Michael Wilmering & Daan Boertien

Schubert: Winterreise

Of all the classical song cycles, Schubert’s ‘Winterreise’ is perhaps the most beloved. Baritone Michael Wilmering and pianist Daan Boertien give a surprising charge to the familiar music, which, in these uncertain times, seems to be a compass for a future whose contours are not yet entirely clear.

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About the album

Of all the classical song cycles, Schubert’s ‘Winterreise’ is perhaps the most beloved. The adventurous TRPTK label steps into the deep end with a new take on this masterpiece. Baritone Michael Wilmering and pianist Daan Boertien give a surprising charge to the familiar music, which, in these uncertain times, seems to be a compass for a future whose contours are not yet entirely clear.

Winterreise is about a man who has been rejected by his lover and has then decided to go on a journey. The songs describe his journey through a barren and desolate winter landscape, which reflects the loneliness of the traveller. The song cycle actually consists of two halves. In the first song, ‘Gute Nacht’, the main character says goodbye to his beloved and decides to leave. The rest of the cycle shows that no return is possible.

Most of the songs in the second half of the cycle are characterised by the approach of and longing for death. Wilmering, who is best known as an opera singer, succeeds in translating the tragic undertone of the ‘Winterreise’ into real emotion. Boertien’s piano playing forms a solid foundation on which his voice can flourish. “As the cycle progresses, the music comes in very directly,” the musicians say. “You feel that the main character has chosen a path from which he will not return. He finally resigns himself to his inescapable fate. It is – however contradictory it may sound – music that has worked healing for us in this period of the corona pandemic, in which people are irritable and seem to be on opposite sides.”

Starting in 2022, TRPTK will switch to the Super Jewel Box, the well-known format for SACD. The future is digital and that is why TRPTK is now going to focus on the world outside the CD: TRPTK will literally build a bridge between the physical product and a virtual world. Behind the disc you will find a QR code: if you scan this you will get a virtual booklet with lots of extra information, such as videos, stories of the recording sessions, sound clips and other relevant material.

Tracklist click to play/pause

  • Franz Schubert

    Winterreise, Op. 87 D. 911

    1. I. Gute Nacht
      6:11 Play button Pause button 6:11
    2. II. Die Wetterfahne
      1:52 Play button Pause button 1:52
    3. III. Gefrorne Tränen
      2:29 Play button Pause button 2:29
    4. IV. Erstarrung
      3:06 Play button Pause button 3:06
    5. V. Der Lindenbaum
      4:56 Play button Pause button 4:56
    6. VI. Wasserflut
      4:29 Play button Pause button 4:29
    7. VII. Auf dem Flusse
      3:32 Play button Pause button 3:32
    8. VIII. Rückblick
      2:27 Play button Pause button 2:27
    9. IX. Irrlicht
      2:50 Play button Pause button 2:50
    10. X. Rast
      3:49 Play button Pause button 3:49
    11. XI. Frühlingstraum
      4:29 Play button Pause button 4:29
    12. XII. Einsamkeit
      2:56 Play button Pause button 2:56
    13. XIII. Die Post
      2:16 Play button Pause button 2:16
    14. XIV. Der greise Kopf
      3:03 Play button Pause button 3:03
    15. XV. Die Krähe
      2:17 Play button Pause button 2:17
    16. XVI. Letzte Hoffnung
      2:15 Play button Pause button 2:15
    17. XVII. Im Dorfe
      2:53 Play button Pause button 2:53
    18. XVIII. Der stürmische Morgen
      1:01 Play button Pause button 1:01
    19. XIX. Täuschung
      1:27 Play button Pause button 1:27
    20. XX. Der Wegweiser
      4:47 Play button Pause button 4:47
    21. XXI. Das Wirthaus
      4:32 Play button Pause button 4:32
    22. XXII. Mut!
      1:32 Play button Pause button 1:32
    23. XXIII. Die Nebensonnen
      3:11 Play button Pause button 3:11
    24. XXIV. Der Leiermann
      4:03 Play button Pause button 4:03

More information

Label TRPTK
Genre(s) Classical – Romantic (1830-1920)
Artist(s) Daan Boertien
Michael Wilmering
Composer(s) Schubert, Franz
Recording location(s) Westvestkerk, Schiedam (NL)
Recording date(s) October 2021
Cat. No.

TTK 0078

Release date

January 28th, 2022

Additional links

Download Booklet(PDF)

"With his opera background, Wilmering gives an extra vivid expression to the songs and seeks out the drama in song after song. [...] Every listener will enjoy the insights that Wilmering and his excellent partner Daan Boertien offer here in good harmony; they stimulate the thought to rethink this cycle."

Jan de Kruijff, Musicalifeiten

"By the time we get to the final songs we start to hear where all of this insistence on musical rather than histrionic values has been heading. The middle section of Der Weigweiser seems to hover on the edge of another world before its opening music returns. It is all the more terrifying for being so understated. Singer and pianist are in absolute communion here. Characteristically, the climax isn’t overdone but all the more devastating for their restraint."

David McDade, MusicWeb International

"The piano presents a broad soundstage and reproduces wonderfully on my system. The baritone, Wilmering, does not hold back the emotion he feels and conveys to the listener."

Marcus DiBenedetto, HRAudio

"A special kind of singer is needed to do justice to the emotional terrain of the work, one capable of immersing himself in the role of the forlorn protagonist and conveying the despair he's experiencing. Michael Wilmering fits the bill terrifically on the sixty-seven-minute recording and is supported in doing so by Boertien's sympathetic accompaniment."

Ron Schepper, Textura

"So does Michael Wilmering (31) who sings the songs lyrically rather than dramatically, sometimes evoking a pre-World War II pathos, and is accompanied extremely discreetly by Daan Boertien."

Paul Herruer, Leeuwarder Courant

"Michael Wilmering is that rarity among concert baritones — He is truly an “actor” in the very best sense. He is immersed in what he is singing, and he makes us understand and feel it as few others can do. And Daan Boertien is his perfect partner on the piano. The pandemic gave them lots of time to study Schubert’s famous song cycle and they present it intimately and beautifully. TRPTK’s recording captures the two things that are the most difficult test of audio quality: The piano, and the male voice."

Bill Dodd, NativeDSD (Album of the Year)

"In his interpretation, Wilmering emphasizes the richly present darker sides in the cycle, which is reflected in, among other things, thoughtful tempos that allow the baritone to allow his fine voice to blossom. The duo has audibly thought about every phrase and every note."

Erik Voermans, Het Parool

"With his clear baritone, Michael Wilmering (33) imbues Schubert's Winterreise with a deceptive elegance on his newly released CD. From the tenderness of his elevation, you can hear that he had the best of intentions for the love. Listening further, his vision is also dark and pained."

Mischa Spel, NRC

"Wilmering's very clear, transparent and highly flexible baritone voice is a delight to hear. He can be delicate, yearning, quietly pleading, then transition to huge power and impact."

Rushton Paul, Positive Feedback

"Naturalistic ambience is a signal virtue of the Schubert Winterreise recorded in October last year by baritone Michael Wilmering and pianist Daan Boertien, to a degree rarely encountered even on major-label albums."

Peter Quantrill, Gramophone

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