Whatever performance may in the meantime have intervened, listening to Seefried’s Frauenliebe again is like returning to base, to the Ur performance before which every other, however many merits it may have, must give place. It is simply that she brings before us with every fibre of her being, every tone at her command, every subtly emphasized word the eager, loving girl portrayed within. You instinctively know this must be the kind of voice, the kind of utterance Schumann had in mind to convey the varied emotions he explores. And here, at a live Salzburg performance, the effect is even more immediate than in the studio-made reading listed above. Indeed throughout this recital we are continually thankful for the opening of an archive that can take us into the Mozarteum one August day in 1960 and bring back before us this enchanting singer.
Each of her choices from the Liederkreis, Op. 39 is presented as a picture palpitating with immediacy and life, something impossible to achieve to this extent in the studio, even if – at the start of a recital – the tone isn’t yet well-oiled and there’s a suspicion of flatness once in a while. Then comes Frauenliebe followed by four unforgettable performances from Myrthen. In “Lied der Suleika” listen to how Seefried whispers sensuously “Kuss auf Kuss”, mark how unerring is her rubato in “Der Nussbaum” (as it is throughout) and how she underlines longingly, in the same song, “von nachsten Jahr”.
Those who were present were apparently most moved by the Mary Stuart settings. One hears why as the eloquent emotions of Schumann’s settings are so keenly projected. Here the urgency and desperation of a lonely woman are perfectly encompassed. Then in the final group, the expectations of Auftrage taken very quickly – Werba has a job keeping up with his impulsive partner – and the wonderful generosity in that heartfelt outpouring, Stille Tranen stand out, but every interpretation stays in the mind. Don’t miss them or the delightful Brahms encores taken from a recital the previous year at Salzburg.
A few notes overload, the voice being recorded very near the microphone (a plus in my book) and Werba isn’t always the most imaginative of pianists, but nothing, not even the regrettable absence, at full price, of texts and translations can mar one’s enjoyment of a very special occasion caught on the wing.'