Benjamin Appl’s Tribute to Fischer-Dieskau

 

Cover of the album being discussed 

Readers may recall that when I announced the San Francisco Performances (SFP) 2025–2026 Art of Song series, the second program would present the return of baritone Benjamin Appl. That program was planned to celebrate the centenary of the birth of baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau; and today saw the release of Appl’s latest album, whose full title is For Dieter: Hommage à Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Appl is definitely well-equipped to honor the Fischer-Dieskau legacy. In his own words: “In 2009, I applied for his master class at the Schubertiade in Schwarzenberg which was the start of a long and transformative relationship. I was fortunate to work with him on my entire repertoire over countless hours in his homes in Berlin and Berg.”

It was only about three months ago that I last wrote about Appl. After listening to (and writing about) his SFP recital with pianist James Baillieu in May of 2023, I wrote about the release of his album Forbidden Fruit, on which he was also accompanied by Baillieu. This was followed by the Lines of Life album, an imaginative alternation of songs by Franz Schubert with those of György Kurtág. Now For Dieter has been released to prepare listeners for his next visit to Herbst Theatre this coming October.

Appl has tried to take a “biographical” approach in preparing this new album. Once again, he is accompanied by Baillieu for a generous share of 32 tracks. These are divided into what may best be called fifteen “episodes” with the following titles:

1. Prologue
2. Childhood in Berlin
3. Teenage Years and First Steps as a Singer
4. A Soldier in War 1943–1945
5. A Prisoner of War 1945–1947
6. Returning Home in 1947
7. Birth of Three Songs
8. Song Accompanists and Friends
9. The Bitter Loss of Irmel, his First Wife in 1963
10. Death of his Mother Theodora in 1966
11. Marital Life
12. Commissions and World Premieres
13. Teaching and Personal Experiences
14. Farewell to Stage
15. Epilogue

My only personal attachment to these categories comes with the world premiere recording of Benjamin Britten’s War Requiem. I have to confess that my strongest memory of Fischer-Dieskau involved his wrestling with the English texts of Wilfred Owen. However, if there were shortcomings in the “letter” of his pronunciations, there was no questioning the spirit that he brought to his performance!

In that context I can say with more than a little confidence that, where both music and texts are concerned, Appl delivers a solid command of both letter and spirit. My only real quibble is that Appl sang the War Requiem except in German, rather than in the original English. Given that his English command of the three songs by Samuel Barber that followed this track, I was more than a little puzzled by his approach to Britten!

Mind you, the entire album lasts for 79 minutes. I suspect that, if Appl will bring this entire program to SFP, then I hope he will find a suitable episode in the journey that will allow for an intermission! I also assume that, as has usually been the case for Art of Song programs, SFP will provide a text booklet for the audience, however, generous that document may be. In any case, I was quite satisfied with Appl’s approach to recital-as-biography; and I anticipate that SFP audiences will be equally impressed.