Schwanengesang James Rutherford & Eugene Asti

• Franz Schubert (1797-1828): Schubert Schwanengesang James Rutherford baritone Eugene Asti piano SCHUBERT, Franz (1797–1828) Schwanengesang, D. 957 Eight songs to poems by Ludwig Rellstab (1799–1860)
• 1No. 1. Liebesbotschaft02:40
• 2No. 2. Kriegers Ahnung04:52
• 3No. 3. Frühlingssehnsucht03:26
• 4No. 4. Ständchen03:51
• 5No. 5. Aufenthalt03:07
• 6Herbst, D. 94503:19
• 7No. 6. In der Ferne06:01
• 8No. 7. Abschied04:30
• Six songs to poems by Heinrich Heine (1797–1856)
• 9No. 8. Der Atlas02:33
• 10No. 9. Ihr Bild02:33
• 11No. 10. Das Fischermädchen02:07
• 12No. 11. Die Stadt03:18
• 13No. 12. Am Meer04:38
• 14No. 13. Der Doppelgänger04:41
• 15No. 14. Die Taubenpost03:56
• Four Miscellaneous Songs
• 16Die Forelle, D. 55002:01
• 17Auf der Bruck, Op. 93, No. 2, D. 853a03:34
• 18Gruppe aus dem Tartarus, Op. 24, No. 1, D. 58303:07
• 19An die Musik, Op. 88, No. 4, D. 547b02:42
• Total Runtime01:06:56

Info for Schwanengesang

Compared to Franz Schubert's two 'true' song cycles, Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise, Schwanengesang poses far more questions to performers, listeners and musicologists alike. It is in fact a compilation of two different sets of songs to texts by Ludwig Rellstab (seven songs) and Heinrich Heine (six). In his manuscript, dated August 1828, Schubert wrote out the songs without any title page or numbering. Following the composer's death three months later, the publisher Tobias Haslinger added the single song Die Taubenpost, written in October 1828, and brought out the posthumous collection entitled, appropriately, 'Swan Song'. How, or indeed if, Schubert himself intended to combine these songs, we do not know. The four miscellaneous songs which close this programme serve as a further demonstration of the astonishing versatility of their maker and his boundless musical resourcefulness. During the 15 years that they have collaborated on these songs, James Rutherford and Eugene Asti, have performed the cycle in many different formats, but for their recording of the collection they have decided to stay as close to the original as possible, with the exception of including Herbst, another Rellstab setting, from Schubert's final year. Schubert's manuscript is written for high voice, and Rutherford and Asti have chosen to transpose each song down a minor third a seemingly obvious decision, but in fact this recording is one of the few, if not the only, by a baritone in which the original tonal relationships between the songs is retained.

James Rutherford, bariton
Eugene Asti, piano

James Rutherford
Since winning the inaugural Seattle Opera International Wagner competition in 2006, James Rutherford has become renowned for his interpretations of German romantic opera. He has sung Hans Sachs (“Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg”) for the Bayreuth Festival (2010, 2011), Wiener Staatsoper, Hamburg Staatsoper, Cologne Opera, San Francisco Opera, Budapest Wagner Festival and Glyndebourne Festival; Wolfram (“Tannhäuser”) for San Francisco Opera; Kurwenal (“Tristan und Isolde”) for Washington National Opera; the title role in “Der Fliegende Holländer” for the Budapest Wagner Festival as well as Amfortas (“Parsifal”) and Holländer with the CBSO and Andris Nelsons.

His Strauss roles include Jochanaan (“Salome”) at the Wiener Staatsoper, Berlin Staatsoper and Opéra National de Montpellier; Mandryka (“Arabella”) with the Dutch National Opera, Hamburg Staatsoper and Liceu, Barcelona; Orestes (“Elektra”) for Hamburg Staatsoper and the Boston Symphony Orchestra and Faninal (“Der Rosenkavalier”) for Frankfurt Opera. Other appearances include the Royal Opera, Covent Garden, Paris Opera, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Welsh National Opera, English National Opera, Scottish Opera and Opera North.

In 2009 he began a major association with the Graz Opera, singing his first Hans Sachs and returning for Barak (“Die Frau ohne Schatten”), Germont (“La Traviata”), Iago (“Otello”), Orestes (“Elektra”), Scarpia (“Tosca”) and the title roles in “Falstaff” and “Guillaume Tell”. Following a guest contract as Lysiart in a new production of “Euryanthe” in 2015, James began a long-term contract with the Frankfurt Opera. Highlights of his first season include a new production of “Der Fliegende Holländer” and his first Wotan/Wanderer in complete Ring cycles.

Plans for 2016/17 include Ford (“Falstaff”) and Mandryka at Frankfurt Opera and debuts at Deutsche Oper, Berlin as Wolfram and Stuttgart Opera as Holländer.

His recordings on the BIS label include a CD of early 20th Century English songs; Wagner arias with Andrew Litton and the Bergen Philharmonic and most recently Schubert “Schwanengesang” with the pianist Eugene Asti.

Booklet for Schwanengesang