23.08.2024

JULIAN PRÉGARDIEN releases his first solo album on Harmonia Mundi

This new album (recorded in November 2023 at the SWR Funkstudio Stuttgart) is the result of Julian Prégardien's exclusive collaboration with harmonia mundi. Here he presents his interpretation of this famous cycle - the story of the unfulfilled love of a young miller boy is still moving today with its rollercoaster of intense emotions ranging from youthful light-heartedness to a longing for death out of love's sorrow. Together with Kristian Bezuidenhout, the German tenor opens up an unusually broad palette of expression full of poignant breaks and contrasts thanks to the unique sounds of a Graf grand piano.

This recording is not a mere repetition of what earlier musicians have taken from Schubert's notation. It is a startlingly original, as Julian Prégardien and Kristian Bezuidenhout not only attempt to reproduce the composer's intentions, but also leave their own mark, including a certain amount of embellishment that brightens and deepens the expressive interpretation.

Franz Schubert: Die Schöne Müllerin, D795

Julian Prégardien, tenor
Kristian Bezuidenhout, fortepiano

Release date: 23 August 2024
harmonia mundi