Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau is probably the greatest German lyric singer of the 20th century, and KBYU radio (FM-89.1) plans to honor him with a special six-part radio series that it produced with partial funding from the Corporation for Public Broadcasting.

"Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and the Art of Song" will begin Tuesday, May 2, 7 p.m. and air weekly at that same time through June 6. Repeats of the program will be broadcast each Sunday at 6 p.m. through June 11.Each of the one-hour programs examines the German art song through Fischer-Dieskau's performances.

The series also explores the contributions of the most important composers of German art song and how Fischer-Dieskau's career helped keep that tradition alive.

Commentary in the series is provided by Fischer-Dieskau himself and other such notables as Wolfgang Sawallisch, conductor and pianist; Will Crutchfield, conductor, music critic and vocal coach; George Jellinek, host of "Vocal Scene" and music critic; and Leslie Norris, internationally known Welsh poet and professor of humanities and creative writing at Brigham Young University.

The Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau program schedule will be:

Tuesday, May 2, 7 p.m. -- "Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau." His career will be explored in his own words and through those who know him best.

Tuesday, May 9, 7 p.m. -- "Franz Schubert." The composer was a pivotal character in German lieder.

View Comments

Tuesday, May 16, 7 p.m. -- "Winterreise." What is a song cycle? Find out in Fischer-Dieskau's approximately 90-minute performance of Schubert's "Winterreise, the Winter Journey."

Tuesday, May 23, 7 p.m. -- "Robert Schumann and Heinrich Heine." Schumann's ironic musical sensibility found its match in the poems of the great German romantic, Heinrich Heine. This program also includes a complete performance of Schumann's song cycle, "Dichterliebe -- The Poet's Love."

Tuesday, May 30, 7 p.m. -- "Hugo Wolf." Wolf was so good a writing songs that he almost wrote nothing else. Wolf was a musical chameleon who changed his style at will to fit the needs of the many kinds of poetry that he understood so well.

Tuesday, June 6, 7 p.m.. -- "Johannes Brahms and Gustav Mahler." As song composers, the key for Brahms and Mahler was quality, not quantity. This program includes some of their greatest works. -- Lynn Arave

Join the Conversation
Looking for comments?
Find comments in their new home! Click the buttons at the top or within the article to view them — or use the button below for quick access.