Elisabeth Schwarzkopf

Speaker 40:00

This is the BBC.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf0:03

Hello, I'm Kirstie Young, and this is a download from the Desert Island Discs archive. This edition may be slightly different from what was actually broadcast, but it is the only version we have. The recording didn't contain the guests' eight music choices, so we've rebuilt the original show by using discs from the BBC Gramophone library. For Wrights' reasons, we've had to shorten the music.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf0:24

Full details can be found on the Castaways page on the Desert Island Disc's website.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf0:29

The programme was originally broadcast in nineteen fifty eight.

Presenter0:33

Desert Island Lisp.

Presenter0:42

Each week, a well-known person is asked the question, if you were to be cast away alone on a desert island, which eight gramophone records would you choose to have with you, assuming, of course, that you also had a gramophone?

Presenter0:54

As usual, the week's castaway is introduced by Roy Plumley.

Presenter0:59

How do you do, ladies and gentlemen?

Presenter1:01

Our Castaway this week possesses one of the most beautiful singing voices in the world.

Presenter1:05

Her records have frequently preceded her to this island, records of opera, of leader, and of operetta. It's with great pleasure that I welcome ashore Elizabeth Schwartzkopf.

Presenter1:14

Madam Shrotkoff, you spend most of your life travelling about the world. Have you had any experience of desert islands?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf1:19

Oh, indeed I have had a lot of experience. Yes. I had an emergency landing once from coming back from Australia.

Presenter1:20

You have it.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf1:24

in an island in the middle of the Pacific, and there was nothing but a coral reef, a hut, a landing way, a landing strip.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf1:32

and uh stranded ship.

Presenter1:34

How long are you there?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf1:35

Five hours.

Presenter1:36

Oh, five hours. I'm afraid this is going to be longer than that.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf1:37

I'm afraid.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf1:39

Ah, but I will have records with me.

Presenter1:40

Oh yes.

Presenter1:42

Do you have much time to play records in in ordinary life?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf1:45

No, not really. You know, uh when we are making those records we listen to them so many times that w once they are finished we have no time ever to listen to them again and that's what I want to do when I'm on the desert island.

Presenter1:56

Well with your husband and executive of Gramophone Record Company, there must be plenty of records in your home.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf2:00

Yeah, I should think there are. I think we have about uh ten thousand.

Presenter2:04

Ten thousand, all those riches and you can't play them.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf2:06

No.

Presenter2:07

Oh, so what what is your plan of campaign? That they're mostly your own records that you haven't really had a chance to rehearse anymore.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf2:13

Oh, and of great artists which I haven't had the chance to hear and which I would like to hear really for the first

Presenter2:19

For the first time in my life. What's the first one you've chosen?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf2:22

Well, I'm afraid I will stick to my own records for once because I will like to relive my life, surely, as I have lived with very many wonderful artists and colleagues. And I would like to play you the record which is

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf2:36

began my career outside of Vienna.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf2:39

And it is the Brahms Reykvian.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf2:42

On the strength of that record I was

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf2:44

engaged to do the Brands Reichwell with Fort Wengeland Lucerne in 1947. And also Toscanini heard that record and later told me quite a lot of things about it.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf2:55

And that

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf2:57

One great friend in Toscanini through the Braunsreich firm.

Presenter3:01

A very important record in all live lists here.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf3:02

Yes, indeed.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf4:03

Well, this was the first record I ever made with Herbert von Karja, and with whom I later was going to make very many more and very many opera performances in Milan.

Speaker 44:10

Let me

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf4:12

And also one of the many records I made with the Vienna Philemonic.

Speaker 44:16

Happy.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf4:16

Now to stay in Vienna, another record which you will recognize instantly and which I think is

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf4:22

something very lovable.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf4:24

It is made in London, by the way, but it is Vienna in spirit.

Speaker 44:39

I lost

Speaker 45:05

Praise God, we delight, we love, praise the Lord, our Lord heal us all.

Presenter5:27

The waltz from Strazi's Wiener Bluet. I recognized your voice. Who was the tenor?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf5:30

The tenor was Nikolai Geddaim.

Presenter5:33

Madam Sharzkov, let's go back to the beginning. Did you hear a lot of music as a child where your parents' musical?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf5:38

Yes, very much so. You know, I started naturally with the piano like everybody else does when I was quite young. And I played the viola and I played the guitar, the organ, and the organ services and

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf5:47

Well, I even played the Glockenspiel. Do you call that like that? Yes, Glockenspiel.

Presenter5:51

Yes, copy.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf5:52

In an in a marching orchestra when I was at school. A marching orchestra, that sounds like a so well odd things when it's done once like that. Where were you born?

Presenter5:54

Marching orchestra, that's our stuff.

Presenter5:58

Yeah.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf5:59

I was born in the east of Germany, in a part which is now Polish, but I'm really German by birth until I became an Austrian citizen rather kind of

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf6:07

Honorary, honorable, how do you say that?

Presenter6:10

Or both, yes.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf6:10

On very, very good.

Presenter6:13

Uh what were you studied in Berlin then?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf6:15

I did study in Berlin. My real teacher was Maria E. Vogen, whom I think everybody will remember from her at Sabinetta, and she sang in London quite

Presenter6:21

Yeah, so

Presenter6:23

Um

Presenter6:24

You did visit England at that time while you were studying.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf6:27

Oh, yes, I came to England first as a League of Nations student and I was cycling through England and I was uh camping in England and I remember some beautiful camping places. And then I was staying with a family in Leicester where I really laid the ground for my English uh

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf6:45

Well, the command of the English language. I hope it is not too bad.

Presenter6:50

Very good.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf6:50

And also I think I laid the ground for my later marriage to an Englishman.

Presenter6:54

You began studying as a good childhood, didn't you?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf6:56

Yes, I started that with a very famous leader singer of that time, Lula Muskmeine. And of course I wasn't a contralto, but I still remember her as a very great artist.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf7:05

Uh when it comes to expression.

Presenter7:07

Mm-hmm.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf7:08

That was the first time I heard really somebody with a fabulous command of expression.

Presenter7:11

What was your very first professional engagement?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf7:14

Oh, I played at a funeral church service and it was the viola I played then.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf7:20

twenty marks for it, so that was more.

Presenter7:21

Drop it.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf7:22

Drop

Presenter7:22

And your first professional gateway to the singer.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf7:25

At this point, after Elizabeth Schwartzkopf's first two music choices, our recording gives out, but it restarts in time for her final two records.

Presenter7:35

Alright, we'll have one of the mindset. Um you said when you first came to England you did some camping out. Now that might be useful.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf7:41

I'm sure it will, you know, because I know all about it and I know all about cooking on a on a campfire and so that it would be really, really nice.

Presenter7:48

What do you go to cook?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf7:50

Ha! The vital question. Well, I would have a French cookery book with me at all costs. But you know, I nowadays I spend my life not reading French cookery books at all, but only books on dieting. And well, you know, that's rather a vain hope to have some of the books.

Presenter8:09

Yes, I don't think you'll be able to do very many elaborate French dishes on the island, so there's no reason why you shouldn't have that cookery book. Thank you. You're only good at fishing.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf8:16

No, not at all, only for compliments.

Presenter8:20

And uh

Presenter8:22

Can you build somewhere to live? That's important.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf8:24

Well, you know, I have been, as I told you, tenting and camping in England. I still remember some very good camping places and I I think I'm quite in nature

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf8:33

I don't know.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf8:34

girl, so to speak, I can make do.

Presenter8:37

Good, good. Well, we'll leave that then and get back to music. What number seven?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf8:40

Hmm oh well

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf8:42

Nature, childhood camping and so on brings me to something which I really like to play into this Hansel and Gretel, which was also

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf8:51

Uh we call it here in uh

Speaker 18:53

Yeah.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf8:54

London. It was Herbert von Karing and conducting and we had all a wonderful time.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf8:59

Going back to childhood memories. Now I want to play you the scene in the woods.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf9:03

where the children are frightened not by being alone on a desert island, but by being alone in a forest.

Speaker 49:09

It felt as much, it felt as niche.

Speaker 19:30

So

Speaker 49:41

See if these things will grow and show it. See command, see command.

Speaker 410:04

First mouth does he like

Presenter10:14

And now we've come to your last tray code. What's that going to be?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf10:15

One more thing.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf10:17

Well, it's the one record and the one opera I have been

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf10:21

trying to live up to all my life and I had the great fortune to do it quite often now.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf10:27

It is The Rosen Cavalier by Strauss.

Presenter10:30

This is the answer to the question I asked you earlier on of which is your favourite row?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf10:33

Indeed, it is the marshalin in the Rosen Cavalier. And you know, I had the great fortune in discussing it with Lotte Lehmann, and Lotte Lehmann, who you know has been the classic marshalin. has passed on to me quite a lot of knowledge about this and even has passed on to me something very dear to me now, a little Viennese bronze chimney sweep, which should bring me good luck for this role. But you're not going to hear anything sung by Ms. Schwatzkov now, you're going to hear only the orchestra introduction to hear my Hundred Children, which is the Philemonia Orchestra.

Speaker 411:09

This

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf11:09

And Herbert van Carrion and the Very Wonderful Horn.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf11:12

Then his brain.

Presenter12:12

Now you have one more choice to make, and that's your luxury. You said you were going to take a French cookery pukul. That's all right, you got that. Now you can choose something else.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf12:20

Yes, well it I'm afraid it will have to be some suntan oil, you know, because I once in my life life hoped to have time to lie in the sun. That's what I eternally want. I'm looking for the sun all my life. And you can never allow to sit or lie in the sun. Why? Well, when you have to sing a performance in the evening or a concert, you cannot lie in the sun for three hours. You will be all dried up and all

Presenter12:32

And you burn it.

Speaker 112:32

Uh

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf12:40

Parched?

Presenter12:41

I didn't realize that. You must take no chances with that voice of yours. We'll give you the biggest supply of sunpan oil we can relay on. I'm afraid it's no good for cooking in if you were hoping for the help to.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf12:44

Yeah.

Presenter12:52

And thank you very much, Elizabeth Stratzkov, for letting us hear your choice of Desert Island Disc. Try to spend some more time with us in London in the future, will you?

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf12:58

Oh, I loved her.

Presenter12:59

Goodbye everyone.

Speaker 113:13

The guest in today's recorded programme was Elizabeth Schwartzkopf, the interviewer Roy Plumley and the producer Monica Chapman.

Elisabeth Schwarzkopf13:20

You've been listening to a podcast from the Desert Island Discs Archive. For more podcasts please visit bbc.co. uk slash radio four. This is the BBC