The well-known Utrecht-based record label TRPTK releases a new classical CD today entitled Winterreise.
Of all the classical song cycles, Schubert’s ‘Winterreise’ is perhaps the most beloved.
The adventurous label TRPTK steps into the deep end with a new take on this
masterpiece. Baritone Michael Wilmering and pianist Daan Boertien give a surprising
charge to the familiar music, which, in these uncertain times, seems to be a compass
for a future whose contours are not yet entirely clear.
Rejected
Winterreise is about a man who has been rejected by his lover and has then decided
to go on a journey. The songs describe his journey through a barren and desolate
winter landscape, which reflects the loneliness of the traveller. The song cycle
actually consists of two halves. In the first song, ‘Gute Nacht’, the main character
says goodbye to his beloved and decides to leave. The rest of the cycle shows that
no return is possible.
Tragic undertone
Most of the songs in the second half of the cycle are characterised by the approach
of and longing for death. Wilmering, who is best known as an opera singer, succeeds
in translating the tragic undertone of the ‘Winterreise’ into real emotion. Boertien’s
piano playing forms a solid foundation on which his voice can flourish. “As the cycle
progresses, the music comes in very directly,” the musicians say. “You feel that the
main character has chosen a path from which he will not return. He finally resigns
himself to his inescapable fate. It is – however contradictory it may sound – music
that has worked healing for us in this period of the corona pandemic, in which people
are irritable and seem to be on opposite sides.”
Super Jewel Box
Starting in 2022, TRPTK will switch to the Super Jewel Box, the well-known format
for SACD. The future is digital and that is why TRPTK is now going to focus on the
world outside the CD: TRPTK will literally build a bridge between the physical product
and a virtual world. Behind the disc you will find a QR code: if you scan this you will
get a virtual booklet with lots of extra information, such as videos, stories of the
recording sessions, sound clips and other relevant material.
