Last time I wrote about Konstantin Krimmel, I have mentioned Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. In order to keep it short, whenever I have to explain to anyone who does not know this young German baritone why he or she must hear him, I do say “he’s the new Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau”. And yet every time I say this, I feel that this is not an accurate description. There is something a bit wild (in the best sense of the word) about Konstantin Krimmel that – as I have written before – has nothing to do with DFD’s propriety and erudition. I will try to explain it this time. First, I can’t help hearing in Mr. Krimmel’s singing the voice of someone who might have listened to Jeff Buckley or David Bowie. Mr. Krimmel sings with an attitude, his Liederabend is an all-round performance. Moreover, he knows how to carry a tune the same way a pop singer does, and he also masters the art of projecting his voice in an apparently “pop” tone too. Second, there is something unpredictable about Mr. Krimmel’s renditions of well-known Lieder. He is not afraid of going to operatic extremes and of daring theatrical effects one does not readily associates with, say, Brahms. Third, as much as one can’t really say that Mr. Krimmel belongs to the kind of Lieder singers who make it all sound spontaneous (such as Irmgard Seefried), his presentation on stage on a Liederabend has many moments when you almost feel he is trying something that just occurred to him. He keeps you at the edge of your seat every second.
I had seen Konstantin a Krimmel live only once in an all Schubert recital, in which his sense of narration and the ability to keep a clean line just like a Bach singer proved to be undeniable assets. This is why I was so curious to hear him in a non-Schubert program such as the one this evening. We first heard him in Beethoven’s An die ferne Geliebte, which sounded unusually “modern” in a wide-ranging interpretation that seemed to switch between the Mozartian and the Wagnerian. These Lieder, beautiful as they are, can seem a tad coy, and it is admirable how Mr. Krimmel and his pianist Marcelo Amaral were able to find the raw feelings behind their pastel-toned description.
I have first heard Konstantin Krimmel on YouTube singing Schumann, and it seems to me that this composer brings the best from him. This evening he chose to sing the op. 40, which is far less popular than the op. 39 and one can see why. This songs are so contrasted in mood and style that I can understand why someone would feel more comfortable with a set more coherent in its demands from singer and pianist. While Märzveilchen is an item that could easily be described as schmaltzy – and it definitely sounds that way in Thomas Hampson’s recording with Geoffrey Parsons, Mr. Krimmel and Mr. Amaral were able to add a dose of testosterone to it while keeping the phrases pure and clean, almost as if this had been written by Mozart. In Muttertraum, on the other hand, one might feel tempted to make too much of the last stanza. Ten seconds before he began to sing the final part of the song, Mr. Krimmel looked as if Mr. Hyde had taken over Dr. Jekyll, his eyes gleaming with a sinister glow. If the tonal quality remained consistent, tiny distortions of pitch were telling enough. In Der Soldat, we were transported to the world of opera, Mr. Krimmel’s voice at its most heroic in the first part of the song only to scale down to an almost whispered ending. Der Spielmann was a tour de force in tone coloring, this baritone’s voice coping with all kinds of shade and intensity levels. The final item in the cycle can be tricky in its tongue-in-cheek atmosphere, and Mr. Krimmel avoided broad comic effects and worked entirely on dynamics. The remaining Schumann item was the very song I first heard him sing on YouTube, Belsazar, op. 57. While the older performance on video was a bit more focused in terms of interpretation (this evening, it seemed less spontaneous with many stances of “acting with the voice”), it remains very powerful (and stentorian) in his hair-raising characterization of the moment when Belshazzar blasphemes against God.
I wonder if Mr. Krimmel and Mr. Amaral decided to leave the best for last, for the Brahms items were especially suited for their talents. I had seen Christian Gerhaher sing Wir rafft’ ich mich auf in der Nacht (op. 32, nr.1), and this evening it sounded no less expressive, but superior in terms of legato, finish and tonal beauty. While items such as Auf dem Kirchhofe (op 105, nr. 4) and Die Mainacht (op 42, no.2) were sung with great dynamic contrast, the musical flow was never lost and the expression seemed always sincere. That said, the naturalness and sheer beauty of Mr. Krimmel’s singing in Feldeinsamkeit (op. 86, nr.2) and Sommerabend (op. 85, nr. 1) were simply irresistible and some of the best moments in this evening. All that said, this German baritone is a great Schubertian and the audience was able to hear him sing Schubert as encores: a full-toned and energetic Willkomen und Abschied D767 and a haunting Nachtstück D. 672, which almost sounded as if Schubert had composed it knowing that some day Konstantin Krimmel would sing it.
I took some time to adjust to Marcelo Amaral’s generous pedal and impressionistic articulation in the Beethoven songs, in which I am used to a more “classical” approach. Gradually, it downed on me that it was a fitful complement to Mr Krimmel’s less sentimental take on them. Then, I could realize that this work can be shown from a Late Romantic point of view, more “orchestral” in perspective and more atmospheric in characterization. In the Schumann items, Mr. Amaral’s remarkable non-percussive playing, almost Karajan-esque in its legato, offered a suitable canvas for the baritone’s wide spectrum of interpretation, and yet it was in the Brahms items that it shone at its brightest, or rather warmest and deepest sonorities.
You got me to go and listen to Mr Krimmel. Yay!! Such a lovely voice and well-trained singer. He really does have that attitude. He has taken the stuffiness out and makes lieder seem almost cool.
I will be listening to him again, and looking for his name should he come near my vicinity. Many thanks for the introduction.
I’m glad to hear you’ve enjoyed listening to Konstantin Krimmel. If you have the opportunity to see him live, don’t miss it!
I went to his website and for what’s up there through 2025, it looks to all be in Germany, with one in Lichtenstein. Perhaps he’ll be adding new concerts.
I’m interested in recitals. He’s doing some opera, all Mozart, not for me. I wonder if he is specialising in that repertoire?
Yes, most of it is in Germany. There’s one in Spain, so this means that he doesn’t crumble to ashes outside the German-speaking area 🙂
I understand that he is primarily a Lieder singer, and his roles in opera (mostly Mozart, yes) are those who allow him to keep his voice light and clear enough for Lieder. At least for the moment.
Exceptionally unique review! Your praise is rare!