Page 65 - Winterreise Coverage Book, 2021 - 22

Benjamin Appl commented, ‘Every time I perform it, Winterreise feels like a new and
different journey, depending on my own mood, the atmosphere in the hall, and of course
the shared creativity with the all-important pianist. This journey will be lifelong, as no singer
ever gets tired of it, or feels he or she has mastered it. Fischer-Dieskau’s ten recordings are
proof of that. For singers, Schubert’s wanderer is a lifetime companion, yet a daunting one
as we confront all the great recordings and performances that are already out there. The
challenge for every singer is not to be inhibited, but to find fresh ways of understanding and
transmitting both words and music to their own generation. Somehow, in Winterreise,
Schubert has made space for that potential. As Benjamin Britten said: “Every time I come
back to it, I am amazed not only by the extraordinary mastery of it, but by the renewal of the
magic. Each time, the mystery remains.”

Winter Journey, BBC TV, December 2021 (date TBC)
This beautiful film by John Bridcut is shot in and around the Julier Tower, built at the 2,300m
summit of the Julier Pass in south-east Switzerland. The Julier Tower is an extraordinary 30-
metre-high red wooden structure that was unveiled in late 2017. Out of time and place, it
stands in splendid magisterial isolation – but will be dismantled in August 2023 – a tribute to
the fleeting nature of theatre performance. Whilst it remains in use, this film uses its many
evocative spaces to stage the ultimate musical portrait of isolation: Schubert’s song-
cycle Winterreise – the telling of a young man’s wintry self-isolation as he wanders in the
open, wracked with emotional turmoil. This is a personal journey for baritone,
Benjamin Appl, who sings Winterreise in locations in and around the tower with pianist
James Baillieu. Winter Journey was commissioned by Head of BBC Music TV Commissioning
Jan Younghusband.

Winterreise , Alpha Classics, release date 11 February 2022
Benjamin Appl begins a rich collaboration with Alpha Classics featuring many projects over a
period of several years, starting with Schubert’s epic song cycle Winterreise with pianist
James Baillieu, which will be released on 11 February 2022. This release will be followed by a
recital album entitled ‘Forbidden Fruit’, combining the works of several composers and
telling the story of The Creation – it will explore multiple shades of humankind in a unique
and creative way. Benjamin Appl will then devote a recording to a composer he particularly
admires and to whom he is very close, György Kurtág, and he will also pay tribute to his
teacher and mentor, the legendary baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau in a separate release.
Further artistic projects and collaborations alongside these initial projects will intertwine
mainstream repertoire with new discoveries.

Wigmore Hall, 18 February 2022
A chance to hear Benjamin Appl and James Baillieu perform Winterreise , one of the
supreme challenges of the lieder repertoire, live at Wigmore Hall on 18 February. General
Sale for this concert will open at 10am on Tuesday 30 November. More information here.