September 17, 1996
Hans Peter Blochwitz, tenor
Donald Wages, piano

Going for the Cycle: A Shining 'Schoene Muellerin'
Joseph McClellan
The Washington Post

Franz Schubert's "Die Schoene Muellerin" ("The Miller's Beautiful
Daughter") is one of the three greatest song cycles in the German language; the other two are Schubert's "Winterreise" ("Winter Journey")
and Robert Schumann's "Dichterliebe" (Poet's Love"). The one at
the top of my list at any given moment seems to vary according to
which one I have heard most recently and how well it was done.

This week, and for the foreseeable future, "Die Schoene Muellerin"
holds the top spot. After the performance given by tenor Hans Peter
Blochwitz Monday night at La Maison Francaise, it will take an earthshaking experience to displace it. As always in programs of the Vocal Arts Society, a full text and translation were supplied, making the experience enormously more enjoyable…

To interpret it properly, a great, well-controlled voice is only the first ,
requirement. The singer must have a love and knowledge of the words
that allow him to sing not only with total clarity but also with a subtle
sense of phrasing and an instinct for dramatic expression.

Blochwitz had all of the above and one other essential: a pianist, Donald
Wages, who was not just an accompanist but a partner, engaging in dialogue, supporting and illuminating the vocal line, sometimes becoming
a wordless participant in the drama…

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Franz Schubert 1797 - 1828

Die Schone Mullerin

Das Wandern
Wohin?
Halt!
Danksagung an den Bach
Am Feierabend
Der Neugierige
Ungeduld
MorgengruB
Des Miillers Blumen
Trhenregen
Mein!
Pause
Mit dem griinen Lautenbande
Der Jager
Eifersucht und StoLz
Die liebe Farbe
Die bose Farbe
Trockne Blumen
Der Miiller und der Bach
Des Baches Wiegenlied