An die ferne Geliebte, Liederkreis von Alois Jeitteles für Singstimme und Klavier op. 98

In January 1816, Maria Karoline, wife of Beethoven's long-time patron Prince Franz Joseph Maximilian Lobkowitz, died; shortly afterwards, Prince Lobkowitz commissioned the song cycle “An die Ferne Geliebte (To the distant beloved).” For a long time, this song cycle – the first Beethoven had ever written – was interpreted as an expression of the composer’s own state of mind. However, recent research proves the work was actually intended as a memorial to Lobkowitz’s late wife, and Beethoven dedicated it to Prince Lobkowitz. This extract includes the first two of the six songs, which were based on poems by Alois Jeitteles. In the first song, the first-person narrator describes the view as he looks out from a hilltop towards his distant beloved. He then attempts to overcome the distance between them in the other five songs.

This particular performance comes from a 1951 recording by a young Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925–2012). The celebrated baritone is accompanied here by pianist Gerald Moore (1899–1987). Fischer-Dieskau was an extraordinary talent, but his international career only really started in 1948/49. He was attached to numerous international opera companies throughout his career, and dedicated much of his professional work to the lieder repertoire. English pianist Gerald Moore played for Fischer-Dieskau over many years, and was a major factor in the singer’s success. Moore was the first pianist to achieve worldwide fame solely on the basis of his performances accompanying singers.
(Constanze Köhn)