Mauro Peter sings Schubert in Schwarzenberg, August 22, 2015

Mauro Peter © Franziska Schrödinger

Suzanne Daumann

The Schubertiade, this famous Austrian music festival, celebrates in 2015 and 2016 its 40^th birthday with performance of all of Schubert’s lieder. That makes for interesting programs full of unknown works, allowing many a discovery. Young Swiss tenor Mauro Peter, noticed as Tamino recently in Paris, offers tonight an intelligent program where old friends meet new acquaintances. He begins with four lieder on texts by Friedrich von Matthisson, from 1814, then comes a choice of songs of love and longing, and the first part ends with Goethe and finally “An den Mond” D 296. His warm voice with its baritonal ring and natural timbre, his light approach and juvenile charm, along with the intelligence of his interpretations, make him a most promising lied singer whom we shall certainly follow attentively. Tonight, the first pieces remain a bit academic, and then, with “Stimme der Liebe” D 412, the singer catches fire and abandons himself. From now on, each lied is a musical event unto itself, and the recital becomes this complete thing where the finesse of the texts and the quality of the compositions ravish the mind, whilst voice and piano touch the heart and soul. Helmut Deutsch is a quiet force at the piano, unobtrusive without being self-effacing. Thus, we discover small gems like “Pilgerweise” D 789, “An die Entfernte” D 765, “Am Flusse” D 766 – the latter ones are from a group of compositions with Goethe texts from which one hears most often “Der Musensohn” D 766 or “Willkommen und Abschied”, D 767. It’s with this last one that Mauro Peter says goodbye in a thundering gallop, or rather, he would say goodbye, if the thundering applause didn’t make him come back for encores. He makes us smile with “Heidenröslein” and “Liebhaber in allen Gestalten”. Finally “Du bist die Ruh”, dedicated to “a special person”, and sung with exquisite lightness and feeling, ends the recital. A last applause, and we wander out into the night with the lied’s melancholic tranquilitiy in our hearts. A Schubert evening as we love them, and as they can be found  only here.