Franz Schubert: Schwanengesang – Andre Schuen

Andrè Schuen’s debut album for Deutsche Grammophon, a moving interpretation of Schubert’s “Die schöne Müllerin,” received fantastic reviews. Gramophone praised the baritone’s “magnificent, free voice, used with taste and unchanging sensitivity to the text.”

Now Schuen continues his personal journey into Schubert’s late, great song cycles with a new recording: he has recorded Schubert’s cycle “Schwanengesang” with his longtime duo partner Daniel Heide, who was again praised by Gramophone for his “exemplary” accompaniment and “clear playing.” Heide’s subtle piano playing complements Schuen’s sensitive interpretations; together they portray the beauty and pathos, the drama and despair of the fourteen Schwanengesang songs. “Schubert took another quite different direction at the end of his rather short life. The Heine settings in particular are very special when we compare them with other songs by Schubert,” says Andrè Schuen, summarizing the significance of Schwanengesang.