A Song Cycle Intimately Journeys From Hope to Despair

schubert_small.jpgBy ALLAN KOZINN [NY Times, 20 March 2006]
Probably the last thing a listener wants to think about, in considering a performance of Schubert’s “Schˆne M¸llerin” by a brilliant singer like the bass-baritone Thomas Quasthoff, is the tension between art and commerce. But hearing Mr. Quasthoff sing this 20-song cycle in Carnegie Hall on Saturday evening, it was hard not to.