Althouse: "[S]oon the Americans were sending him around to entertain other P.O.W.’s from the back of a truck."

May 20, 2012

"[S]oon the Americans were sending him around to entertain other P.O.W.’s from the back of a truck."

"The problem was, they were so pleased with this arrangement that they kept him until June 1947. He was among the last Germans to be repatriated."

Gute Nacht to Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau.

11 comments:

Balfegor said...: Have a couple of Schubert lieder cycle recordings by him. Very fine voice. For some reason, I'd thought he was already long dead.

Hadn't realised he'd also recorded the German Requiem.; 5/20/12, 11:35 AM
Paddy O said...: Minor historical quibble. Maybe among the last American held POWs to be repatriated, I don't know. But certainly far from being the last in general.

The theologian I'm studying intensely these days, Jurgen Moltmann, was held by the British in Scotland until April 1948, being returned in the "last bus but one" from his POW camp. He was a very young, very low ranking, very inconsequential soldier, so there wasn't a particular reason why they held him or the others so long, just a matter of the timing of the releases.

It was there he became a Christian, and started studying theology and Scripture, being taught by luminaries of that era. So, maybe there was a providential reason for his staying so long.; 5/20/12, 11:40 AM
Eric the Fruit Bat said...: That's the reward for good work: More work.; 5/20/12, 12:01 PM
Dave said...: Thanks for posting - Fischer-Dieskau was an incomparable artist - perhaps the most recorded classical singer ever. I heard him in recital in Chicago many years ago. His ability to effortlessly sing incredibly long , beautifully shaped phrases in his final encore (Schubert "Litanai") left us breathless. Years later a friend who had turned pages for a Fischer-Dieskau concert in LA said his job during the encores was to stand backstage holding the great artist's lit cigarette! Apparently, F-D had been a chain smoker most of his life.; 5/20/12, 12:07 PM
YoungHegelian said...: Fischer-Dieskau was one of those classical musicians of the 60's & 70's who were just musical factories, both for good and ill.

For those who have grown up with classical artists who do 2 or 3 releases a year at best, it's amazing to hear that in the 60's & 70's Neville Marriner or Herbert Von Karajan would often do between 25-35 release a year!

Whatever Fischer-Dieskau wanted to sing for DGG, they produced for him. From Bach & Schutz, and then to Berg, he got to range freely through the repertoire.

We'll never see an arrangement like that between classical artist & recording company again in our lifetimes.; 5/20/12, 12:13 PM
edutcher said...: Considering conditions in postwar Germany, they guys were doing him a favor (and he probably knew it).

That he was captured in Italy by the Americans is probably the only reason he survived the war, survival as a POW of the Russkies was, what?, 2%.; 5/20/12, 12:39 PM
Rick said...: One of my earliest childhood memories is of German prisoners boarding up our windows at Ft. Crockett, in Galveston, Texas, because of a major storm headed our way.; 5/20/12, 12:42 PM
greenlantern said...: Anyone who's ever studied German Lied, including me, has sung Schubert's anthem to music, but no one better than DF-D. He was perfect on every artistic and technical level. This should be an anthem to him, thank you, Dietrich:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ayIrOHMKFFQ; 5/20/12, 4:47 PM
Dave said...: Re: YoungHegelian's comment

You're right that there were an incredible number of classical recordings made at that time including some amazing projects like the London Ring Cycle, Solti and the CSO Mahler symphonies and the Fischer-Dieskau - Gerald Moore two-volume "complete" Schubert lieder. Remember that LP's (33 1/3 rpm) recording was introduced in 1948 and stereo in '58. LP's provided enough time on one side to record complete pieces, and stereo gave dimension to the sound. The new technology brought "lifelike" performances into the home for the first time. Also, people still had pianos in their homes; kids took music lessons; schools had active music programs; and classical music was more popular in the US than it is today. So, in the 60's there was huge demand for classical recordings, and there was a great pool of musical talent ready to record.; 5/20/12, 5:53 PM
ronalddewitt said...: I've spent many hours listening to and watching the fine clips of his singing on youtube. We are fortunate that there is so much he has put in the public domain. My heart sank when I heard of his passing.; 5/20/12, 6:07 PM
Paul said...: I'm reading a book now called 'The Fall of Berlin' and the huge suffering. You would not believe what happened to all the animals in the Berlin Zoo.

So I kind of understand how Fischer-Dieskau felt about the horse under his care in Russia.

Glad he got out of the war in Italy and did some good!; 5/20/12, 7:43 PM