A “Winterreise” All-Stars Playlist

I came here as a stranger. Actually, no: I was very familiar with “Winterreise” before this latest exploration. But, after listening to 75 recordings of the work in quick succession, I’m beginning to question whether I really knew “Winterreise” before now. 

While the winter solstice is behind us and days are now officially getting longer, we still have, y’know, all of winter to get through. As a means to that end, I’ve taken on the seemingly quixotic task of putting together an “ultimate” playlist, following the throughline of Schubert’s song cycle but picking a different standout recording of each of the 24 songs. Some of you might argue that the whole point of “Winterreise” is to follow one singer’s emotional arc from “Gute Nacht” to “Der Leiermann,” to which I say… Well, yes, I see your point now. But in assembling this playlist, I’ve found that the juxtaposition of interpretations has also illuminated new aspects of Schubert’s music and poet Wilhelm Müller’s texts.

Either way, for now, I think it’s time to be a stranger again to “Winterreise.” At least until the next solstice.