Winterreise / Maximilian Lika / Konstantin Lukinov by Schubert, от (2023/2023), Isarphilharmonie, Munich, Germany

Schubert’s famous cycle of “horrifying songs” is a must in the annual concert schedule. Expect a “radical interpretation of Schubert’s Winterreise” (Neue Westfälische, 24 Feb. 2022) from Munich-born baritone Maximilian Lika. The multi-award-winning, internationally active concert and lieder singer won the Augsburg Media Prize with his “Winterreise durch Auxburg”, and has since thrilled audiences throughout Germany with his idiosyncratic, modern interpretation of this important cycle. Unflinchingly, with almost theatrical diction that tends towards the extremes and a multi-faceted tone, he inexorably fathoms the abyss of Schubertesque passion. Konstantin Lukinov, his congenial companion for the evening, is known as a mediator between composer and listener and knows how to present works without the traditional academic interpretation.