Benjamin Appl
that we try to put the spotlight on a song from different angles
As he prepares to make a new film of Winterreise, the German baritone tells Katy Hamilton why no performance of Schubert’s great song cycle can ever be considered definitive
A s soon as he speaks, it is clear that Benjamin Appl has a madly overloaded schedule. Filming in Vienna, trips to Switzerland, teaching and concert tours… the weeks around our Zoom call are clearly jam-packed with activity, and although he’s enjoying a brief visit to his parents, the days are full of discussions and planning sessions as he prepares for his next big project: a new film of Schubert’s Winterreise for BBC 4. He pauses for a moment, smiling rather sheepishly, aware he’s getting ahead of himself. ‘Sorry,’ he says; ‘it’s just very exciting!’
As, indeed, has been Appl’s career to date. Born in Regensburg in eastern Bavaria, he was a chorister
