Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (German: [ˌdiːtʁɪç ˌfɪʃɐ ˈdiːskaʊ̯]; 28 May 1925 – 18 May 2012) was a German singer and conductor of classical music. He was one of the most well-known performers of Lieder (songs with words, often performed in concerts) after World War II. He is best known for singing songs by Franz Schubert, especially "Winterreise." His recordings of this work with accompanists Gerald Moore and Jörg Demus are still highly praised more than 50 years after they were made.

Fischer-Dieskau performed many different types of music from many time periods. Musicologist Alan Blyth said, "No singer in our time, or probably any other, has managed the variety and skill in different types of music that Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau achieved." He sang opera, Lieder, and oratorio in German, Italian, and English. He also performed in French, Russian, Hebrew, Latin, and Hungarian. He was called "one of the greatest vocal artists of the 20th century" and "the most influential singer of the 20th century."

In 1999, Classic CD (United Kingdom) ranked Fischer-Dieskau as the second greatest singer of the century, after Jussi Björling, in its "Top Singers of the Century" Critics' Poll. The French called him "Le miracle Fischer-Dieskau," and Dame Elisabeth Schwarzkopf said he was "a singer with everything needed to be great." At his best, he was admired for his deep understanding of music and his ability to control his soft, beautiful voice. He was highly respected on opera and concert stages for more than 30 years.

Life and career

Albert Dietrich Fischer was born in 1925 in Berlin to Albert Fischer, a school principal, and Theodora (née Klingelhoffer) Fischer, a teacher. In 1934, his father added the hyphenated "Dieskau" to the family name (through his mother, he was descended from the Kammerherr von Dieskau, for whom Johann Sebastian Bach wrote the "Peasant Cantata"). He started singing as a child and began formal voice lessons at the age of 16. When he was drafted into the Wehrmacht during World War II in 1943, working with horses on the Russian Front, Fischer-Dieskau had just completed his secondary school studies and one semester at the Berlin Conservatory. He served in Grenadier Regiment 146 of the 65th Infantry Division south of Bologna in the winter of 1944–45 and performed songs for his fellow soldiers during evenings behind the lines.

He was captured in Italy in 1945 and spent two years as an American prisoner of war. During that time, he sang Lieder in POW camps to homesick German soldiers. He had a physically and intellectually impaired brother, Martin, who was sent to an institution by the Nazi regime and starved to death. Their family home was destroyed during the war.

In 1947, Fischer-Dieskau returned to Germany, where he began his professional career as a singer in Badenweiler, performing in Brahms's Ein Deutsches Requiem without any rehearsal. (He was a last-minute substitute for an indisposed singer.) He gave his first Lieder recital in Leipzig in late 1947 and followed it soon afterwards with a highly successful first concert at Berlin's Titania-Palast.

From early in his career, he worked with famous lyric sopranos Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Irmgard Seefried, and the recording producer Walter Legge, creating instantly successful albums of Lieder by Schubert and Hugo Wolf.

In late 1948, Fischer-Dieskau was hired as principal lyric baritone at the Städtische Oper Berlin (Municipal Opera, West Berlin), making his debut as Posa in Verdi's Don Carlos under Ferenc Fricsay. This company, known after 1961 as the Deutsche Oper, would remain his artistic home until his retirement from the operatic stage in 1978.

Subsequently, Fischer-Dieskau made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera and the Bavarian State Opera. After 1949, he toured in the Netherlands, Switzerland, France, and Italy. In 1951, he made his Salzburg Festival concert debut with Mahler's Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen conducted by Wilhelm Furtwängler. The same year, he also made his British debut at the Royal Albert Hall in London during the Festival of Britain, performing Frederick Delius's A Mass of Life conducted by Sir Thomas Beecham. He performed regularly at the Bayreuth Festival between 1954 and 1961 and at the Salzburg Festival from 1956 until the early 1970s.

As an opera singer, Fischer-Dieskau performed mainly in Berlin and at the Bavarian State Opera in Munich. He also made guest appearances at the Vienna State Opera, the Royal Opera House in London, the Hamburg State Opera, in Japan, and at the King's Theatre in Edinburgh during the Edinburgh Festival. His first tour in the United States took place in 1955, when he was 29, with his concert debut in Cincinnati on 15 April (Bach's cantata Ich will den Kreuzstab gerne tragen, BWV 56), and 16 April (Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem). His American Lieder debut, singing Franz Schubert songs, took place in Saint Paul, Minnesota, on 19 April. His New York City debut occurred on 2 May at The Town Hall, where he performed Schubert's song cycle Winterreise without an interval. Both American recitals were accompanied by Gerald Moore.

In 1951, Fischer-Dieskau made his first of many recordings of Lieder with Gerald Moore at Abbey Road Studios in London, including a complete Die schöne Müllerin, and they performed the work on 31 January 1952 at the Kingsway Hall, London, in the Mysore Concerts of the Philharmonia Concert Society. They gave recitals together until Moore retired from public performance in 1967. They continued to record together until 1972, in which year they completed their large project of recording all of the Schubert lieder appropriate for the male voice. Moore retired completely in 1972 and died in 1987, aged 87. Their recordings of Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise are highly prized as examples of their artistic partnership.

Fischer-Dieskau also performed many works of contemporary music, including Benjamin Britten (who chose Fischer-Dieskau as the baritone soloist when writing War Requiem), Samuel Barber, Hans Werner Henze, Karl Amadeus Hartmann (who wrote his Gesangsszene for him), Charles Ives, Ernst Krenek, Witold Lutosławski, Siegfried Matthus, Othmar Schoeck, Winfried Zillig, Gottfried von Einem, and Aribert Reimann. He participated in the 1975 premiere and 1993 recording of Gottfried von Einem's cantata An die Nachgeborenen, written

Recognition

Throughout his career, critics often praised his musical skill and technique as perfect. Greg Sandow of Opera News said, "His technique is amazing; someone should create a statue to honor it."

Time magazine called him "the world's greatest Lieder singer." He filled concert halls worldwide until retiring in 1992. His performances were known for clear and precise singing, where words and music were treated equally. His standards continue to influence music today. Much of the current interest in German Romantic art songs is because of his work. Fischer-Dieskau was especially admired for singing Schubert Lieder. Critic Joachim Kaiser noted that his only real competitor was himself, as he set new standards, discovered new areas, and expressed unexpected emotions over decades.

After Fischer-Dieskau's death, Le Monde, a well-known French newspaper, described his singing as close to a miracle. It said, "When he sang, people believed every word. No word, no meaning, no detail was missed in his clear pronunciation." In an obituary, pianist and conductor Daniel Barenboim, who often accompanied Fischer-Dieskau, called him a "revolutionary performer." He was the first singer to excel equally in three areas: opera, oratorio, and lieder.

During an interview celebrating his 100th birthday anniversary, Christian Gerhaher noted Fischer-Dieskau's extensive recordings of Lieder. He described his singing style as thoughtful and genuine, especially after World War II. Gerhaher said Fischer-Dieskau's voice in early recordings was dark and smooth, with a natural variety of sounds.

Awards

• Received the Léonie Sonning Music Prize in 1975
• Received the Ernst von Siemens Music Prize in 1980
• Received the Praemium Imperiale in 2002
• Received the Polar Music Prize in 2005
• Inducted into the Gramophone Hall of Fame in 2012
• Awarded the title of Knight of the Legion of Honor in 1990
• Received five Grammy Awards in 1970, 1972, 1977, 1988, and 2000.

Recordings

Fischer-Dieskau recorded mainly for the EMI, Deutsche Grammophon, and Orfeo labels.

• J. S. Bach: 75 Cantatas with Karl Richter on the Polygram label; Jesus and bass soloists in the Passions with conductors including Herbert von Karajan, Otto Klemperer, Wilhelm Furtwängler, and Fritz Lehmann; Christmas Oratorio with Sir Philip Ledger.
• Bartók: Bluebeard's Castle with Ferenc Fricsay; Júlia Várady as Judith, conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch.
• Beethoven: Fidelio with Fricsay; Choral Symphony with Leonard Bernstein.
• Alban Berg: Vier Lieder, Op. 2, with pianist Aribert Reimann; Wozzeck with Karl Böhm; Lulu with Böhm.
• Brahms: Ein Deutsches Requiem with Rudolf Kempe; Ein Deutsches Requiem with Klemperer and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (EMI); Liebeslieder Walzer and Vier ernste Gesänge with pianist Jörg Demus; Die schöne Magelone.
• Britten: War Requiem, world premiere with Britten conducting; Galina Vishnevskaya and Peter Pears.
• Busoni: Doktor Faust with Ferdinand Leitner.
• Cimarosa: The Secret Marriage with Daniel Barenboim.
• Debussy: Mélodies with pianist Hartmut Höll.
• Fauré: Requiem with André Cluytens.
• Gluck: Orfeo ed Euridice with Richter; Iphigenie in Aulis with Artur Rother and Kurt Eichhorn, Anna Moffo; Iphigénie en Tauride with Lamberto Gardelli.
• Haydn: Die Schöpfung with Karajan; Die Schöpfung with Sir Neville Marriner.
• Henze: Elegie für junge Liebende, world premiere with the composer conducting.
• Hindemith: Cardillac with Joseph Keilberth; Mathis der Maler with Rafael Kubelík; When lilacs last in the dooryard bloom'd with Sawallisch.
• Franz Liszt: 44 Lieder with Barenboim.
• Carl Loewe: Ballads and Lieder with Demus; Loewe: Balladen & Lieder with Höll.
• Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde with Paul Kletzki and the Philharmonia Orchestra (EMI) (first recording to use two male singers as Mahler suggested; tenor was Murray Dickie); Das Lied von der Erde with Leonard Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic (Decca); Lieder with Barenboim; Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Des Knaben Wunderhorn with Barenboim; Kindertotenlieder with Furtwängler and Kempe; Kindertotenlieder with Böhm; Rückert-Lieder.
• Mendelssohn: Lieder with Höll; Paulus Oratorio with Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos; Elijah with Gwyneth Jones, Janet Baker, Nicolai Gedda, and Simon Woolf (The Youth), New Philharmonia Chorus and Orchestra (1968).
• Mozart: Coronation Mass, Vesperae solennes de confessore with Eugen Jochum; Le nozze di Figaro with Böhm; Don Giovanni with Fricsay (in German); Don Giovanni with Karl Böhm; Così fan tutte with Böhm; Le nozze di Figaro with Fricsay; Die Zauberflöte with Fricsay; Die Zauberflöte with Karl Böhm; Die Zauberflöte with Georg Solti (as the Sprecher); Requiem with Barenboim.
• Offenbach: Les contes d'Hoffmann.
• Orff: Carmina Burana with Jochum.
• Hans Pfitzner: Lieder with Höll; Palestrina (as Carlo Borromeo) with Kubelik.
• Puccini: Tosca, Gianni Schicchi with Westdeutscher Rundfunk.
• Reger: Hebbel Requiem with Gerd Albrecht.
• Reimann: Lear.
• Rossini: Gugliemo Tell with Mario Rossi.
• Othmar Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Lebendig begraben with Karl Böhm; Lebendig begraben with Walter Berry.
• Schoeck: Leb

Books

• Texte deutscher Lieder. Deutscher Taschenbuchverlag, Munich, 1968.
• Auf den Spuren der Schubert-Lieder. Werden – Wesen – Wirkung. F.A. Brockhaus, Wiesbaden, 1971. (ISBN 3-7653-0248-1) Translated by Kenneth S. Whitton as Schubert's Songs: A Biographical Study. Alfred A. Knopf, 1977. (ISBN 0-394-48048-1)
• Wagner und Nietzsche: der Mystagoge und sein Abtrünniger. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1974. Translated by Joachim Neugroschel as Wagner and Nietzsche. Continuum International, 1976.
• The Fischer-Dieskau Book of Lieder: The Original Texts of over 750 Songs, translated by Richard Stokes and George Bird. Random House, 1977. (ISBN 0-394-49435-0)
• Robert Schumann. Wort und Musik. Das Vokalwerk. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1981. Translated by Reinhard G. Pauly as Robert Schumann Words and Music: The Vocal Compositions. Hal Leonard, 1992. (ISBN 0-931340-06-3)
• Töne sprechen, Worte klingen: Zur Geschichte und Interpretation des Gesangs. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart/Munich, 1985.
• Nachklang. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1988. Translated by Ruth Hein as Echoes of a Lifetime, Macmillan, London, 1989, and as Reverberations: The Memoirs of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Fromm International, New York, 1989. (ISBN 0-88064-137-1)
• Wenn Musik der Liebe Nahrung ist: Kunstlerschicksale im 19. Jahrhundert. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1990.
• Weil nicht alle Blütenträume reifen: Johann Friedrich Reichardt: Hofkapellmeister dreier Preussenkönig. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1993.
• Fern die Klage des Fauns. Claude Debussy und seine Welt. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1993.
• [Paintings and drawings 1962–1994, a selection]. Nicolaische Verlagsbuchhandlung Beuermann, Berlin, 1994.
• Schubert und seine Lieder. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 1996.
• Carl Friedrich Zelter und das Berliner Musikleben seiner Zeit. Nicolai Verlag Berlin, 1997.
• Die Welt des Gesangs. J.B. Metzler Verlag, Stuttgart, 1999.
• Zeit eines Lebens – auf Fährtensuche. Deutsche Verlags-Anstalt, Stuttgart, 2000.
• Hugo Wolf. Leben und Werk. Henschel Verlag, Kassel, 2003.
• Musik im Gespräch: Streifzüge durch die Klassik mit Eleonore Büning. List Taschenbuch Verlag, Berlin, 2005.
• Goethe als Intendant: Theaterleidenschaften im klassischen Weimar. Deutscher Taschenbuch Verlag, Stuttgart, 2006.
• Johannes Brahms: Leben und Lieder. List Taschenbuch Verlag, Berlin, 2008.
• Jupiter und ich: Begegnungen mit Furtwängler. Berlin University Press, 2009.