Recordings

See: Helmut Krebs- Short Biography

Helmut Krebs is dead

Aryeh Oron wrote (September 12, 2007):
Following Ernst Haefliger death earlier this year, I was informed today that another great tenor, Helmut Krebs, died on August 30, 2007, at the age of 94.

He was an excellent and moving Bach singer, as his rich recorded legacy testifies. Unfortunately, only his recordings with Fritz Werner are currently available. .
See: http://www.bach-cantatas.com/Bio/Krebs-Helmut.htm

RIP

Randy Lane wrote (September 12, 2007):
[To Aryeh Oron] I always eagerly anticipated Universal issuing a Fritz Lehmann box while they were in the throws of the DG Original Masters series. I hear that series is dead now, so our hopes for such a reissue are probably dead, which is quite sad as I believe Krebs was in many of his Bach Cantata recordings. I am not at all hopeful that Krebs death will prompt any special issues. We haven't seen anything like that for any of the more famous stars that have recently passed away, such as Rostropovich, so to hope for it with Krebs is probably worthless hoping.

But then, many of those recordings are entering the Public Domain space in Europe, so perhaps a reissue-label could pick up on the opportunity.

Tom Brannigan wrote (September 12, 2007):
Aryeh Oron wrote:
< ........Unfortunately, only his recordings with Fritz Werner are currently available. .... >
Ah.......that's assuming you live entirely in a digital world......those shiny silver bier coasters.....ur, I mean CDs. I certainly do have several hundred of them out of desperation. I either can't find the composition on vinyl or it's just a bit too expensive at the moment. Have you ever attempted to track down Concerto Grosso No.1 by Alfred Schnittke on Melodiya vinyl.

Anyway, I checked out my 5,000 records to see if I had any recordings featuring Helmut Krebs that were NOT on a Fritz Werner recording. I came up with a couple.......there could easily be more.....I need to organize my library desperately!

Stravinsky's 1949 mono recording of Oedipus Rex/ Columbia ML 4644/ Krebs sings the role of the Shepherd.

J S Bach's St Matthew Passion (BWV 244) / also 1949/ Conducted by Fritz Lehmann/ French VOX DL 6070/ Krebs sings the role of the Evangelist.

I found these thanks to your Web Site's fact sheet on Krebs. What caught my eye was Stravinsky's favorite tenor being Richard Lewis. According to the article, Lewis took over the Oedipus role from Krebbs, but on the 1949 recording peter Pears sings that role...........No Richard on that one.........must be the 1959 stereo version.

The article also mentioned Krebs sang tenor in Bartok's Profana Cantata.....................checked my copy on Bartok records and guess what............the tenor is Richard Lewis!

Brad did say we could introduce ourselves to the group ONCE.

I love the artistry of Glenn Gould. I'm perfectly content with Gould not warming up to the music of Mozart, Schubert, Chopin, Liszt, and Bach's Chromatic Fantasy (BWV 903) ..........I have the damning video! For balance, I also listen to a very great deal to Edwin Fischer, early EMI Rosalyn Tureck, Sviatoslav Richter, Jörg Demus, Wilhelm Kempff, and Wilhelm Backhaus........................all vinyl.

Yes..........I much prefer piano to harpsichord, but I must have 25 or 30 harpsichord solo issues. I'm somewhat of a hold-over from the late Romantic age.....Anton Rubinstein...Joseph Hoffmann..etc. That's why I love Fischer's Bach..............certainly not a HIP kinda guy.

Just finished listening to Otto Klemperer conducting the Budapest Orchestra in Bach's Brandenberg Concerto No.5 with Annie Fischer on piano. Tonight will be a treat...........Klemperer's 1954 EMI recordings of the Orchestral suites on the orignal UK pressings...........Glory be to God! Testament has some live recording of these, but the powers to be at EMI have never released the 54 studio recordings on CD....shame.

I probably won't post very often, but I'm very impressed with the member's expertise on subjects I haven't dreamed of exploring. LOL............I've dedicated 6 months to the music of Arnold Schoenberg. I'm already composing simple little diitys in 12 tone.............I'm hooked.

Have a great Evening and I hope to get to know you all in time. Any questions about vinyl...just ask. WARNING: I only have about 28 cantatas on vinyl.......................150 on those shiny silver things.

My claim to fame is that I own and original Mengelberg 1939 St Matt's Passion (BWV 244) on 1952 Philips "Microgroove" vinyl. It was a gift.

I just orderd 6 of Suzuki's Cantatas SACDs from Qualiton......still waiting.

Regard's, Tom B. My Little System... http://cgi.audioasylum.com/systems/134.html

Malvenuto Cellini wrote (September 12, 2007):
[To Randy Lane] I have just read these posts right now and this is rather an uncanny coincidence as last night I was listening to parts of the Lehmann 1949 Matthäus-Passion (BWV 244) which I picked up some years ago on the "re-print/ pirate" (no longer extant) Lys label. What drove me to listen to parts of it was that I had received another recording (also a radio broadcast) in the mail featuring the same soprano and she was so wonderful in the Henze opera that I wanted to hear her in Bach and so listened to Krebs as well.

Krebs is very often dismissed by many with unpleasant remarks but is an interpreter about whom my feelings and to whom my own responses have very much changed over the years. For a while now I have come to deeply appreciate him and this began when I came to have his radio broadcasts of three of the German-translations of Berlioz's Nuits d'ֹtי (Sommernהchte) and also his participation in Gluck's Iphigénie in Aulis as Achilles with DFD as Agamemnon (issued on Gala) from 1951. (the name of the opera is so given in a mixture of languages).

In both of these works I find his interpretative skills marvellous. Then I returned to his Bach, the Lehmann MP (BWV 244) and the Werner sets which are wonderful recordings although not of the modern aesthetic.

He lived a long and accomplished life. I believe that he is mostly forgotten except amongst a small coterie of Bachians but I am sure there are many wonderful radio broadcasts in addition to Bach works. This was a period when German radio was flourishing with great artists in the wake of the reconstruction. AM radio sound is great although perhaps the Lehmann passion (BWV 244) is recorded by the radio station; the others, Berlioz and Gluck are broadcasts.

Helmut Krebs: Short Biography | General Discussions