the composer and conductor Leonard Bernstein, liked to tell us about the time Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis called to ask him to be the first executive director of the Kennedy Center in Washington, which was being built as a memorial to her slain husband. He was so honored that he blurted out a yes — then hung up aghast. He didn't feel remotely suited to be executive director of anything. Our mother, Felicia, called Mrs. Onassis back to say that her husband was deeply humbled, but suggested it might be more appropriate for him to, perhaps, compose a piece to inaugurate the center. That was how 'Mass' came to be written. We were in the audience for the first performance on Sept. 8, 1971, when the work's multifarious sounds and enormous, diverse cast filled the Kennedy Center Opera House with melody, spectacle and joy. Our father's music has had a special place at the Kennedy Center ever since. Since President Trump has asserted control over the center, making himself chairman and purging its board and administration in favor of his loyalists, a number of artists (though certainly not all) have severed ties with the institution in protest. Many friends and associates have urged us, the rights holders of our father's music, to withdraw his works from a gala program on Saturday. We asked ourselves: What would our dad do? In our hearts, we already knew the answer. He would let his music be heard. The Kennedy Center was created to gather and uplift all Americans, and all of America's visitors. Our father felt exactly the same way about making music; he strove to embrace and unite humanity through the works he wrote and performed. On many occasions, he felt pressured to modify or curtail his own artistic activity. Sometimes the pressure came from the U.S. government: During the Red-baiting hysteria of the 1950s, he faced difficulties in renewing his passport, and almost didn't make it to Milan to conduct Maria Callas at La Scala. Often, he felt pressure from those who wished to punish onetime oppressors. Many people, for example, urged him not to perform with orchestras in postwar Germany and Austria. In maybe the toughest situation of all for our father, he anguished over whether to perform in Israel, whose land and people he loved, but whose bellicose government at times gave him profound misgivings. In every circumstance, after much soul-searching, our father chose to play music. He believed in music's power — its emotionality beyond words, its harmonic architecture, fundamental as DNA — to raise listeners to a higher level of discourse where beauty would outshine violence and hate. 'We can never overestimate the good that comes from artistic communication,' he said in a speech in 1963. 'When we touch one another through music, we are touching the heart, the mind and the spirit, all at once.' Growing up, we observed how our father struggled to make sense of mankind's cruelties and suffering. We could hear those struggles in his own compositions: the narrator shaking his fist at God in his Symphony No. 3, 'Kaddish,' or the boy alto's innocent voice drowned out by the warlike snarls of the men's chorus in 'Chichester Psalms.' Bernstein described 'Mass' as the expression of a crisis of faith in our own society. He anguished over the disconnect between the people who longed for justice and authenticity, and the fraudulence of the authority figures they turned to for succor. The message of 'Mass' has lost none of its urgency. The final, hushed words, sung by the entire ensemble, are: 'And fill with grace / All who dwell in this place. Amen.' The Saturday performance at the Kennedy Center is a fund-raiser for the Washington National Opera under the theme 'American Rhapsody.' Two Bernstein songs are on the program. The first is the 'Tonight' quintet from 'West Side Story,' which conveys the coiled anger of the Sharks and the Jets, combined with Tony and Maria's soaring melody of longing for their love to raise them safely beyond violence. The second is 'Make Our Garden Grow,' the finale from the operetta/musical 'Candide.' The characters, after undergoing a cascade of troubles, at the end express humbler aspirations: baking bread, tending the earth — and caring for one another. The work's upward-reaching melodic phrases suggest that humankind has the ability to better itself, to blossom forth in literal and figurative harmony. These days, battered and stung as so many of us feel by President Trump's relentless assaults on civil rights and the Constitution itself, we can find comfort in our father's music. His notes invoke the courage to be ourselves, to express ourselves — and to be what Americans have always aspired to be: free. So we have elected to keep Leonard Bernstein's music ringing out at the Kennedy Center in the coming seasons. Citizens have many ways to express their alarm right now. We understand if artists feel the best way for them is to refuse to appear at the Kennedy Center. But we believe that we can make our own strong statement, in honor of our father, by letting people hear his music in that space, as an audible rebuke to Mr. Trump's ugly policies. We plan to donate whatever proceeds we receive from upcoming Kennedy Center performances to the American Civil Liberties Union. As our father once said: 'It's the artists of the world, the feelers and thinkers, who will ultimately save us; who can articulate, educate, defy, insist, sing and shout the big dreams.'
The Independent
13-02-2025
- General
- The Independent
Chichester Cathedral announces 950th anniversary celebrations
A series of celebrations has been announced to celebrate the 950th anniversary of the construction of Chichester Cathedral. A new choral piece has been composed as part of the festivities which will include street parties and an immersive light show highlighting the West Sussex cathedral's history. The events are starting with the exhibition Religion, Rebellion and Reformation, which opens on February 14 and will feature nine objects from across East and West Sussex which will each represent a century of the cathedral's history. A spokeswoman said: 'Through artefacts, stories and pivotal moments, the exhibition aims to highlight how the Christian faith shaped not just the cathedral's history, but the lives of people across the two counties.' A concert will be held on May 17 marking the 60th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and it will feature the new choral composition. Other events include TrinityFest on the Green on June 15 which will celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity, to which the cathedral is dedicated, and will feature street parties in the city centre. The celebrations will conclude with the light show during the October half-term. Newly installed Dean of Chichester, The Very Reverend Dr Edward Dowler, said: 'It is a privilege to join the cathedral at this exciting time as plans for the Chichester950 celebrations unfold. 'We hope these events will offer something for everyone. The anniversary also prompts us to look ahead to the next 950 years, and our efforts in various ways to create a legacy that will endure for generations to come.' Chichester Cathedral was preceded by the monastery of St Wilfrid at Selsey, which was founded in 681, but in 1075 construction began in Chichester after the Council of London ordered that cathedrals should be built in more populous areas. The cathedral was completed by Bishop Ralph Luffa and consecrated in 1108 but a series of fires in 1114 and 1187 led to a stone-vaulted roof being constructed and the cathedral was re-consecrated in 1199. Richard of Wych, the bishop of Chichester from 1245 to 1253, was canonised by Pope Urban in 1262 for his 'holy works and miracles' and the ceremony to move or 'translate' his body to the cathedral's retroquire was attended by King Edward I and huge crowds. The shrine of St Richard was later destroyed in 1538 during the Reformation. In about 1400, the spire, cloisters and bell were added, making it the only surviving medieval detached bell tower. During the civil war, the cathedral was ransacked in 1642 with repairs not carried out until after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. And in 1861 the tower and spire collapsed, with repairs carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott taking five years before the cathedral could be reopened for worship in 1866.
Yahoo
13-02-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Chichester Cathedral announces 950th anniversary celebrations
A series of celebrations has been announced to celebrate the 950th anniversary of the construction of Chichester Cathedral. A new choral piece has been composed as part of the festivities which will include street parties and an immersive light show highlighting the West Sussex cathedral's history. The events are starting with the exhibition Religion, Rebellion and Reformation, which opens on February 14 and will feature nine objects from across East and West Sussex which will each represent a century of the cathedral's history. A spokeswoman said: 'Through artefacts, stories and pivotal moments, the exhibition aims to highlight how the Christian faith shaped not just the cathedral's history, but the lives of people across the two counties.' A concert will be held on May 17 marking the 60th anniversary of Leonard Bernstein's Chichester Psalms and it will feature the new choral composition. Other events include TrinityFest on the Green on June 15 which will celebrate the Feast of the Holy Trinity, to which the cathedral is dedicated, and will feature street parties in the city centre. The celebrations will conclude with the light show during the October half-term. Newly installed Dean of Chichester, The Very Reverend Dr Edward Dowler, said: 'It is a privilege to join the cathedral at this exciting time as plans for the Chichester950 celebrations unfold. 'We hope these events will offer something for everyone. The anniversary also prompts us to look ahead to the next 950 years, and our efforts in various ways to create a legacy that will endure for generations to come.' Chichester Cathedral was preceded by the monastery of St Wilfrid at Selsey, which was founded in 681, but in 1075 construction began in Chichester after the Council of London ordered that cathedrals should be built in more populous areas. The cathedral was completed by Bishop Ralph Luffa and consecrated in 1108 but a series of fires in 1114 and 1187 led to a stone-vaulted roof being constructed and the cathedral was re-consecrated in 1199. Richard of Wych, the bishop of Chichester from 1245 to 1253, was canonised by Pope Urban in 1262 for his 'holy works and miracles' and the ceremony to move or 'translate' his body to the cathedral's retroquire was attended by King Edward I and huge crowds. The shrine of St Richard was later destroyed in 1538 during the Reformation. In about 1400, the spire, cloisters and bell were added, making it the only surviving medieval detached bell tower. During the civil war, the cathedral was ransacked in 1642 with repairs not carried out until after the restoration of the monarchy in 1660. And in 1861 the tower and spire collapsed, with repairs carried out by Sir George Gilbert Scott taking five years before the cathedral could be reopened for worship in 1866.
