Sept. 5: Jonas Kaufmann Releases New Album Doppelgänger on Sony Classical with Long-Time Pianist Helmut Deutsch

Sony Classical Presents Doppelgänger
New Album by Jonas Kaufmann

New Single Out Today
Dichterliebe: Im wunderschönen Monat Mai – Listen Here

Jonas Kaufmann presents central works of the German Lied repertoire together with his long-time collaborator at the piano, Helmut Deutsch

Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Kerner Lieder on CD
Plus a spectacular staging of Franz Schubert’s Schwanengesang on DVD

Album Release Date: September 5, 2025
Pre-Order is Available Now

Just like the album Selige Stunde, the recordings of Robert Schumann’s Dichterliebe and Kerner Lieder were made during the first COVID lockdown in 2020. In retrospect, the circumstances were as bizarre as they were artistically creative, and, according to Helmut Deutsch, “made the recordings feel almost like ‘domestic music-making’, which is very different from the usually austere atmosphere of a concert hall or a studio.” For Jonas Kaufmann, it was a welcome opportunity to intensively engage with Dichterliebe once again: “It is an incredible stroke of luck to be able to sing this song cycle both as a young and as a mature singer. Dichterliebe is unique and unparalleled in the entire Lied repertoire.”

Kaufmann had already worked on the famous song cycle during his student years in Munich, while attending Helmut Deutsch’s Lied class. His piano accompanist at the time was Jan Philip Schulze, who is now Professor of Art Song Interpretation at the Hanover University of Music; together, they presented the final result at a recital, which was also recorded. Jonas Kaufmann has chosen six songs from this previously unreleased recording, made in March 1994, as bonus tracks for the Schumann CD – a fascinating contrast to the 2020 recording. Sony Classical will release Kaufmann’s new recording, titled Doppelgänger, on September 5, 2025 – pre-order is available now. Accompanying today’s announcement is the single Dichterliebe: Im wunderschönen Monat Mai – listen here.

Unlike Heinrich Heine’s ingenious texts in Dichterliebe, the poems of Justinus Kerner (1786–1862) were viewed rather critically by some of his contemporaries. “His poems may not be the greatest on their own,” Jonas Kaufmann points out, “but they become something very special when combined with Schumann’s incredibly expressive music.” Especially when it comes to the last two songs of the cycle, “Wer machte dich so krank” and “Alte Laute,” one has to be rather hard-hearted to remain unmoved.

In over 30 years of working together, Jonas Kaufmann and Helmut Deutsch have performed Schubert’s song cycles Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise many times. However, it wasn’t until 2023 that they decided to perform Schwanengesang. Their hesitation stemmed from the fact that it is not a real song cycle “but rather a collection of Schubert’s last songs left behind in a manuscript and subsequently described by the publisher as Schubert’s swan song, i.e. a dying man’s last utterance,” states Jonas Kaufmann. “From today’s perspective, the whole thing would more likely be described as a collection put together by a publisher. But Claus Guth’s staging has now turned it into a genuine cycle.”

Claus Guth, one of the world’s most renowned theatre directors whose work encompasses stagings for the Salzburg Festival as well as opera houses in London, Vienna and New York, presented Schwanengesang as the story of a wounded soldier during the First World War: in the former Drill Hall of the historic Park Avenue Armory in New York, dancers portrayed nurses and war invalids on a huge stage filled with seventy hospital beds. Kaufmann’s intense portrayal of the protagonist, the musical dialogue with Helmut Deutsch, the sophisticated use of lighting, and electronic soundscapes resulted in a performance that was enthusiastically received by audience and press alike.

“The theatrical force of this scene was so strong that the audience let out an audible gasp of shock,” wrote The New York Times. And Theatermania stated: “Doppelganger is awesome experimental theater on a grand scale … There’s really nothing like it in New York right now.” The New York production also marked Helmut Deutsch’s début as a solo pianist: playing the “Andante sostenuto” from Schubert’s Piano Sonata in B-flat major, D 960, he created a haunting moment of repose in the middle of the performance.

For both musicians, this production was an experience that had a lasting impact. “The staging added a new dimension. It is certainly far more than anyone could have imagined for this song cycle,” says Jonas Kaufmann. “For me, the shadow of the plane that swept over us was an extraordinary moment. It was very oppressive, and we could vividly imagine how the people who were constantly exposed to such attacks from the air at that time must have felt. For the audience, the most powerful moment was probably the final scene, when I, close to death, walk into the light and the heavy gate of the Armory Hall suddenly opens onto Lexington Avenue: you see pedestrians and cars, and hear the street noise. Many audience members have described this intrusion of reality into the stage action as an unforgettable experience.”

Jonas Kaufmann Concert Calendar: https://jonaskaufmann.com/kalender/