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| |  | Keyword Search: Mozart Effect-Music for Babies | Home » Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde | | | | | | | Product Promotions: | | | | | Description: | | Mahler considered The Song of the Earth his most personal work, and indeed it is one of his greatest and most moving. Its six sections, sung alternately by the mezzo-soprano and tenor, are set to seven poems from The Chinese Flute, a collection of Chinese lyrics translated into German by Hans Bethge, which echo Mahler's love of nature and contrast the earth's renewal each spring with the transience of human life. Composed after he lost his beloved 4-year-old daughter and was diagnosed with a serious heart ailment, the music encompasses heart-rending anguish and sublime ecstasy; conceived in the shadow of death, it is suffused with a sense of sorrowful, reluctant leave-taking finally transformed into resigned renunciation. The scoring for a large orchestra is masterful and includes many solo passages; melodic, harmonic, and instrumental devices at times create an oriental flavor. Among the work's many recordings, this is certainly one of the best. The orchestra is splendid; its wonderfully transparent sound, together with Klemperer's extremely leisurely, deliberate tempi, allows many apparently brand-new lines and details to come out and gives the second tenor solo a strikingly Chinese character. Moreover, the singers can be clearly heard, and they are incomparable: vocally glorious, musically deeply involved, sensitive to every expressive nuance and subtlety of words and music, they follow Mahler to the heights and depths of emotion, making the performance an overwhelming, unforgettable experience. --Edith Eisler | | | Product Details: | | | Audio CD Release Date:
| January 12, 1999 | | Studio:
| EMI Classics | | Composer:
| Gustav Mahler | | Conductor:
| Otto Klemperer | | Orchestra:
| New Philharmonia Orchestra, Philharmonia Orchestra and Chorus | | Number Of Discs:
| 1 | | Format:
| Original recording remastered | | Average Customer Rating:
|  based on 31 reviews |
| | | Track Listing: | | | 1. | Das Lied von der Erde, for alto (or baritone), tenor & orchestra: No. 1, 'Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde' (The Drinking Song of Ea | | 2. | Das Lied von der Erde, for alto (or baritone), tenor & orchestra: No. 2, 'Der Einsame im Herbst' (The Solitary Autumn): 'Herbstnebel | | 3. | Das Lied von der Erde, for alto (or baritone), tenor & orchestra: No. 3, 'Von der Jugend' (Of Youth): 'Mitten in dem kleinen Teiche' | | 4. | Das Lied von der Erde, for alto (or baritone), tenor & orchestra: No. 4, 'Von der Schonheit' (Of Beauty): 'Junge Madchen pflucken Blu | | 5. | Das Lied von der Erde, for alto (or baritone), tenor & orchestra: No. 5, 'Der Trunkene im Fruhling' (The Drunkard in Spring): 'Wenn n | | 6. | Das Lied von der Erde, for alto (or baritone), tenor & orchestra: No. 6, 'Der Abschied' (The Farewell): 'Die Sonne scheidet hinter de | |
| | | Customer Reviews: | |
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A Moving PerformanceJul 16, 2010
I can only agree with other reviewers that this performance is the best of Das Lied von der Erde. The soloists - Fritz Wunderlich and Christa Ludwig are perfect bringing the precise emotion and vocal strength required by this piece. Often, the tenor struggles to obtain the volume and strains for the upper register notes in Das Trinklied von Jammer der Erde, but not Fritz Wunderlich. He conveys the horror of the ape in the graveyard and the desolation in the refrain "Dunkel is das leben, ist der Tod." He is also unmatched in conveying the carefree joy of Von der Jugend and Der Trunkene in Fruhling.
Christa Ludwig is equally strong in her movements. In Der Abschied, she displays remarkable sensitivity to the text and conveys the emotion of the music beautifully. I have been more familiar with Bruno Walter's tempi for Das Lied so Otto Klemperer's broader reading was very refreshing. The difference in tempi between Walter and Klemperer is perhaps best observed in Von der Schonheit. Normally, the singer has to sing at a breathless rate and quickly revert to the original slower tempo. With Klemperer, there is no race but neither is the pace so slow that music suffers.
One cannot help but notice that it seems two orchestras were used to make this recording. That is because the recording sessions were separated by 29 months. The Philharmonia Orchestra was disbanded by founder Walter Legge and reformed themselves as the New Philharmonia Orchestra. Regardless of the time factor, it all came together beautifully. The re-mastering is excellent and the price modest, making this a recording not to be missed.
Producer Legge enough reason to buyFeb 23, 2010
For those of us who admire this composition, the lavish instrumentation is only one of its many wonders. Follow the mandoline part in the score, the example, and hunt for the mandoline plunks along the way. (Surely the musician's union would allow this player to go out for a smoke between plinks and plunks.) But these sounds, one heard then removed, would reduce the wonderful color of the whole.
I enjoy the versions I have: Solti, Lipovsek, Moser; Runnicles, Cargill, Botha; Walter, Miller, Hafliger; Walter, Ferrier, Patzak; Bernstein, King, Fischer-Dieskau. For me, the name Walter Legge attached to this production would be reason to add it to my collection.
If Klemperer had a reputation for stolid tempi, here his beat seems most appropriate, leading to a close (Yes, we already know that's coming up.) that is most satisfying. Wunderlich conveys sadness in tne merriment and manages the tessitura best of all the tenor I have heard. Ludwig sings her music with simplicity that comes from great artistry. Wonderful sound. Highly recommended
1 of 1 found the following review helpful:
Simply perfectJun 20, 2009
Here is an easy recommendation (and the general consensus is completely correct). From the rich, frantic opening bars, this recording completely grabs one's attention. Klemperer is a superb Mahlerian, and he transforms his Philharmonia and soloists into Mahlerians, too. Too much (and by more knowledgeable than I) has been said about this wonderful symphony -- just read above.
That said, everything about this recording is of the highest quality: the performance, the direction, the sound (another triumph for the EMI remastering team).
This IS one of the great recordings of the century. And at this budget price, too? This is a no-brainer. Just buy it.
Aesthetic quality/sound quality (out of ten): 10/10
2 of 12 found the following review helpful:
 A Historic recording?Mar 17, 2009
Otto Klemperer's "Das Lied von der Erde" was attractive to me because of his connection as a young man with Mahler himself. It may very well reflect Mahler's own manner in performance, but since Mahler never directed a performance of Das Lied, that is only a supposition. The recording was apparently assembled from different recording sessions over a period of years, and from audible differences of sound, for instance in the oboe's sound, it would not surpise me if different players might have recorded with the orchestra at times. There are some wonderful moments from the singers, notably Christa Ludwig's performance in Der Abschied. The recording does well by the most prominent sounds,the horns and trumpets are particularly well heard, but so should the harps be in "Der Abschied". Fritz Wunderlich's voice seems unnecessarily stentorian, but perhaps the orchestral volume of sound made that necessary. It is very interesting, but I doubt that Mahler, a demanding taskmaster, would have been satisfied.
5 of 6 found the following review helpful:
One of those rare recordings where everything surpasses all expectationNov 09, 2008
The modern Mahler revival began in the Sixties, and some recordings from that era have managed to survive all but unchallenged. That's certainly true of Klemperer's 'Das Lied.' On all counts it's likely never to be matched. Fritz Wunderlich still stands supreme among German lyric tenors, and microphones allow us to hear every detail of a resplendent, passionate account that's especially sensitive to the poetry. Christa Ludwig has had two equals in Janet Baker and Kathleen Ferrier, all three of whom sang 'Das Lied' many times. Of Ludwig's three recordings, this has the best sound, but she was amazingly consistent and sings for Bernstein (Sony) and Karajan (DG) with equal depth and artistry.
It's natural to notice the two soloists first because Mahler wrote such difficult music for them -- many fine Mahler conductors have had their 'Das Lied' recordings undone by inferior singing (e.g., Bruno Walter on his stereo remake for Columbia/Song, Tennstedt, Giulini, Boulez, Levine). Other conductors have been more fortunate: Kubelik on Auditie, Salonen, Tilson Thomas, Bruno Walter on three historic performances dating from the 30s to the early 50s. But Otto Klemperer was given the best of the beest, and he responded with a towering reading of the orchestral part, often as grave and deliberate as Walter was fast-paced and passionate. Both stand at the summit of Mahaler conducting.
In this latest remastering, EMI has done well by analog sound that was very good to begin with, and the New Philharmonia plays superbly. I lie awake at night musing on whether another generation will ever have the privilege of hearing music-making at such a peak.
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