One might react to this album with initial annoyance and ask whether it is really necessary to hear orchestrated versions of
Schubert
's supremely pianistic songs. It may come as a surprise, then, to find that most of these
Lieder with Orchestra
were arranged by great composers. They include
Benjamin Britten
,
Jacques Offenbach
, and
Max Reger
, who took on the job because, he said, he hated to hear a piano-accompanied song on an orchestral program. Perhaps the most surprising name to find is that of
Anton Webern
, but his arrangements are not the minimal, pointillistic things one might expect; he wrote these arrangements as a way of studying
's music, and they are quite straightforward. Indeed, it is somewhat difficult to distinguish the arrangers simply by listening to the music;
's melodic lines tend to suggest distinctive solutions. Perhaps
Reger
's are a bit more lush than the others, although his version of
Erlkoenig, D. 328
, is one of the few numbers here that just doesn't work (there is no way to replicate the percussive quality of the accompaniment). As for the performances as such,
Benjamin Appl
is clearly an important rising baritone, and he has a wonderful natural quality in
. An oddball release like this might seem an unusual choice for a singer in early career, but he contributes his own notes, and he seems to have undertaken the project out of genuine enthusiasm for the material. At the very least, he has brought some intriguing pieces out of the archives and given them highly listenable performances. The
Munich Radio Orchestra
, under the young
Oscar Jockel
, is suitably restrained and keeps out of
Appl
's way. This release made classical best-seller lists in the autumn of 2023. ~ James Manheim