No classical music performer has been described as the ‘singer of the century’ as often as Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. The description encapsulates the greatest achievement an artist can attain: elevating his personal style of interpretation to a standard that continues to set the measure even after his death. Only Maria Callas achieved anything comparable, but her sphere of influence was almost exclusively limited to 19th-century Italian opera, while Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, two years her junior, brought his artistic personality to bear in a repertoire that remains astonishingly diverse to this day: From Bach cantatas to romantic opera and contemporary songs, some 400 recordings still bear witness to the universal appeal of Fischer-Dieskau's art.

It is in the nature of things that such omnipresent artistry also provokes controversy. The criticism that Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau faced, particularly towards the end of his long career, came not least from a younger generation of artists who countered his claim to universality with a more differentiated concept of style based on the insights of historical performance practice. Herbert von Karajan, who was revered in the 1960s and 1970s in much the same way as Fischer-Dieskau, fared no differently with his interpretations of Baroque and classical music.

But the concept of the ‘singer of the century’ extends beyond the demarcation movement of the following generation. Now, almost eighty years after the young baritone began his international career with his first recitals and his performances as Posa in DON CARLO and Wolfram in TANNHÄUSER at the former Städtische Oper Charlottenburg, the universality of his work is once again a model and a more relaxed appreciation is possible. This was also demonstrated by a symposium organised three years ago by the Deutsche Oper Berlin in honour of its long-standing ensemble member on the occasion of the 10th anniversary of his death, which also focused on the lasting impact of his work. With the passing of time, the pressure on young singers to reproduce their great role model has given way to a great opportunity: to use Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau's interpretations, which were always oriented towards a balance between the meaning of the words and the musical line and took every detail into account, as a starting point for their own exploration. This is precisely what Fischer-Dieskau sought to convey in his extensive pedagogical work. The considerable number of students who today are celebrated lied and opera singers, each dealing with this legacy in their own way without denying it, is probably the finest tribute Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau himself could have wished for.