Why Winter Came for Women. Exploring the exclusion of women from Winterreise’s performance tradition

It has always been my dream to perform Schubert’s Winterreise. However, as a twenty-three-year-old woman, I was not surprised when my voice teacher discouraged me from learning the cycle. When reading Janet Wasserman’s 2017 Schubertian article about female recordings of the work, I felt that my dreams were given justification, yet I was still curious as to why in this day and age, the cycle is deemed solely appropriate for men. Women once were able to perform the work without second thought, yet this female inclusive narrative has somehow been deleted from today’s performance tradition; conditioning audiences to prefer a male portrayal of Müller’s protagonist. At what point in its history did this become the case? While Wasserman suggests that female exclusion was possibly the result of the women’s suffrage movement, I’d like to argue an alternate timeline. The exclusion of women from the performance tradition of Winterreise began during the revitalization of Lied after the second world war, when a new masculine narrative was crystallized by the recording industry and further protracted by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s legacy. The trends of female representation and later, exclusion in live performances and recordings of Winterreise and the way in which they parallel the second world war and Fischer-Dieskau’s influence via the recording industry merit this conclusion. During Schubert’s lifetime, both men and women were free to sing Winterreise, regardless of the clear masculine narrative put forth by Wilhelm Müller’s text. Schubert and his Lied marinated within a period that valued gender transcendence; the German Romantic movement. Works by poets and artists from this movement were characterized by this transcendent narrative; rather than writing with implemented gender roles in mind, they seemed to write for a non-binary spirit who was beyond physical characteristics, like gender.1 While Muller’s poetic protagonist embodied the ideal Bildungsroman male, Schubert’s setting of the work promoted the idea of mapping one’s own narrative onto these Romantic works. Schubert was thought to have done just this with his Winterreise, which proved autobiographical during his own physical and mental deterioration. The semi-public premiere of the work on 10 January 1828 consisted of only the first song, “Gute Nacht,” and was performed by Ludwig Tietze at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna.2 The first half of the cycle was published three days later on 14 January 1828 by Tobias Haslinger, broadening the cycle’s accessibility by making it available to performers both amateur and professional alike. This aim for accessibility proved successful, for only twelve days after Ludwig Tietze’s premiere, the second performance of Schubert’s work occurred; a female performance by Franziska von Pratobevera. In a letter dated 22 January 1828, von Pratobevera’s older sister Marie von Pratobevera wrote to her betrothed, “Our little nightingale really does sing soulfully, especially the latest songs by Schubert, ‘The Winter Journey.”3 In 1826, von Pratobevera was already considered an excellent singer of Schubert’s songs, supporting her legitimacy and popularity as a Lied singer within salon culture.4 While the entire cycle was not published until 30 December 1828, it can be inferred that von Pratobevera sang pieces from the first twelve songs of the set. This account proves extremely important for it points towards the normality of woman singing these works during Schubert’s lifetime, even though their performances were most likely given in semi-private salons. Women such as von Pratobevera would have been considered the ideal singers of the genre, thought to possess the ideal Romantic sensibility appropriate for works such as Winterreise. After Schubert’s death and as we move through the fin-de-siècle, the disregard for gender narratives assigned to the cycle prevailed. This conclusion was made through surveying programmes from the late nineteenth and early twentieth century in Vienna and Berlin, which displayed various female performances of Winterreise.5 Performances of Schubert’s cycle in the fin-de-siècle often were segmented, and only one or two songs from the work were performed per concert. Entire cycles were rarely performed in full, critic

1 Shreffler C. Anne, “The Myth of the Canon's Invisible Hand,” Not Another Music History Cliché!, 27 April 2017, www.notanothermusichistorycliche.blogspot.com/2017/12/the-myth-of-canons-invisible-hand-guest.html?m=1. 2 Program of the Seventh Evening Entertainment held by the Philharmonic Society cited in Deutsch, Otto Erich, and Eric Blom, trans, A Documentary Biography (London: J.M. Dent & Sons, 1946), p. 709. 3 Letter from Marie von Pratobevera to Josef Bergmann (Vienna, 22 January 1828), cited in Deutsch, (1946), p. 716. 4 Skoda, Eva, and Peter Branscombe, Schubert Studies: Schubert Studies: Problems of Style and Chronology, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2008), p. 140. 5 Information gathered from programmes within the “Ernst Henschel Collection,” British Library: Henschel, E. (1892). [A miscellaneous collection of prospectuses, programmes, wordbooks and handbills for performances given at various German venues between 1892 and 1938 (the majority in Berlin) and in London between 1938 and 1966, held loosely and arranged chronologically over 37 boxes as the collection of Ernst Henschel.], and within the twelve boxes of “Austria 1824-” within the “CPH collections” housed at the Royal College of Music Library, London. Franz Stoepel writing that “the whole suffers from monotony and for another because the composer in particular has spread it all rather too much.”6 For example, such an instance of segmentation occurred on 5 April 1858 at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna when Marie Kreihuber sang “Die Post.”7 Kreihuber, wife of the famed lithograph artist, was an extension of the Schubertiad group and often attended salon parties at Schober’s home.8 Her close association with Schubert justifies her performance of the work, suggesting that such a female performance would have occurred within the Schubertiad. Throughout the 1890s, singers such as Hermine Spies and Alice Barbi also included “Die Post” in their concerts when signing at halls such as the Saal Bösendorfer in Vienna.9 “Die Post” was often pulled out and performed in concerts by women throughout the latter half of the nineteenth century; possibly due to the guise of gender neutrality presented through the text. Unlike other songs in the cycle, songs such as “Die Post” were gender- neutral, excluding the words “he” or any reference to the male protagonist. Another gender-neutral song often performed was “Der Lindenbaum,” Hertha Demlow doing so on 9 December 1910 at the Beethoven Saal in Berlin.10 Another Lied singer who often featured pieces from Schubert’s Winterreise on her Liederabends was Alice Barbi. In Vienna on two separate occasions in 1890, not only did Barbi perform popular and gender neutral pieces such as “Die Post” and “Der Lindenbaum,” but also sang “Der Wegweiser.”11 This tradition of performing single songs in concert continued well into the twentieth century.12 While pulling out these select pieces of Winterreise was common, baritone Julius Stockhausen (1826–1906) began singing full cycles in performance. Regarded as one of Lied’s primary innovator, Stockhausen was the first person to publicly sing the entirety of Winterreise on 27 November 1862 in Hamburg.13 Not only was Stockhausen the first to perform cycles with male protagonists, such as Winterreise and Die Schöne Müllerin in full, but he was also the first to sing the entirety of Schumann’s Frauenleben und Liebe publicly.14 Schumann’s cycle specifically has a female protagonist, tracing a woman’s life and love, yet Stockhausen’s performance implies that the rules regarding gender-specific protagonists in performances of this time were nonexistent. This liberal regard for gendered protagonists applied to his pupils as well, for as Wassermann mentioned, in 1873, his pupil Johanna Schwartz sang parts of Winterreise in recital.15 In 1910 another student of Stockhausen challenged Winterreise’s gendered narrative and sang the full cycle; German contralto Therese Behr-Schnabel. Schnabel was one of the first women to publicly perform the entirety of Winterreise, carrying on Stockhausen’s cycle gender-bending legacy. Of her first performance on 12 January 1910 in Berlin, critic Paul Bekker celebrated her achievement, writing “her ability to grasp the spirit of the work and convey it by the sheer power of suggestion was so irresistible that all the usual demands of the listener seemed to disappear.”16 In 1928, Schnabel once again performed the full cycle within a six evening concert series at the “Beethovensaal” in Berlin. Three of the six concerts were dedicated to complete cycles, performing not only Winterreise on 6 March 1828, but also Schubert’s Die Schöne Müllerin, on 21 February, and Schwanengesang on 27 March.17 In addition to the many live performances by women in the concert hall, the recording industry saw a similar trend. Through her article, Wasserman identifies many women who recorded selections from the cycle, providing the Deutsch song number and the year each was recorded. Many of the recordings pulled

6 Originally in the Munich Allgemeine Musik-Zeitung (July 28, 1828), cited in Deutsch, (1946), p.795. 7 Programme of concert given by Kreihuber, Marie on 5 April 1858 at the Saal der Gesellschaft der Musik freunde, Vienna. Programme found within the twelve boxes of “Austria 1824-” within the “CPH collections” housed at the Royal College of Music Library, London. 8 Clive, Peter, Schubert and his World, A Biographical Dictionary, (Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1997), p.104. 9 Programme of concert given by Alice Barbi on 8 March1893 at the Saal Bösendorfer, Vienna. Programme of concert given Hermine Spies on 29 November 1886, at the Saal Bösendorfer, Vienna. Both found within the twelve boxes of “Austria 1824-” within the “CPH collections” housed at the Royal College of Music Library, London. 10 Programme of concert given by Hertha Demlow on 9 December 1910 at the Beethoven Saal, Berlin. Programme within the “Ernst Henschel Collection” in the British Library. 11 Programmes of concerts given by Alice Barbi on 11 February 1980 and 19 April 1892 at the Saal Bösendorfer, Vienna. Programmes found within the twelve boxes of “Austria 1824-” within the “CPH collections” housed at the Royal College of Music Library, London. 12 For example on 7 March 1928 Maria Deschken sang “Der Lindenbaum” at the Mannergesangverein in Berlin. Programme within the “Ernst Henschel Collection” in the British Library. 13 Nauhaus, Julia M, and Ma, Katharina, trans, “Julius Stockhausen (1826-1906)” The Schumann Network, Accessed 12 June 2018, https://www.schumann-portal.de/julius-stockhausen-1365.html. 14 Tunbridge, Laura, The Song Cycle, (Cambridge University Press, 2010), p. 53. 15 Wasserman, Janet, “A Winterreise Discography: Women Who Performed and/or Recorded Schubert's Song Cycle,” The Schubertian [SIUK], April 2017, pp. 10-24. 16 Saerchinger, Cesar, Artur Schnabel: A Biography, (Cassell & Company, 1957), p. 102. 17Advertisements and programmes for her live performances found within Boxes 6 and 17 of the “Ernst Henschel Collection” in the British Library. from Lehl’s survey and presented through Wasserman’s article support the notion that before 1928, women were recording single selections from Winterreise, paralleling trends in the concert hall. In addition, many women recorded the songs in their native languages, making the text more accessible for their audiences at home.The first recording with an identified singer is that of Jeanne Marié de L’isle singing “Der Leiermann” in 1906.18 Her recording, under the International Zonophone Company, sung in French and titled “Le Joueur de Vielle,” proves significant for not only was the first uncovered recording of Winterreise that recorded by a French woman, but it was also accompanied by an orchestra. These diversions from the integrity of the work we cling to today, regarding its authentic German language and piano accompaniment support the differing traditions and contextual transcendence of Winterreise in the early twentieth century. Wasserman’s compilation also helps to establish which pieces were the most popular among women; for example, like in the concert hall, songs such as “Der Lindenbaum” and “Der Post” maintained their popularity. “Der Lindenbaum” was recorded quite often; by Elizabeth van Endert in 1915, soprano Julia Culp in 1917, and Elena Gerhardt in 1927. Like De L’isle’s recording, many also recorded these pieces with orchestra, Maria Zimmer recording “Der Lindenbaum” with orchestra in 1917, and later, soprano Elizabeth Rethberg doing the same in 1925. The frequency of these female performances, whether it be single songs or the full cycle dwindled in 1928. Not only did this year mark the centennial of Schubert’s death, but also saw the first recording of the work in full. This recording, performed by baritone Hans Duhan with Ferdinand Foll on piano, defined a new era of Lied recording practices; setting a male precedent for full cycle recordings. Through the promotion of his recording and the many male recordings of the full work to follow, a history of voicing was established. Duhan, whether or not intentional, began the exclusion of female Winterreise recordings from the homes of Lied connoisseurs. Tunbridge supports this in writing “the establishment of recording coincided with, and perhaps even contributed to, a more conservative attitude to gender-appropriate performance. Woman had sung songs from ‘male’ cycles such as Winterreise and Dichterliebe throughout the nineteenth and for most of the first half of the twentieth century without provoking comment.19 Overall, these early full cycle recordings acted as tools of propagation, bringing the male protagonist to the forefront and ignoring the former female recordings of the work. Soon the authority of taste was determined by the recording industry, rather than by the critic or to the educated music connoisseur, thus the past female performance tradition was forgotten. Literary theorist Roland Barthes suggests that while Lied may have grown in its number of listeners, it lessened in practitioners; resulting in a growth of a homogenous idea of how works should be performed.20 This male propagation was only exacerbated when the genre was redefined to fit the ideals of Germany’s reshaping politics. When the German Nazi party came to power, past traditions were redefined under the guise of German nationalism. The establishment of Reichskulturkammer redefined the German Romantic Music Tradition as “the most German of arts,” mapping a new agenda onto the Lied tradition.21 Schubert’s music was now thought to represent a “valuable monument to the German soul and mind,” thus embodying an “utterly German” art form.22 In addition to promoting Schubert and his music, an ideal German protagonist which was thought to embody the Romantic tradition was reborn; the Bildungsroman male. This protagonist can be easily found in Winterreise; musicologists via the Nazi Newspaper, the Völkischer Beobachter, reimagining Müller’s poetry and aligning it with contemporary Nazi ideals. These musicologists reported that Müller’s protagonist contained “heroic verve and flaming enthusiasm” which “could provide young hearts with an education in heroic convention.”23 It is this redefinition and later blatant censorship by the party’s musicologists which re-wrote and re-imagined the history of Schubert’s Winterreise, excluding women from its narrative. When women sought opportunities to sing the work they were told they could not, for example, German soprano Elisabeth Schwarzkopf (1915-2006) was discouraged from singing the work. When asking composer Hermann Reutter why she was not allowed to sing Schubert’s cycle, he simply stated: “Because, Elisabeth, you are not a man.”24 While there were no

18 de L’isle, Jeanne Maria, Entry “X-83173” in “6091o - -06 in Female solo voice records” in Kelly, Alan, “His Master's Voice: The French Catalogue : a Complete Numerical Catalogue of French Gramophone Recordings Made from 1898 to 1929 in France and Elsewhere by the Gramophone Company Ltd, 1990. 19 Tunbridge, (2010), p. 55. 20 Barthes, Roland, “The Grain of the Voice,” In Image, Music, Text by Stephen Heath, trans, (London: Fontana Press, 1977). p. 185. 21 Potter, Pamela, Most German of the Arts: Musicology and Society from the Weimar Republic to the End of Hitler`s Reich, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1998), p. 11. 22 Gottrau, “Von Wesen deutscher Musik” cited in Dennis, David B, Chapter 9: “Romantic Music as Our Greatest Legacy,” In Inhumanities: Nazi Interpretations of Western Culture, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), p.201. 23 “Wilhelm Müller: Zum 100. Todestage des Dichters der Griechenlieder” Völkischer Beobachter (2 October 1927), cited in Dennis, David B, Chapter 8: “Forging Steel Romanticism,” In Inhumanities: Nazi Interpretations of Western Culture, (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2012), p. 193. written rules of female exclusion, it can be assumed that the conservative nature of the party promoted a hyper-masculine, Bildungsroman voicing of Müller’s protagonist. While there was a blatant cultural shift in Germany which led to the deletion of women from Winterreise’s performances, in non-speaking German countries such as London, Lied performances were being eradicated altogether. Between wars in London, Tunbridge blames the deletion of German songs from recital programs on political unease. Of Lied performances in London during and soon after the first world war, Tunbridge writes that “when lieder were sung they were almost always done in translation: if not in English, then in French.”25 While there are some accounts of Schubert’s Lied being performed in London during this time, such as in the National Gallery Concerts, many programs from these concerts suggest the works were performed in English.26 Once hostility against Germany and the German language had ceased after the second world war, there was a desire to sing works such as Winterreise in their authentic German language once more. After the second world war and the fall of the party, there was an artistic and cultural vacancy, creating an opportunity for a new, authentic, German Lied singer. Soon Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau would be introduced as such. His monopoly on Lied recordings, and scholarship proved detrimental to female exclusion within the performance tradition of Winterreise, thus establishing the performance practices regarding gender we adhere to today. Through his many recordings of Winterreise, German baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau (1925- 2012) whether intentionally or not, promoted his own interpretation and acted as an idealized archetype for the genre. In the preface of his book on Schubert’s song cycles, Lied accompanist Gerald Moore claims that Fischer-Dieskau is the “supreme Schubert singer of our time,” and this statement often does not go contested.27 French literary theorist Roland Barthes supports this in writing that “if you like Schubert but not Fischer- Dieskau, then Schubert is today forbidden you.”28 His first recording of Winterreise was in 1948 with Klaus Billing, yet before his first recording, many others had recorded the full cycle including mezzo-soprano Lotte Lehman in 1941, Hans Hotter in 1943, and Peter Anders in 1945. However, these recordings go unnoticed in comparison to the numerous and sanctified output of Fischer-Dieskau. Arguably, Fischer- Dieskau capitalized off of what can be credited as being German authenticity, something which both English and German audiences looked for following the second world war. German audiences embraced Fischer- Dieskau’s innovations, eager to reclaim their musical prominence and redefine their image while English audiences almost fetishized Fischer-Dieskau; eager to grasp on to anything seemingly authentic. Tunbridge explains that even before the second world war in London “for every person who protested against foreign musicians there were those who privileged ‘‘authentic’’ performances by native-born representatives.”29 This fetishization soon gave false authenticity and fidelity to the score; Fischer-Dieskau now seemingly a disciple of Schubert in the eyes of audiences. Through his prominence, Fischer-Dieskau undoubtedly innovated the genre, aiding in the regeneration of Lied and specifically Schubert’s Winterreise. However, his prominence in the recording industry which furthered the accessibility of his recordings lead to an inherent exclusion and a shift in taste. When once differing interpretations were valued for their artistic expression, now the market was limited to Fischer-Dieskau’s sound and interpretation. The vocal manipulation which characterizes his Lied singing favours the clarity of Schubert’s music over the theatrical performance of the text. Adherence to the music and beauty of the voice soon became the central focus of Lied interpretation, rather than the expression which took precedence previously. Many Lied scholars, such as Edward Kravitt go as far as to argue that details such as the integrity of rhythm which were once malleable became strict after Fischer-Dieskau’s interpretation deemed it so.30 Atop his creation of a more refined Lied sound, Fischer-Dieskau is also considered a scholar of the repertoire. Fischer-Dieskau has written and published a number of books on the Lied; his writings ranging from books on interpretation to poetry translations. While many hold his publications as law, his later teachings reveal his liberal attitude toward differing interpretations, former student Matthias Goerne recalling that “he (Fischer-Dieskau) absolutely does not suggest that I should sing a

24 Crutchfield, Will, “Recordings; Christa Ludwig Sings Schubert's ‘Winterreise’” New York Times Archives, 1988, https://www.nytimes.com/1988/07/17/arts/recordings-christa-ludwig-sings-schubert-s-winterreise.html. 25 Tunbridge, Laura, “Singing Translations The Politics of Listening Between the Wars,” University of California Press: Representations, Vol. 123, No. 1, Summer 2013, pp. 53-86. http://www.jstor.org/stable/10.1525/rep.2013.123.1.53 pp. 55-59. 26 In such programmes, the English title of the piece was given next to the German title, denoting that the work was sung in translation. Programmes found within the volumes 1, 2 and 7 of “Daily Programmes; 1939-46. Partly printed, partly typewritten, with annotations recording attendance and receipts for each concert, as well as notable events of the day, in the hand of Howard Ferguson” (Cup.404.c.1/1 : 1939-1946) within the British Library. 27 Moore, Gerald, The Schubert Song Cycles, with Thoughts on Performance, (Hamish Hamilton, 1975), p. xvi. 28 Barthes, (1977), p. 185. 29 Tunbridge, (2013), p. 76. 30 Kravitt, Edward F, The Lied: Mirror of Late Romanticism, (New Haven: Yale University Press, 1996), p. 197. piece the way he has.”31 Despite this, his legacy inherently crystallizes his own interpretation and vocal manipulation into the minds of Lied connoisseurs, erasing the possibility for alternative interpretations, especially those by women. While many contemporary connoisseurs seem to be under Fischer-Dieskau’s spell, other scholars contest his authenticity. Barthes in his 1977 essay argues that despite his German heritage, Fischer-Dieskau seems to be missing “The Grain of the Voice,” which comes to represent the body and voice which come together to create a successful poetic recitation. In Barthes’ view, Fisher-Dieskau’s technique and interpretation bleach the grain, giving his sound the authority that the poems once held. Barthes describes the implications of Fischer-Dieskau’s legacy as “an example of that positive censorship (censorship by repletion) which characterizes mass culture though it is never criticized.”32 In contrast, recordings of Winterreise which Barthes would consider as having “grain” would be De’Lisle’s French “Der Leiermann,” for it is recorded in her native language and that of her audience, thus enhancing their potential connection to the text. In contrast with the claims of Barthes, followers of Fischer-Dieskau claim that he is acting as a true channel through which Schubert’s music can be transmitted. Edward T. Cone in his book “The Composer’s Voice,” suggests that the performer, Fischer-Dieskau in this case, must act as the vessel through which the composer’s music flows.33 Whether a fan of Fischer-Dieskau or not, his legacy proves detrimental to Lied’s evolution and performance practices. However, through his many crystalized recordings not only has he caused the exclusion of women from recording the cycle, but he has placed the importance on vocal manipulation and a music-based interpretation. We can see his invisible hand in the interpretive choices and vocal style permeating Lied performance today. In conclusion, as shown by both live performances and recordings, women once rightfully performed Schubert’s Winterreise. Their exclusion began when the Nazi party redefined Schubert’s Lied in order to align with their own German narrative, and continued after the second world war when the genre revitalized and sought a new authentic performer. Fischer-Dieskau successfully provided audiences with what they considered to be authentic, yet in doing so, he brought forth a more masculine narrative and put emphasis on the voice rather than the text. Once audiences fell under the spell of Fischer-Dieskau’s interpretation, the history of female performances slipped from their memories. Should woman once again embody and reclaim the protagonist’s narrative in Winterreise? If so, the genre may possibly gain the ability to return to its gender transcendent origins, which inherently may make it more accessible to a twenty-first-century audience. Madison Schindele Madison Schindele has just completed her Master's degree in Historical Musicology at Goldsmiths, University of London. Her research interests include 19th-century German Lied, especially that of Schubert, and Feminist musicology. She also enjoys music criticism and will be a fellow at the "Rubin Institute for Music Criticism" in San Francisco this coming fall. Originally from the United States, Madison is an alumna of Oberlin College and Conservatory, where she studied Vocal Performance and Music History. In addition to her studies, she is an active member of London’s music scene, singing soprano in the London Symphony Chorus.

31 Goerne, Matthias quoted in Opera News, cited on “Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau: The Teacher,” (Accessed 16 August, 2018), http://www.mwolf.de/teacher.html. 32 Barthes, Roland, (1977), p. 185. 33 Cone, Edward T, The Composer’s Voice, (University of California Press, 1982).