The idea of
Ian Bostridge's Winterreise has promise. He has made a number of enjoyable
Schubert recordings (particularly his first set on EMI, with
Julius Drake), and there are surprisingly few recordings of the cycle by tenors -- the voice for which it could best be said to have been written. Throw in
Leif Ove Andsnes, one of today's hottest young pianists, at the piano and you have what seems to be a recipe for success. But Winterreise is an order of magnitude more difficult than almost any other song cycle out there. It demands a wide vocal range, both in terms of pitch and expression, and a performer so in command of his singing that he seems not to be singing at all; unlike Die Schöne Müllerin, Winterreise is rarely about a good tune.