RICO LEITNER's quality CD label 'RELIEF': undervalued

> deutscher Text: https://tenorschock.blogspot.com/2023/04/raritaten-label-relief-unterbewertet.html

> nederlandse tekst: https://tenorschock.blogspot.com/2023/04/rico-leitners-kwaliteits-cd-label.html

Curiosity Label RELIEF : Underrated

The CD label RELIEF has spent years cultivating the memory of the tenor Rudolf Schock.

Unfortunately, the interest disappoints.

It started so beautifully: At the beginning of the 21st century, the Swiss publisher Rico Leitner presented a double album (2 CDs) on the CD label RELIEF for the 90th birthday of the great German tenor, containing 31 opera arias from Rudolf Schock's very own repertoire, namely that of the lyric tenor. There were also 8 hitherto unreleased songs.

In an extensive accompanying booklet with a detailed biography and 20 selected photographs, which had been contributed by Mrs. Gisela Schock, circles that had not personally seen Rudolf Schock on stage could find out more about the popular star tenor.

For this album, RELIEF was able to fall back on the collection of Wilfried Chlosta, who had been friends with Rudolf Schock. Later, three more opera titles were to be taken from this collection for publication on CD.

In the past twenty years, a total of eleven complete recordings of operas, operettas and oratorios as well as the song cycle "Die Schöne Müllerin" (with Gerald Moore at the piano) and the collection of song recordings published by EMI have been released on 2 CDs on RELIEF-CD.

Musical taste from RELIEF'S 'Die schöne Müllerin':

The publisher Rico Leitner did not make it easy for himself to find recordings that were considered lost until the beginning of this century. The RIAS recording of Lehár's "Zigeunerliebe" (1951) was one of them. He also obtained permission from the Braunschweig State Theater to publish a live recording (!) of the operetta "The Land of Smiles":

Musical taste from RELIEF'S live 'Land of Smiles':

As well as from the "Radio de la Suisse Romande" (radio station in French-speaking Switzerland) of the music part of Mozart's "Magic Flute" (the spoken dialogues were no longer preserved), the recording of a guest performance by the Vienna State Opera in Geneva in October 1952 under Heinrich Hollreiser, in which Rita Streich, Valérie Bak, Gottlob Frick and Horst Günter also took part.

This "Magic Flute" (CD RELIEF CR 1910) is one of the most important in Rudolf Schock's discography, because "Tamino" is Schock's most sung stage role. He has sung them in more than a hundred different productions! This is in principle overlooked by the people who arrogantly dismiss him as a crooner today.

In the 1950s, Rudolf Schock recorded two mixed song programs (Brahms, Mozart, Schubert, Schumann, Strauss, Wolf) for EMI, the cycle "Die schöne Müllerin" and eight orchestral songs by Richard Strauss.

Musical taste of RELIEF'S song programm: 

The two song programs, Schumann's "Dichterliebe" and the eight orchestral songs by Richard Strauss are included in the 2-CD album RELIEF CR 3010 ("Rudolf Schock, Lieder"), while "Die schöne Müllerin" (RELIEF CR 3006) is available on a single CD is available.

These two albums were to be the last RELIEF releases of Rudolf Schock recordings. There are two reasons:

From a musical point of view, they represent a highlight in Schock's discography and thus form a meaningful conclusion to the commemorative series. From a commercial point of view, sales of CDs have unfortunately been on an increasing downward trend for years. This has to do with several factors in the market. This includes the disappearance of specialist CD shops and the possibility of being able to obtain many music recordings free of charge via internet channels. Unfortunately, it also turns out that artists' so-called "fans" are by no means always willing to support editorial efforts to preserve the memory of their idol.

In the case of Rudolf Schock, it must also be said that his unprecedented popularity, thanks to thousands of television appearances, has had a negative impact on his reputation as an exemplary Mozart interpreter or "Lieder" singer: On the one hand, he was no longer taken seriously, especially by the German critics' guild ("A serious opera singer doesn't sing tearjerkers...") and on the other hand, over time, his "television fans" have outnumbered the opera audience, which of course also reduced the sale of his classical recordings.

The space available here is not sufficient to publish a scientific investigation into the forgetting of once great and famous names. In the case of the CD label RELIEF, it can be said that Rico Leitner made a great effort to commemorate Rudolf Schock to release recordings in the best possible quality (most of them were not primarily intended for release on vinyl or CD). Over time, however, the financial commitment to this goal began to become dangerous for the company, because sales seldom returned even the investment. The accusation must be directed at the German courts that companies who make a living from copying CDs from other companies are left completely unmolested. Also this losses have a negative effect over time!

But no further complaints should be made. 

The Rudolf Schock editions of RELIEF have been appreciated by many critics. At this point and at the end of these lines, some of these reviews from more recent times should be quoted:

1.) - "... an unparalleled treasure chest ... unusually unaffected, designed without sentimentality ... every turn intensive, without emotional exaggeration ... no form of manners. Still sets standards - even today" (Werner Pfister in 'Fonoforum' 2019);

2.) - "The delicacy of his expressiveness, the artistry of his legato (the perfect combination of words and sentences), but also the clear diction (understandability) and last but not least his beautiful voice make his singing an experience" (Francois Lilienfeld in ' Ensuite' 2019);

3.) - "...Rudolf Schock had his own style, he sang from the heart, so to speak. And that's exactly what makes these song recordings, which come from Schock's great singing years, so unique. What immediately fascinates is Schock's absolutely natural handling of this art form . He sings these gems of German song art without becoming pompous for a moment. The precise intonation, the legato, the unbelievably long breath, the natural musicality and, above all, the crystal-clear comprehensibility of the lyrics are admirable!" (John H. Müller, Online Merker, 2018);

4.) - "... Schock was obviously always concerned with interpreting events, feelings or impressions from the song's content. His audience needed to understand what was happening, what the composers and their lyricists wanted to convey. He defined this with his flawless theatrical intuition and passed it on to his audience. That made him so unique, that was also his success with all those people who would not have dared to go to a Wagner performance (or song recitals - KdL). Anyone who listens to the songs carefully will notice that every word can be understood, even words that are difficult to understand, such as "das Grillchen (the cricket)", which "ergötzt (delighted)" on "Anakreons Grab (Anacreon's grave)" by Hugo Wolf. Schock's song singing was also language cultivation ..." (Rüdiger Winter, Operalounge, 2018).

Rudolf Schock identifies himself in a perfectly natural way with the songs he sings: in Schubert's "Schöne Müllerin" he IS the young man in love and not a gentleman who walks along the stream and takes in his surroundings from a distance. Every music lover and especially everyone who appreciates the art of Rudolf Schock and loves his voice recognizes that Schock "would know how to make a scene visible in singing" (Jürgen Kesting in a commemorative video by Bavarian Radio).

© Krijn de Lege, April 16, 2023

Nota bene :

RELIEF CDs are produced by SONIMEX AG, 9000-St.Gallen (Switzerland). (sonimex@sunrise.ch)

Distribution is via Note 1 Music GmbH, Bergheimer Strasse 126, DE 69115 Heidelberg (info@note1-music.com).

The RELIEF productions are available in specialist shops (where they still exist) and from the relevant mail order companies (e.g. jpc, Amazon and others).