EncyclopediaFischer-Dieskau, Dietrich
Fischer-Dieskau, Dietrich (dē'trikh fish'ur-dēs'kou) [key], 1925–, German baritone. Possessed of a sensitive voice capable of a wide variety of range and expression, Fischer-Dieskau is one of the foremost singers of German lieder, being particularly noted for his interpretations of the songs and song cycles of Brahms, Schubert, Schumann, and Wolf, and has performed in German and Italian opera. He made his concert debut in Freiburg in 1947, performing in Brahms's German Requiem, and his operatic debut at the State Opera in Berlin in 1948, singing Rodrigo in Verdi's Don Carlo. He gave his farewell concert in 1992. Fischer-Dieskau has also been active as a conductor and he is a longtime teacher. In addition, he has written a number of books on music and is a widely exhibited painter.
See his memoirs, Reverberations (tr. 1989); biography by H. A. Neunzig (1995, tr. 1998); study by K. S. Whitton (1981).
The Columbia Electronic Encyclopedia, 6th ed. Copyright © 2007, Columbia University Press. All rights reserved.
