Gustav Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
This recording has been praised since it was originally issued in the 1960s as one of the finest performances of Mahler's colorful piece. Your own reaction to it will depend on how you feel about Elisabeth Schwarzkopf's utter inability to let the words of a song speak for themselves. The tests are folk poems, and simplicity of delivery is essential. Both singers here have a hard time resisting the urge to interpret, and the result comes dangerously close to parody in places. However, there's no denying the excellence of the singing as such, but for my money, the disc is worth owning just for the quality of George Szell's accompaniments, which are simply superb. --David Hurwitz

Tracks:

Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt I: Langsam. Schleppend. Wie Ein Naturlaut - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt I: Immer Sehr Gemachlich - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt I: Sehr Gemachlich - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt I: Vorwats Dragend - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt II: Kraftig Bewegt - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt II: Trio. Recht Gemachlich - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt II: Tempo Primo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt III: Feierlich Und Gemessen, Ohne Zu Schleppen - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt III: A Tempo. Ziemlich Langsam - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt III: Sehr Einfach Und Schlicht Wie Eine Volksweise - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt III: Weider Etwas Bewegter, Wie Im Anfang - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt IV: Sturmisch Bewegt - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt IV: Sehr Gesangvoll - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt IV: Wieder Wie Zu Angang. Sturmisch Bewegt - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt IV: Sehr Langsam - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt IV: Wieder Vorwarts Drangend - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': Andante - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': Andante Come Prima - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': A Tempo (Fliessend) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': Measure 104 - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': Measure 194 - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': A Tempo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein

Tracks:

Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt I: Allegro Maestoso - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt I: Sehr Massig Und Zuruckhaltend - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt I: Schnell - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt I: Tempo I - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt I: Tempo Sostenuto - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt II: Andante Moderato - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt II: Energisch Bewegt - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt II: Wieder In's Tempo Zuruckgehen. Tempo I - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt III: In Ruhig Fliessender Bewegung - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt III: Vorwarts - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt III: Zum Tempo I. Zuruckkehren - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan

Tracks:

Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt IV: ' Urlicht' - Sehr Feierlich, Aber Schlicht - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt IV: Etwas Bewegter - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Im Tempo Des Scherzos. Wild Herausfahrend - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Langsam - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Im Anfang Sehr Zuruckgehalten - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Maestoso - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Wieder Zuruckhaltend - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Sehr Langsam Und Gedehnt - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Langsam. Misterioso - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Etwas Bewegter 'O Glaube' - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Mit Aufschwung, Aber Nicht Eilen 'O Schmerz!' - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Piu Mosso 'Sterben' - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.5 in c#: IV. Adagietto. Sehr Langsam - New York PO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Veni, Creator Spiritus! - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Imple Superna Gratia - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Infirma Nostri Corporis - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Tempo I. (Allegro, Etwas Hastig) - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Infirma Nostri Corporis - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Accende Lumen Sensibus - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Qui Paraclitus Deceris - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Gloria Patri Domino - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...

Tracks:

Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Kraftig. Entschieden - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Langsam. Schwer - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Tempo I - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: A Tempo - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Immer Dasselbe Tempo (Marsch). Nicht Eilen - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Im Alten Marschtempo (Allegro Moderato) - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Tempo I - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt II: Tempo Di Menuetto. Sehr Massig - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt II: A Tempo - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt II: Ganz Plotzlich Gemachlich. Tempo Di Menuetto - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt III: Comodo. Scherzando. Ohne Hast - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt III: Wieder Sehr Gemachlilch, Wie Zu Anfang - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt III: Etwas Zuruckhaltend - Sehr Gemachlich - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt III: Tempo I. Mit Geheimnisvolles Hast! - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt III: Wieder Sehr Gemachlich, Beinahe Langsam - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt IV: Sehr Langsam. Misterioso. Durchaus Ppp - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt IV: Piu Mosso Subito - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt V: Lustig Im Tempo Und Keck Im Ausdruck - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...

Tracks:

Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: Langsam. Ruhevoll. Empfunden - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: Nicht Mehr So Breit - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: Tempo I. Ruhevoll! - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: A Tempo (Etwas Bewegter) - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: Tempo I - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: Langsam. Tempo I - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Three Ruckert Songs: Ich Atmet Einen Linden Duft - Jennie Tourel
Three Ruckert Songs: Ich Bin Der Welt Abhanden Gekommen - Jennie Tourel
Three Ruckert Songs: Um Mitternacht - Jennie Tourel
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Das Irdische Leben - Jennie Tourel
Kindertotenlieder: Nun Will Die Sonn' So Hell Aufgeh'n! - Jennie Tourel
Kindertotenlieder: Nun Seh' Ich Wohl, Warum So Dunkle Flammen - Jennie Tourel
Kindertotenlieder: Wenn Dein Mutterlein - Jennie Tourel
Kindertotenlieder: Oft Denk' Ich, Sie Sind Nur Ausgegangen - Jennie Tourel
Kindertotenlieder: In Diesem Wetter! - Jennie Tourel

Tracks:

Sym No.4 in G: Movt I: Bedachtig. Nicht Eilen - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt I: Tempo I - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt I: Wieder Wie Zu Anfang. Sehr Gemachlich, Behaglich - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt I: Wieder Plotzlich Langsam Und Bedachtig - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt II: In Gemachlicher Bewegung. Ohne Hast - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt II: Nicht Eilen - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt III: Ruhevoll - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt III: Viel Langsamer - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt III: Anmutig Bewegt - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt III: Andante - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt III: Vorwarts. Poco Piu Mosso - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt IV: Sehr Behaglich - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt IV: Wieder Lebhaft - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt IV: Tempo I. Sehr Zart Und Geheimnisvoll Bis Zum Schluss - Reri Grist

Tracks:

Sym No.5 in c#: Part I: I. Trauermarsch. In Gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie Ein Kondukt - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.5 in c#: Part I: II. Sturmisch Bewegt. Mit Grosster Vehemenz - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.5 in c#: Part II: III. Scherzo. Kraftig, Nicht Zu Schnell - James Chambers
Sym No.5 in c#: Part III: IV. Adagietto. Sehr Langsam - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.5 in c#: Part III: V. Rondo-Finale. Allegro - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein

Tracks:

Sym No.6 in a 'Tragic': I. Allegro Energico, Ma Non Troppo (Heftig, Aber Markig) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.6 in a 'Tragic': II. Scherzo. Wuchtig - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.6 in a 'Tragic': III. Andante Moderato - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.6 in a 'Tragic': IV. Finale. Allegro Moderato - Allegro Energico - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein

Tracks:

Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Langsam (Adagio) - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Nicht Schleppen - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Allegro Risoluto, Ma Non Troppo - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: A Tempo (Sempre L'istesso) - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Subito Allegro I. Ziemlich Ruhig - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Adagio (Tempo Der Einleitung) - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Maestoso. Allegro Come Prima - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt II: Nachtmusik I. Allegro Moderato - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt II: Sempre L'istesso Tempo. Nicht Eilen, Sehr Gemachlich - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt II: Tempo - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt III: Scherzo. Schattenhaft, Fliessend, Aber Nicht Zu Schnell - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt III: Trio - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt III: Wieder Wie Zu Anfang (Nicht Eilen) - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt IV: Nachtmusik II. Andante Amoroso - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt IV: (Figure 197) - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt V: Rondo-Finale. Tempo I (Allegro Ordinario) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.7 in e: Movt V: Gemessen! Nicht Schnell! Tempo II (Allegro Moderato Ma Energico) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.7 in e: Movt V: Tempo I (Halbe Wie Die Viertel Des Tempo I) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.7 in e: Movt V: Sempre L'istesso Tempo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein

Tracks:

Kindertotenlieder: Nun Will Die Sonn' So Hell Aufgeh'n! - Janet Baker
Kindertotenlieder: Nun Seh' Ich Wohl, Warum So Dunkle Flammen - Janet Baker
Kindertotenlieder: Wenn Dein Mutterlein - Janet Baker
Kindertotenlieder: Oft Denk' Ich, Sie Sind Nur Ausgegangen - Janet Baker
Kindertotenlieder: In Diesem Wetter! - Janet Baker
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Veni, Creator Spiritus! - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Imple Superna Gratia - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Infirma Nostri Corporis - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Tempo I. (Allegro, Etwas Hastig) - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Infirma Nostri Corporis - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Accende Lumen Sensibus - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Qui Paraclitus Diceris - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Gloria Patri Domino - LSO/Leonard Bernstein

Tracks:

Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Poco Adagio - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Piu Mosso. (Allegro Moderato) - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Waldung, Sie Schwankt Heran - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Ewiger Wonnebrand - Vladimir Ruzdjak
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Wie Felsenabgrund Mir Zu Fussen - Donald McIntyre
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Gerettet Ist Das Edle Glied - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor/Highgate School Boys Choir
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Jene Rosen, Aus Den Handen - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Uns Bleibt Ein Erdenrest - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Ich Spur' Soeben - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Hier Ist Die Aussicht Frei/Freudig Empfangen Wir - John Mitchinson
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Hochste Herrscherin Der Welt - John Mitchinson
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Jungfrau, Rein Im Schonsten Sinne - John Mitchinson/Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Aussert Langsam. Adagissimo - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Dir, Der Uberuhrbaren/Du Schwebst Zu Hohen - Gwyneth Jones
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Bei Der Liebe, Die Den Fussen - Erna Spoorenberg
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Bei Dem Bronn, Zu Dem Schon Weiland - Anna Reynolds
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Bei Dem Hochgeweihten Orte - Norma Procter
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Die Du Grossen Sunderinnnen - Erna Spoorenberg/Anna Reynolds/Norma Procter
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Neige, Neige, Du Ohnegleiche - Gwyneth Jones
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Er Uberwachst Uns Schon - Highgate School Boys Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Vom Edlen Geisterchor Umgeben - Gwyneth Jones
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Komm! Hebe Dich Zu Hohern Spharen! - Gwenyth Annear
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Blicket Auf Zum Retterblick - John Mitchinson
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Alles Vergangliche - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor

Tracks:

Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Andante Comodo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Etwas Frischer - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Tempo I Subito - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Mit Wut. Allegro Risoluto - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Schattenhaft - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Wie Von Anfang - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Plotzlich Bedeutend Langsamer (Lento) Und Leise - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Schon Ganz Langsam - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Im Tempo Eines Gemachlichen Landlers. Etwas Tappisch Und Sehr Derb - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Poco Piu Mosso Subito (Tempo II) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Tempo III - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: A Tempo II - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Tempo I - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Tempo II - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Tempo I Subito - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt III: Rondo - Burleske. Allegro Assai. Sehr Trotzig - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt III: L'istesso Tempo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt III: Sempre L'istesso Tempo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt III: Nicht Eilen - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt III: Piu Stretto - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Adagio. Sehr Langsam Und Noch Zuruckhaltend - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Plotzlich Wieder Langsam (Wie Zu Anfang) Und Etwas Zogernd - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Molto Adagio Subito - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: A Tempo (Molto Adagio) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Stets Sehr Gehalten - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Fliessender, Doch Durchaus Nicht Eilend - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Tempo I. Molto Adagio - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Adagissimo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein

Amazon.com

For many of us, Leonard Bernstein's first Mahler cycle for CBS (compiled here, remastered and cheaper than ever) has stood the test of time since it initially came out on LP in the late 1960s. Upon completing this traversal of nine symphonies (and the "Adagio" movement from the unfinished 10th), Lenny and the New York Philharmonic achieved something no one else had and proved that Mahler was, simply put, worth recording in the first place. It's still a marvelous set of recordings that belongs in every record collection.

Using the same budgeted design as on their (surprisingly pricey) Original Jacket series of box sets, Sony has unleashed a true bargain here: 12 CDs that average a little over five bucks a pop. Lenny's second cycle for Deutsche Grammophon may boast greater sonics, plenty of wonderful moments, and the complete song cycles, but it costs more than twice as much. Here, we get a younger Lenny, sounding fresh and expressive and delivering still-unparalleled interpretations of the First, Third, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth, and pretty great performances of the rest. The intensity on these discs is infectious and the price can't be beat. A must-have. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Groundbreaking but partly outdated.......2007-03-26

Recorded 1960-67, this is the first complete cycle of Mahler's numbered symphonies (1-9 + no. 10 Adagio), and, as such, an essential purchase. Add Bernstein's 1966 classic recording of Das Lied von der Erde (Decca), and you get a piece of recording history: the development of the Mahler boom in the sixties.

How do these recordings stand today? The interpretations of the third, fourth, and seventh are very fine, even exceptional, and, despite their age, the recordings are sonically impressive as well. NYPO plays marvellously. The seventh, in particular, is a reference disc.

The remaining recordings are not really for the desert island, however. The fifth, for instance, is very unsuccessful and badly recorded too. Bernstein's later account on DG is clearly an improvement. The same holds for the second symphony, which you also find on DG in a later, much improved and moving interpretation. But here we have also a crowded field of classic performances, such as Klemperer's second (EMI) and Walter's fifth (SONY). Both are preferable to Bernstein's recordings, old or new.

The first, sixth, eight and ninth are quite good but not exceptional. No one beats Kubelik's first (DG). Mitropoulos (BMG Great Conductors) and Barbirolli (EMI) own the sixth. The eight - well, here we have Horenstein (BBC) and Mitropoulos (Orfeo) as classic, first choices. And for the ninth, Ancerl (Supraphon), Barbirolli (EMI), Klemperer (EMI) and Walter (SONY) sound far more attractive and fresh than Bernstein's mannered account.

If you're a collector this box is of course essential - regardless all critical considerations. But if you just look for an excellent and consistent Mahler box, go for Gary Bertini's cycle on EMI, which you get for a super-bargain price. It's a contemporary and future classic.

Thus I recommend a pick of individual Bernstein SONY CDs: the third, the fourth and the seventh. Add his fifth and second from his DG recordings, and his 1966 Das Lied von der Erde (Decca). These recordings are what I take to be the "essentials" of the Bernstein Mahler legacy.

Outstanding Mahler Compilation.......2007-01-29

I think is very important for a Mahler Fan to hear carefully all his work. This compilation allows you to enjoy that experience. A better sound quality for some symphonies could be a great plus, but you have to consider that this is a remasterized old record.

Leonard Bernstein just express the true passion that Mahler put on his work. It's incredible that (using the 8ve Symphony as an example) with fewer instruments than in the Abbado version, the feeling is even better. Simply outstanding.

Great price, great compilation. Lot of Mahler.

Bernstein or Tennstedt: read on...........2006-07-12

If the only way you could obtain the Mahler Symphonies was by buying a box containing them all by one conductor, then this would be my second choice, or my first!; my first (or second)would be the Tennstedt set. It's a close call thoughout - a 'swings and roundabouts' situation, but if Bernstein's was the one and only then I would be happy enough. Actually if you want a truly satisfying Mahler Symphonies collection then the two sets together sitting side by side on your CD shelf would be pretty well ideal, as I believe that the legacy of recordings by these two great men are nowhere surpassed (save Horenstein in the Fourth, Barbirolli in the Sixth and Rudolf Schwarz in the Fifth). As to comparisons between individual symphonies, the following would be my first choice:

No. 1 Bernstein. More poetic and earthy than T and my very first choice out of the dozens of others I've heard.
2 Bernstein. Simply the greatest Mahler 2; T is earthbound by comparison.
3 Tennstedt. Actually this is a tougher one to decide as B is marginally better in the first movement and he produces the best sixth movement of any version I've heard. Overall T has it, partly due to the excellent sound quality.
4 Overall B is better but there are so many points of comparison to take into consideration that it's a tough one to decide. T has the better soloist in the finale. My far-and-away first choice in the Fourth is Horenstein on EMI/CfP.
5 Tennstedt. Bernstein's CBS Fifth was the weakest link. However, Rudolf Schwarz (Everest) produces the very finest Fifth:
I always maintain that you can tell pretty much straight away when a Mahler conductor gets it right and Schwarz gets it 100%
6 Tennstedt. From the angry crunching heavy tread of the opening through to the nightmare ending, this is a very dark view of the Sixth, but it works. Barbirolli on EMI is my definite first choice in the Sixth. Bernstein's quick-march approach sounds like parody.
7 Bernstein. Nobody has produced a better Seventh and probably never will. T's version is very good though and I think he out-performs all other competition.
8 This one is the hardest of all to separate, but in the end I opt for Bernstein as his version as the feel of a live performance and the recording is almost as good as T's digital one.
9 Bernstein. Again my favourite version. T's weakest link of his whole set.
So Bernstein scores more points, but take into account the generally better sound of the Tennstedt set (especially in nos. 3,5,6) and things are evened up slightly. My advice overall? Go for both sets; at the asking prices you will have a superb Mahler Symphonies collection which will last you a lifetime. But don't forget those other versions of 4, 5 and 6. A point about sound quality: most of the above are analogue recordings, made many years ago, but across the board they are in almost every way superior to most modern digital ones (though to be fair one or two are not so great). I have a very good stereo system which reproduces very neutral sound; what goes in at the CD player end comes out unchanged at the loudspeaker end and so what I hear is the 'real thing'. For example Bernstein's 2 is stunning. One of the very best is the oldest of them all - Schwarz's Fifth, made in 1958. Maybe the art of recording has been replaced by science (and not for the better)? In the final analysis, to my mind the above versions render most of the rest of the Mahler symphonies discography redundant and surplus to requirements.

Comparing the two Bernstein Mahler cycles.......2006-06-27

Most buyers aren't in the market for a complete Mahler cycle by a single conductor, but if they were, the two from Bernstein contain many great performances. I've reviewed the contents of this Sixties cycle on Sony and the later one from the Eighties (contianing many live performances) on DG, taking them one symphony at a time. But it's worthwhile to give a sense of the strongest and weakest parts of each set.

Cycle #1:

By general consensus the performance of Sym. #3 is one of the glories of this cycle and perhaps the most inspired Mahler condcuting Bernstein did on disc. It has all the freshness of discovery--LB was new to Mahler in 1961. Sony's 20-bit remastering makes the original analog sound quite good. In fact, there's no need to fear the sound quality of these NY Phil. recordings, none of which are bad. Expect the deep sound stage and wide stereo separation that Columbia Records favored at the time.

Bernstein also put his stamp on Sym. #7 in such a way that no one would ever hear it the same again. Previously, 'The Song of the Night,' as this work was dubbed, had almost no life either on disc or the concert stage (a Mahler champion as prominent as Bruno Walter never performed it). Not only did LB prove that this was coherent music, he made an unforgettable drama out of the Seventh. This is his signature recording of the work.

Two other great performances stand out: Sym. #2 and #4, each rendered with amazing imagination and a huge range of emotions. The accusation that LB went over the top in the Second is unjustified--he is often tender and delicate--but there's no doubt that he takes an apocalyptic view of the finale. Whatever you think about his approach, he single-handedly revolutionized the way that the Resurrection Sym. was played. In Sym. #4 the classic recording was by Bruno Walter, but LB added more depth, imaginaiton, and excitement. Lyric soprano Reri Grist has come in for a good deal of criticism in the vocal finale, but I think she fits beautifully into LB's overall conception.

In the middle of the pack, as it were, we get LB's readings of Sym. #1 and #9. He went on to conduct greater readings of both works, especially the Ninth. In person LB's First was a real showpiece, but somehow Sony's sonics are not up to the conductor's vision. In the cse of the Ninth, the NY version would qualify as an outstanding performance if there weren't so many truly great ones from Karajan, Bruno Walter, James Levine, and Barbirolli, among others. Bernstein himself would add two of the greatest, both on DG.

I find a few problems wiht Sym. #5, #6, and #8 in the first cycle. For many critics all three are great recordings. For some reason, I have never warmed up to either of LB's versions of Sym. #5, where for once he does manipulate and exaggerate to the point that the spirit of the work seems lost in histrionics. Sym. #6 is too brisk in the first movement to let the music expand to its visionary potential, and in the other movements Bernstein seems less expressive than he could be. The Eighth is unmathced in the excitement and joyousness of Part 1, and for some listeners the whole symphony remains on that exalted level. I find that LB is too studied in Part 2, and my attention wasn't held. He does elicit very beautiful singing and playing, however. It should be noted that this performance is with the London Sym. and a host of fine English singers.

To the end of his life Bernstein resisted Deryck Cooke's completion of the Tenth Sym., agreeing to conduct only the shattering Adagio. which Mahler had essentially finished in full score. Bernstein's reading with the NY Phil. is one of the most searing accounts this magnificent fragment has ever received, equaled by his later live reading with the incomparable Vienna Phil.

Cycle #2:

It should be said right off that DG's digital sonics are in a different league from what LB got in New York. Even though several venues were involved (Vienna, Amsterdam, New York), and many recordings were under live concert conditions, the DG engineers triumphed. They favor closer mike posiitons, solo highlighting, and a vivid sound stage compared to their predecessors in New York. As to the interprettions, with a few exceptions--the most prominent being Sym. #6--Bernstein did not drastically change his views from the first cycle, and in some cases the readings feel almost identical (Sym. #2 and #7, for example).

The most interest centers on the works where LB clearly outdoes his younger self. At the top of the list I would put Sym. #6 and #9. In the former he achieved one of the classic Mahler reacordings of the modern era. His Sixth has slowed down by 2 min. in the first movement, giving the music room to expand properly. The Andante is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. The finale is an explosion of genius on Mahler's part that LB resonates with perfectly. Almost the same can be said of the Ninth, where the conducting reaches deeply moving areas of expression. The finale is drastically slow (as is Levine's, to similar devastating effect), which some critics find excessive. But it's a truism that no tempo is right or wrong; everything depends upon being drawn into the world of the music. LB achieved a great Ninth but would surpass himself with a live performance from Berlin in 1979, also on DG.

Almost as great is Sym. #1, which on DG receives a flawless performance packed with excitement. I'm not sure that LB's reading actually changed, but the superlative sonics and the spine-tingling playing of the Concertgebiuw weren't matched in New York.

The next thing to ask is where Bernstein fell short of his earlier versions. The Sym. #2, #3, and #4 from New York were one of a kind, representing LB's early and most exciting explorations of Mahler's world. Their counterparts on DG are also strong, but I don't think they rise to the heights he achieved earlier. The only sharp criticism I have is with the use of a boy soprano in the finale of the Fourth; musical as he is, a boy is too undeveloped to capture what Mahler intended. It should be said, however, that if the earlier NY versions didn't exist, these would be outstanding performances.

I feel much the same about Sym. #7, where LB's first recording set a standard that only two or three rivals have come close to, but his DG remake, which was a return to the NY Phil. in oncert from Lincoln Center(as are Sym. #2 and #3), feels fractionally less overwhelming. It's in better sound, however. The one symphony I can't compare is the Fifth, which doesn't satisfy me in either cycle. The DG version with the Vienna Phil. convinces many listeners, and some critics call in unsurpassable, but I am not on its wavelength.

That leaves Sym. #8, which Bernstein didn't live to record for commercial release. DG reached into its vaults for a live 1975 radio tape from Vienna, and although it has flaws in execution, including some rough singing in Part 2, LB's conducting is superlative, more ocmpelling than his version from London. Paired with this symphony is a 1974 reading of the Adagio from Sym. #10, also with the Vienna Phil. As you'd expect, it's an inspired, searing reading, just like the NY version.

How ot sum up? If money were no object, I'd own both cycles for the pleasure of Bernstein's unqiue inspiration. If I had to pick and choose, I'd take Sym. #2, #3, and #4 from New York, Sym. #8 from London, and the rest form the DG cycle.

Mahler complete symphonies........2006-02-24

"Mahler was an altogether great man" -One who also knows a thing or two.

Average customer rating:

Great Mahler and Bernstein, not so great lieder
short recommendation
Groundbreaking performance! But sound quality...
Bernstein in an Historical Recording of Mahler's Third Symphony
very good overall

Mahler: Symphony No. 3 / Lieder

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

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ASIN: B00000JQGV
Release Date: 1999-07-27

Tracks:

Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part One - Movement I: Kraftig. Entschiedne
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part One - Movement I: Langsam. Schwer
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part One - Movement I: Tempo I
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part One - Movement I: a tempo
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part One - Movement I: Immer dasselbe Tempo (Marsch). Nicht eilen
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part One - Movment I: Imalten Marschtempo (Allegro moderato)
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part One - Movement I: Tempo I
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement II: Tempo di Menuetto. Sehr massig
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement II: a tempo
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement II: Ganz plotzlich gemachlich. Tempo di menuetto
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement III: comodo. Scherzando. Ohne Hast
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement III: Wiedersehr gemachlich, wie zu Anfang
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement III: Etwas zuruckhaltend - Sehr gemachlich
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement III: Tempo I. Mit geheimnisvolles Hast!
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement III: Wieder sehr gemachlich, beinahe langsam
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement IV: Sehr langsam. Misterioso. Durchaus ppp
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement IV: Piu mosso subito
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement V: Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck

Tracks:

Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement VI: Langsam. Ruhevoll. Empfunden
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement VI: Nicht mehr so briet
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement VI: Tempo I. Ruhevoll!
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement VI: a tempo (Etwas bewegter)
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement VI: Tempo I
Symphony No. 3 In D Minor: Part Two - Movement VI: Langsam. Tempo I
Three Ruckert-Lieder: Ich atemt einen linden Duft
Three Ruckert-Lieder: Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen
Three Ruckert-Lieder: Um Mitternacht
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Das irdische Leben
Kindertotenlieder: Nun will die Sonn so hell aufgehn
Kindertotenlieder: Nun seh ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen
Kindertotenlieder: Wenn dein Muterlein
Kindertotenlieder: Oft denk ich, sie sind nur ausgegangen
Kindertotenlieder: In diesem Wetter

Customer Reviews:

Great Mahler and Bernstein, not so great lieder.......2007-02-13

This CD package has a superb interpretation of a Mahler symphony by one of his best interpreters (see other reviews) with a few bits and pieces of his lieder suites tacked on at the end by B list performers. This is a great buy if you can get it at a bargain price for a single disk, not at a premium price.

short recommendation.......2006-05-10

There are numerous fine performances of Mahlers 3rd symphony, to name a few of my favourites:
Kubelik (DG and Audite), Haitink (RCO studio and live), Boulez (DG).

This performance by Bernstein ranks at the top in my opnion
(Which I like best I don't know, probably Kubelik live or Haitink live)

Never did I hear Bernstein give such a natural reading of a Mahler symphony, his spontaneity this time is more subtle, it doesn't interfere with the music or with the natural pulse of the music.
I particuarly am very impressed with the performance of the second and 3rd movement. (my favourite movements of this symphony), the right balance between refinement, subtlety (beauty of tone) and sharper edges, brighter colors.

(The perfect balance between Haitink and Kubelik if you like)

The sound of this recording however isn't that good...

Groundbreaking performance! But sound quality..........2000-07-19

Bernstein's performance of Mahler's 3rd is groundbreaking! Truly powerful! But the quality of the sound can be a little distracting from time to time. You hear that "sshhhh" sound throughout the symphony. Don't get me wrong. This is the best performance of the 3rd that you can pay for. The next best thing would have to be London/Decca's Solti interpretation. The performance is top notch and the sound quality is crisp and clear. I have to admit the third is my true favorite. If you're going to enjoy it on CD, either find another excellent Bernstein interpretation of Mahler's third, or buy London/Decca's Solti interpretation.

Bernstein in an Historical Recording of Mahler's Third Symphony.......2000-05-21

Bernstein is rightly regarded as the conductor who championed all of Mahler's symphonies in the 1960s when most were unfamiliar to audiences. That so many Mahler symphonies appear each year on every American orchestra's schedule is one of the great, but often overlooked, Bernstein legacies. His recordings of all the Mahler symphonies in the 1960s was an historical landmark, and the lesser-known of the symphonies (such as the 3rd, 6th, and 9th) had the most to gain by their new found exposure at the hands of a master conductor at the top of his form.

The New York Philharmonic musicians in 1961 were probably far less familiar with the long and complicated Mahler's 3rd than they are today. As an apparent result, there are many places throughout the performance where everything doesn't quite line up correctly. There are several key, extended solos in the 3rd symphony---the violin and posthorn (trumpet) solos are outstanding, but the trombone solo suffers from inconsistent intonation (as do the trumpet and horn sections elsewhere).

The orchestra plays quite well throughout---particularly the woodwind section---and Bernstein leads them in a well constructed and often joyous performance. The first movement has a very nice pace to it and an exciting ending. The 3rd movement, however, seems a bit labored and slow, rather than rolling along with the lilting pastoral feeling at its heart. The finale is extremely successful in Bernstein's hands, with a slow and measured pace leading up to a gorgeous climax.

At times Bernstein seeks the broad gesture instead of carefully crafted ensemble work from his musicians. I had very high expectations of this recording when I purchased it, primarily because it has been so favorably mentioned over the years. The recording is exciting and well worth investigating, but I was still slightly disappointed that it did not live up to my hyped-up expectations.

While this recording may be of particular interest to Bernstein fans or Mahler afficionados, it is not the best recording of the 3rd symphony around. Better to buy Horenstein's with the London Symphony Orchestra or James Levine's with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra; apparently Salonen's recording with the Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra is fine, but I was not overwhelmed when I heard them perform the work live.

The recording is supplemented by a series of songs: one from Des Knaben Wunderhorn (another poem from this set is used in the 5th movement of the 3rd symphony); the three Rueckert-Lieder; and the desolate Kindertotenlieder. All are well sung by Jennie Tourel and convey the beauty of Mahler's compositional style even in the shorter forms.

very good overall.......2000-01-20

Interpretively this is an excellent recording. Bernstein broke a lot of new ground with this release in the 60's. The ensemble is not as good as in Bernstein's second version, but the many of the solos and the general sound of the orchestra are better in this version. One thing that surprised me was two audible coughs, one in the first movement and one in the last. Considering this is a studio recording this is very surprising. Overall, this is a great recording to own, but if you only want one version of this, there are other performances available that are more insightful. check out Bernstein's second recording, Salonen's new recording with the LA Phil, Horenstein's with the London Symphony, or Lopez-Cobos's with the Cincinnati symphony.

Mahler: Symphonies 1-10; Das Lied von der Erde

Average customer rating:

Good -- but not great
Outstanding, yet Affordable Mahler Set
Ignore the name(s): Listen to the Music!
An exceptionally fine bargain
best overall cycle

Mahler: Symphonies 1-10; Das Lied von der Erde

Manufacturer: EMI Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Mahler - The Symphonies plus Das Lied von der Erde Boxset / Leonard Bernstein, Wiener Philharmoniker, London Symphony Orchestra, Israel Philharmonic Orchestra

ASIN: B000BQ7BX2
Release Date: 2006-01-10

Tracks:

I. Langsam, Schleppend, Wie Ein Naturlaut - Im Anfang Sehr Gemachlich - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
II. Kraftig Bewegt, Doch NIcht Zu Schnell - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
III. Feirlich Und Gemessen, Ohne Zu Schleppen - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
IV. Sturmisch Bewegt - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
I. Allegro Maestoso. Mit Durchaus Ernstem Und Feierlichem Ausdruck - Krisztina Laki

Tracks:

II. Andante Moderato. Sehr Gemachlich - Krisztina Laki
II. In Ruhig Fliessender Bewegung - Krisztina Laki
IV. Urlicht: Sehr Feierlich, Aber Schlicht - Krisztina Laki
V. Im Tempo Des Scherzo. Wild Herausfahrend - Krisztina Laki
Wieder Sehr Breit - Krisztina Laki
Ritardando...Maestoso. Sehr Zuruckhaltend - Krisztina Laki
Wieder Zuruckhaltend - Krisztina Laki
Langsam, Misterioso - Krisztina Laki
Etwas Bewegter - Krisztina Laki
Mit Aufschwung, Aber Nicht Eilen - Krisztina Laki

Tracks:

I. Kraftig. Entschieden - Gwendolyn Killebrew
II. Tempo Di Menuetto - Gwendolyn Killebrew
III. Comodo. Scherzando - Gwendolyn Killebrew
IV. Sehr Langsam - Gwendolyn Killebrew

Tracks:

V. Lustig IM Tempo UNd Keck Im Ausdruck - Gwendolyn Killebrew
VI. Sehr Langsam - Ruhevoll - Empfunden - Gwendolyn Killebrew
I. Bed Achtig. Nicht Eilen - Lucia Popp
II. In Gemachlicher Bewegung. Ohne Hast - Lucia Popp
III. Ruhevoll - Lucia Popp

Tracks:

IV. Sehr Behaglich - Lucia Popp
I. Trauermarsch (Im Gemessenem Schritt - Streng - Wie Ein Kondukt) - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
II. Sturmisch Bewegt, Mit Grosster Vehemenz - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
III. Scherzo (Kraftig, Nicht Zu Schnell) - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
IV. Adagietto (Sehr Langsam) - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
V. Rondo - Finale (Allegro) - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester

Tracks:

I. Langsam - Allegro - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
II. Nachtmusik I - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
III. Scherzo: Schattenhaft - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
IV. Nachtmusik II. Andante Amoroso - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
V. Rondo - Finale - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester

Tracks:

I. Allegro Energico, Ma Non Troppo - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
II. Scherzo. Wuchtig - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
III. Andante Moderato - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester

Tracks:

IV. Finale: Sostenuto - Allegro Moderato - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
I. Andante Comodo - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
II. Im Tempo Eines Gemachlichen Landlers - Etwas Tappisch Und Sehr Derb - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester

Tracks:

III. Rondo Burleske: Allegro Assai. Sehr Trotzig - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
IV. Adagio: Sehr Langsam Und Noch Zuruckhaltend - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester
I. Adagio - Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester

Tracks:

Veni, Creator Spiritus - Maria Venuti
Imple Superna Gratia - Maria Venuti
Infirma Nostri Corporis - Maria Venuti
Accende Lumen Sensibus - Maria Venuti
Veni, Creator Spiritus - Maria Venuti
Gloria Patri Domino - Maria Venuti
Poco Adagio: Waldung, Sie Schwankt Heran - Maria Venuti
Ewiger Wonnebrand - Maria Venuti
Wie Felsenabgrund Mir Zu Fussen - Maria Venuti
Gerettet Ist Das Edle Glied - Maria Venuti
Uns Bleibt Ein Erdenrest - Maria Venuti
Hier Ist Die Aussicht Frei - Maria Venuti
Hochste Herrscherin Der Welt - Maria Venuti
Dir, Der Unberuhrbaren - Maria Venuti
Bei Der Liebe, Die Den Fussen - Maria Venuti
Neige, Neige, Du Ohnegleiche - Maria Venuti
Blicket Suf Zum Retterblick - Maria Venuti
Alles Vergangliche - Maria Venuti

Tracks:

I. Das Trinklied Vom Jammer Der Erde - Marjana Lipovsek
II. Der Einsame Im Herbst - Marjana Lipovsek
III. Von Der Jugend - Marjana Lipovsek
IV. Von Der Schonheit - Marjana Lipovsek
V. Der Trunkene Im Fruhling - Marjana Lipovsek
VI. Der Abschied - Marjana Lipovsek

Customer Reviews:

Good -- but not great.......2007-07-07

Having listened intently to this set two times now, once with scores in hand, once without, I have to give this set less than a 5 star rating. The sound is adequate, compressed at times, muddy at others. The later symphonies fare better than 1 & 2. Conducting is fine: very straightfoward and unfussy. Plays it straight. And maybe that's a problem. The sixth in particular never really scales the heights or depths. Same story with 8. Layout is weird, but economical. My biggest beef is the orchestral execution. There are a LOT of bloopers that should have been fixed. In a live concert you can accept, even expect, some error in music this difficult. But on recordings they become very irritating. I grant that most people would never notice any, but if you have a good ear and really know this music there are some problems. The worst is an abundance of wrong notes in the 4th movement of the 7th, which otherwise is a superb version -- one of the best. Another easy to spot example occurs at the end of the 6th: why did the cellos leave the bass clarinet to fend for itself just a few bars before the end? Why didn't someone fix this?
I'm glad I heard this set, but there are better, albeit more expensive. As a complete set there isn't any that is altogether perfect, but Solti/Decca, Haitink/Philips, Kubelik/DG and deWaart/RCA come closer.

Outstanding, yet Affordable Mahler Set.......2007-06-10

If you are looking for a great Mahler set that doesn't give you the Walletdämmerung syndrome, yet you also want excellent musicians and soloists and a conductor with a most refreshing and philosophically true understanding of Mahler's music, I would recommend that you purchase this box set of Mahler symphonies with Gary Bertini. Although Gary Bertini was not a big name in the recording industry, he was deemed as a highly esteemable conductor in Europe. His Mahler offers a completely different sound from what you would hear from Bernstein, Abbado, Walter, and Klemperer, much closer to what Rafael Kubelik did with his Mahler, but Bertini offers a degree of transparency in his music that you cannot hear in any other conductor. Despite the transparency, his Mahler does not lack passion. If you want to know what I mean, you must listen to his Symphonies no. 1,2,4,5,6,7,8, and 9. These renditions are ranked with the very best Mahlerians in a very competitive field. Bertini is also supported by an ensemble of an extremely high calibre--the WDR or the Kölner Rundfunks Orchester. They play with a finesse and a grace that rivals the very best Mahler orchestras, including the Vienna Philharmonic, the Bavarian Radio Symphony, and the Concertgebouw. In terms of virtuosity and beauty, the orchestra offers some of the most glorious playing and a crystalline sound balance that you would want in a world-class German orchestra.

The soloists are all excellent too. You have Florence Quivar, Paul Frey, Lucia Popp, Julia Varady, Julia Hamari, and Alan Titus, among others. You must simply hear the alto part that Quivar sings in the Resurrection Symphony!

Included in this already sparkling box set is a Das Lied von der Erde with Marjana Lipovsek and Ben Heppner. While I will always love Klemperer, Ludwig, and Wunderlich, I think this Das Lied von der Erde comes close to being one of the very best recordings of the work. Heppner sings with his usual golden tone and security, and sings the tenor's songs with an abandon and an elan that makes his interpretation very attractive. Lipovsek sings the mezzo parts with a tragically imbued tone that improved over her recording with Solti years earlier. You must listen to what she does in the Abschied. I have never heard a more resentful and reflective understanding of this very complex movement other than Christa Ludwig, Janet Baker, and Kathleen Ferrier.

All in all, a Mahler box set that everyone should get along with Haitink, Chailly, and Kubelik.

Ignore the name(s): Listen to the Music!.......2007-05-07

Gary Bertini and the Cologne Radio Symphony? The Mahler symphonies have been recorded in toto by many of the "biggest" names in music Leonard Bernstein (three times), Solti, Kubelik, Haitink and so on with the best known orchestras in the world ---- Vienna Philharmonic, Concertgebouw, New York Philharmonic, Chicago Symphony, Berlin Philharmonic, and so on and so on. I've given away my bias by those I've chosen to list and the sequence I've put them in.
And along comes a little known conductor, now deceased, with an orchestra I would not rank with those above; and by virtue of their sheer musicianship they belong alongside all the above. Mr. Bertini's performances hew closer to Mr. Kubelik and Mr. Haitink in being moderate in both tempo and phrasing. At the same time, Mr. Bertini still beings a far greater feeling of intensity and passion than either. Mr. Bertini's performances have a sweep and a grandeur that places them on the same plane as Mr. Bernstein's performances without entirely going "over the top" as Mr. B. was inclined to do.
No: Bertini's recording of the Sixth Symphony does not take us emotionally to the depth of Mr. Bernstein's last recording (DG digital). Nor has Mr. Solti's magnificent performance of the Eighth been surpassed. But I were asked to choose one cycle to live with for the rest of my life, it would be this one.

An exceptionally fine bargain.......2007-03-26

Gary Bertini's EMI Mahler cycle is more or less contemporary with Tennstedt's Mahler cycle on the same label. But, according to the gossip, the company decided to keep Bertini in the vaults since the former and LPO where more publicly known. In my view, however, Bertini's set is clearly superior. The orchestra - Kölner Rundfunk Sinfonieorchester - is outstanding, far better than LPO, and so are most of Bertini's interpretations as well.

Considering that Bertini and the orchestra are not among the obvious "stars", it is an exceptional sleeper. In fact, Bertini was virtually unknown before this cycle made him famous, post mortem.

The cycle combines both live and studio recordings. The live ones were recorded in Japan where the audience knows how to behave. Excellent stereo sound adds to the pleasure.

But one could note that some of Bertini's tempi are among the slowest on record. The final movement of symphony no. 9 stops at 28:34, which is ten minutes more than Walter's 1939 classic. It's even a few seconds slower than Chailly's very slow account on Decca. The finale of the third is six minutes longer than Tennstedt's on EMI. But the adagietto in the fifth stops at just above 10 minutes, so Bertini is not consistently very slow when Mahler's music may invite sentimental conductors to drag. Unlike such conductors, however, Bertini has the ability to keep tension during a long breath, bringing forth interesting details in contextual balance.

Thus the performances of symphonies 1, 5, 7, 8, 9 and Das Lied von der Erde are outstanding, challenging almost every recording in the current catalogue. The remaining symphonies are also convincingly presented, in perfectly consistent performances.

However, one irritating thing with this set is that the fourth symphony is divided over two discs. That EMI decision was not necessary. The cycle could still fit on 11 CDs with a different editing. The policy for all record companies should be to avoid unnecessary splitting.

At a super-bargain price, this is of course the first choice among boxed sets, especially the contemporary ones. All the recordings in this box have something that attracts repeated listening. This is true of Gielen's outstanding cycle too (Hänssler), but it requires you to pay four times the price. Still, Kubelik (DG) remains my favourite cycle. But Bertini's is better recorded.

Warmly recommended!

best overall cycle.......2006-12-09

There's little that I could add to the testimonials that have already been written here . While none of these performances would be an absolute first choice for me, save Bertini's Mahler 8th (which IS extraordinary), all of them have an amazing consistantcy in style, sound quality, and orchestral execution. The inclusion of a really fine "Das Lied von der Erde", expertly sung by Ben Heppner and Marjana Lipovsek, makes this a clear front runner. While Bertini didn't record a complete Mahler 10th symphony (finished by Deryck Cooke and others), his M10 Adagio is outstanding - giving the feeling of completeness on to itself. In fact, other than Leonard Bernstein, I can think of no other conductor who has been so satisfying in capturing the complete emotional range of Mahler's symphonies; going from the fresh and youthful first symphony (and Bertini is truly fresh and youthful); working on up to the cosmic orgasm that is the 8th symphony (and Bertini is cosmically orgasmic here), and still making the drastic shift to the zen-like, other-worldliness of the so-called farewell trilogy: "DLvdE", 9th symphony, and 10th symphony adagio. He runs the entire gamut, Janet.

Much positive has been written about Gielen's fine Mahler cycle. But his box set doesn't include his recording of the Cooke 10th (Chailly's does!), which is really a very good 10th. It's also more expensive. In addition, getting Gielen's Mahler 6th separately also gives you a really fine performance of Alban Berg's "Three Pieces For Orchestra" - a very natural coupling for that dark work. Better to pick and choose with Gielen, I think. If you want a box, get the Bertini.

Average customer rating:

Superb recital...
Troyanos Is Superb!
Troyanos is Superb

Tatiana Troyanos in Recital

Manufacturer: Video Artists Int'l
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

Modern & 20th Century | Historical Periods | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

French | Languages | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Arias, Duets and Trios
Donizetti - L'Elisir d'Amore / Eschwe, Netrebko, Villazon, Wiener Staatsoper

ASIN: B00000JKQ6
Release Date: 1999-11-30

Customer Reviews:

Superb recital..........2000-04-03

in every way. Ms. Troyanos impresses us vocally, artistically and linguistically. The songs encompass a wide range of languages, musical styles and emotionality, and yet she sounds quite comfortable in each setting. Bolstered by Maestro Levine's heartfelt accompaniment, Ms. Troyanos renders a performance that inspired me to feelings of both awe and admiration. We are fortunate indeed to have this permanent record of such a memorable performer. I was inspired to seek out her performances after viewing a recent rebroadcast of the 1982 Met telecast of Der Rosenkavalier which featured her as Octavian.

Troyanos Is Superb!.......2000-02-08

This live recital by Troyanos, with accompanist Livine, is what fans have long been waiting for. Simply said, this recital genuinely reflects the beauty and passion that was expressed through Troyanos' unique voice. Her sound was exquisite and this cd remains true to that sound. For those of us who love her sound and miss her presence on the operatic stage, this is a wish come true. Levine also provides great accompaniment. Let's hope there is more live material by Troyanos awaiting release in the near future.

Troyanos is Superb.......2000-01-19

If you have never before had the experience of hearing the late mezzo-soprano Tatiana Troyanos, this CD is a wonderful starting point. And for all of us who have been fans of Troyanos' for some time, this also is a "must have."

At long last, we have a lieder recital of hers preserved on compact disc. Here, finally, is a masterfully engineered recording.

Troyanos is as gifted a singer of lieder as she was of opera. My favorite selection on this recording was Ravel's Greek Songs. But everything here is absolutely terrific. I have listened to it many times since I bought it, and it still brings tears to my eyes.

Tracks:

Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen: I. Wenn Mein Schatz Hochzeit Macht - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen: II. Ging Heut Morgen Ubers Feld - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen: III. Ich Hab' Ein Gluhend' Messer - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen: IV. Die Zwei Blauen Augen Von Meinem Schatz - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Kindertotenlieder: I. Nun Will Die Sonn' So Hell Aufgeh'n - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Kindertotenlieder: II. Nun Seh' Ich Wolhl, Warum So Dunkle Flammen - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Kindertotenlieder: III. Wenn Dein Mutterlein Tritt Zur Tur Herein - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Kindertotenlieder: IV. Oft Denk' Ich, Sie Sind Nur Ausgegangen! - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
Kindertotenlieder: V. In Diesem Wetter, In Diesem Braus - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau
5 Gesange Aus 'Des Knaben Wunderhn': Das Irdische Leben - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Daniel Barenboim
5 Gesange Aus 'Des Knaben Wunderhn': Verlor'ne Muh - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Daniel Barenboim
5 Gesange Aus 'Des Knaben Wunderhn': Rheinlegenchen - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Daniel Barenboim
5 Gesange Aus 'Des Knaben Wunderhn': Lob Des Hohen Verstandes - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Daniel Barenboim
5 Gesange Aus 'Des Knaben Wunderhn': Trost Im Ungluck - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Daniel Barenboim
5 Ruckertlieder: I. Ich Atmet' Einen Linden Duft! - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Daniel Barenboim
5 Ruckertlieder: II. Liebst Du Um Schonheit - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Daniel Barenboim
5 Ruckertlieder: III. Blicke Mit Nicht In Die Lieder! - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Daniel Barenboim
5 Ruckertlieder: IV. Ich Bin Der Welt Abhanden Gekommen - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Daniel Barenboim
5 Ruckertlieder: V. Um Mitternacht - Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau/Daniel Barenboim

Customer Reviews:

Simply Sublime, especially for the price!.......2007-02-04

This CD reissue of Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau doing three of Mahler's suites of 'orchestral songs' is one of the finest side effects of the advent of the CD medium. To get these important works done by such a stellar performer for less than $12 is a wonder. At this price, one can easily have more than one performance of these pieces, even more than one by Fischer-Dieskau. I like Herr Dietrich doing Mahler much more than I like his Schubert or other earlier 'lieder' composers.

Shattering version of Kindertotenlieder.......2006-08-06

This is the version of "Kindertotenlieder" that I first heard while in college, and so far it remains my favorite (in my opinion the definitive) recording. All those involved -- Fischer-Dieskau, the orchestra and Maestro Kempe -- catch every nuance, but it is Mr. Fischer Dieskau's rendering of the text that makes it especially poignant. For example, in the third song "Wenn Dein Mutterlein Tritt Zur Tur Herein," the steadiness of the orchestra's rhythm contrasts exquisitely with the anguished English horn solo, and Fischer-Dieskau vivid protrays a grieving father, reminded at the most mundane moments in daily life of his child's absence. I actually can't listen to this recording too often, since on of my sisters died (many years ago) and it simply hits too close to home. The other pieces recorded, "Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen," excerpts of "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" and the "Ruckertlieder" are equally well performed.

Vintage perfection.......2001-10-16

The Philharmonia Orchestra under Furtwangler accompany Fischer-Dieskau in the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, and these performances alone make this CD treasurable. The singing is fresh and involving, but the orchestral work really stands out - just perfect, and this from a conductor who allegedly didn't think too much of Mahler! The Kindertotenlieder are also beautifully done, this time with Kempe and the Berlin Philhamonic. The sound in both these vintage sessions (1953 & 1955) is simply phenomenal - the mellifluous tone and lack of digital harshness put no barriers between the listener and the performers. In fact, the later (1980) selections, where Fischer-Dieskau is accompanied by Barenboim on piano, are less pleasant in this respect as well as being, for mine, less memorable generally. Nevertheless for over forty minutes of sheer musical wonder this disc deserves its place in EMI's self-declared pantheon of great recordings.

Mahler - Des Knaben Wunderhorn / von Otter, Quasthoff, Berlin Phil., Abbado

Average customer rating:

A Small Reservation/Complaint
ausdrucksvoll und machtig
It just doesn't get much better than this!
A TRUE LANDMARK IN LIEDER RECORDING
Mein Gott im Himmel!

Mahler - Des Knaben Wunderhorn / von Otter, Quasthoff, Berlin Phil., Abbado
Gustav Mahler , Berliner Philharmoniker , Claudio Abbado , Anne Sofie von Otter , and Thomas Quasthoff
Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Otter, Anne Sophie von | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Mahler Lied Mahler Lieder Song Cycles
Schubert: Winterreise
Bach: Cantatas/Thomas Quasthoff
The Voice
Schumann: Dichterliebe Op39; Liederkreis

ASIN: B00000J9G6
Release Date: 1999-06-15

Tracks:

Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Revelge
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Rheinlegendchen
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Trost im Ungluck
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Verlorne Muh'
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Der Schildwache Nachtlied
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Das irdische Leben
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Lied des Verfolgten im Turm
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Wer hat dies Liedlein erdacht?
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Lob des hohen Verstandes
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Wo die sch Trompeten blasen
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Der Tamboursg'sell
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Urlicht

Amazon.com

Des Knaben Wunderhorn ("The Youth's Magic Horn") is an anthology of old German poems and folk songs published in the early 1800s, a product of the Romantic yearning for the simple days of the past. By the time Mahler set a number of them to music (between 1892 and 1901), the Zeitgeist had changed, and his approach is almost antiromantic in feeling. He used eight of them in his symphonies, and chose 13 (often changing the text for his own purposes) for this collection. These elaborately orchestrated songs speak of love, life in the military, comedic episodes, mysticism, and sometimes several of these at once. The recording by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and Elisabeth Schwarzkopf has set the standard for many years, but this new version is just about as good. Both singers have fine voices, intelligence and understanding, and good technique and diction, and they express the changing moods of the songs very effectively. Thomas Quasthoff doesn't quite have Fischer-Dieskau's security and pointed phrasing, but he comes close, and Anne Sophie von Otter sings with a subtlety that rivals Schwarzkopf and with greater beauty and radiance. The accompaniment by Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic is crisp and idiomatic, and the sound is excellent. Highly recommended. --Alex Morin

Customer Reviews:

A Small Reservation/Complaint.......2005-04-14

Perhaps it should be mentioned that 5 of the songs in Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn are set as dialogues between a soldier and a girl. In both the Baker/Evans and Schwartzkopf/Fischer-Dieskau recordings, both singers participate in those songs. In this recording, these songs are performed by one or the other of the two vocalists;not both.

ausdrucksvoll und machtig.......2004-12-26

This is a fantastic reading of these songs. Both von Otter and Quasthoff are superb Mahlerians who give these songs distinct character and color. Quasthoff's singing of Der Tamboursg'sell is most affecting. The pathos of the song is wonderfully brought out.
I've heard many singers tackle these songs (Bernd Weikl does a fine job as well) but the performances here stack up with the best of them.

It just doesn't get much better than this!.......2004-11-13

Having reviewed the Bonney/Goerne/Chailly recording of Mahler's DES KNABEN WUNDERHORN and settling in to that fine CD of this important cycle of songs, it feels a bit traitor-like to offer a new recommendation of this music. Perhaps it is partially due to being in the afterglow of Thomas Quasthoff's radiant performance of KINDERTOTENLIEDER with the Los Angeles Philharmonic that propelled the purchase of this CD.

Be that as it may, this volume of the songs of DES KNABEN WUNDERHORN now tops the list. Anne Sophie von Otter is such an extraordinary artist that her performance here is no surprise in its execution, subtlety, and sensitivity. But it is the revelation of Thomas Quasthoff as a Mahler virtuoso that crowns this wondrous recital. His voice is not huge, but it is so intelligently used and has such intrinsic beauty and nuance that it begs comparison with the finest singers in this repertoire of the last century. Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic provide the finest possible collaboration.

One can only hope that he will soon record KINDERTOTENLIEDER: rarely sung by a male voice, Quasthoff brings insights that are continuously revealing in this most difficult of Mahler's song cycles. Grady Harp, November 2004

A TRUE LANDMARK IN LIEDER RECORDING.......2002-09-09

I received this album by accident, as a record club recording of the month that I had neglected to cancel. I could have returned it to the club, but decided to keep it because of the connections between "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" and Mahler's astonishing second symphony which I have loved for many years.

It turned out to be a lucky accident. These are flawless songs, perfectly exhibiting the craft of the second-greatest orchestrator in history. This new recording combines the talents of two of the greatest living lieder-singers with one of the few truly world-class teamings of orchestra and conductor. The sound quality is outstanding even by the best modern digital standards.

In historic terms also, this is a significant milestone. To my ears, certainly, no one is ever likely to match Fischer-Dieskau's iron-fist-in-a-velvet-glove combination of power and smoothness, or his dramatic flexibility. However, Quasthoff's own experience of triumph over adversity does seem to give his reading a special value in these lyrics that are so trifling on the surface and yet have such profound depths of insight into the human soul. Von Otter in the songs for female voice gives what is perhaps the new definitive performance. And ultimately in terms of overall listening enjoyment, no other version (not even the Fischer-Dieskau/Schwarzkopf set) can compare.

This is beautiful music, wonderfully performed, expertly engineered, and unreservedly recommended.

Mein Gott im Himmel!.......2002-05-09

If you have the slightest susceptability to Mahler or lieder or people screaming (and whispering) in German, I can recommend this CD. Excellent sound in the service of one of the greatest group of art songs ever put down. Go Sophie! And Thomas Quasthoff is in fine baritone voice, and recorded in hair-raisingly expressive sonics. There are not many finer than this; highly recommended.

Average customer rating:

Resplendent array of colorful panels
A fresh perfomance
Chailly chooses a multi-voiced approach, with mixed results
Amazing Achievement!
The trumpets of Doom are just behind us!

Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Matthias Goerne ~ Schubert Lieder - Goethe -
Maher: Das Klagende Lied, Lieder/ Fassbaender/DSOB/Chailly
Mahler - Des Knaben Wunderhorn / von Otter, Quasthoff, Berlin Phil., Abbado
Mahler Lied Mahler Lieder Song Cycles
Go!

ASIN: B00008GQTO
Release Date: 2003-04-08

Tracks:

Der Schildwache Nachtlied
Wer Hat Dies Liedlein Erdacht!
Der Tamboursg'sell
Das Irdische Leben
Verlor'ne Muh'
Des Antonius Von Padus Fischpredigt
Urlicht
Revelge
Rheinlegendchen
Lob Des Hohen Verstands
Trost Im Ungluck
Wo Die Schonen Trompeten Blasen
Lied Des Verfolgten Im Turm
Das Himmlische Leben

Customer Reviews:

Resplendent array of colorful panels.......2006-01-24

'Revelge' is maybe my favorite Wunderhorn song (as it was one of Mahler's) and the tenor is my favorite voice, and here they are, for the first time that I know of, combined into one, and in a magnificent way: brash and energetic, but with sumptuousness of tone and at the same time also mellifluous playing - almost a given with this orchestra under this conductor. This song alone, as performed here, for me, constitutes one of the many highlights of this beautiful album (along with, for example, Barbara Bonney's exquisite 'Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen').
To my (quite amateur) ears, this album is artistically speaking a resounding succes. I mean, who would ever doubt the artistry of Barbara Bonney and Matthias Goerne in this repertoire?! Their rich and full timbres are perfectly suited for these deeply felt songs, and make the worlds of imagination that lay behind them really come alive in a special way.
Secondly, I do prefer the songs with dialogue to be performed by one singer alone (as meant by Mahler, by the way), and not by two, so that is worth an 'extra half a star' or so in itself already. Here it comes down to the singer being able to subtly voice-act as well as sing, wile at the same time trying to keep (dramatic) cohesion within the songs. Happily, Chailly has chosen for this artistically most logical and for the listener (certainly this one) most rewarding option. Here, by the way, he has chosen the same as Claudio Abbado has done with his singers (Anne Sofie von Otter and Thomas Quasthoff) on his equally (or maybe even more) artistically stunning recording of the songs of Des Knaben Wunderhorn.
Actually, it is quite impossible to really compare these two recordings, as they are the result of two different visions by two different conductors, I think. Not that I would (or could: I simply lack the musical knowledge and education) go into the many differences between the two albums here, but I would like to stress one difference, at least to my ears. To me, with Chailly there is this stressing of the multi-coloredness, the inspirational diversity of the many different worlds of imagination represented by these love-, soldier-, wandering- and children's songs, originationg from a time period spanning from German medieval times until the 18th century. A multi-colored, resplendent array of different panels, all in subtly differing styles, all hanging side by side.
While on the other end, Claudio Abbado, supporting the intelligent artistry of Anne Sofie von Otter and Thomas Quasthoff, seems like no other conductor able to stress the cohesive whole connecting all of these songs, first and foremost belonging to that one combining imagination: the mind and genius of Gustav Mahler. Anyhow, there is a dramatic concentration from beginning to end with Abbado that is not so much present here with Chailly, also inherent in the fact that Chailly uses four different singers (stressing the need for difference in coloration and characterization for the different songs). The recorded soundpicture with Abbado is, to my ears, more 'intimate' (much less reverberation), stressing the inward concentration. Moreover, this sense of 'intimacy' is also heigtened by the playing of the orchestra: sounding almost chamber-ensemble-like most of the time, the subtlety of Mahler's orchestrations, matching the different moods, really coming to the fore.
In the end, I believe that each one of these two albums is as legitimate as the other. Both quite different, both quite beautiful. In the end, what one likes the best about one of these two recordings is a matter of taste. I, for one, immensely like both and could not now do without any of them.
Anyhow, this recording with Chailly and the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, while setting no new standards by itself maybe (maybe the Abbado/Otter/Quasthoff does), IMHO can easily hold its ground with such classics as the Szell/Schwarzkopf/Fischer-Dieskau recording (this last one marred only by the splitting up of the dialogue sections between the two singers). Anyhow, whatever the monumental standard of this great, classic album, Ricardo Chailly and Claudio Abbado have again both disproven the age-old and wrong adage that 'in the past, everything used to be better' gloriously with their magnificent recordings of these songs.

A fresh perfomance.......2005-11-17

This recording is well done, sensitively conducted by Chailly.The tempos are right.The engineers responsible for this incredibly marvellous recording have set a standard by which all other recordings must be compared.In some ways this recording it's different than the others.The Royal Concertgebouw has a tradition as a great Mahler orchestra and Chailly's is one of the great mahlerians conductors.This cd it's highly recommend to anyone .

Chailly chooses a multi-voiced approach, with mixed results.......2005-09-27

Despite the typically gorgeous sonics that Decca gets with the Concertgebouw, this is a negligible CD artistically. There was no reason to parse out Mahler's Wunerhorn songs to multiple singers, but if you do, they had all better be exceptional to compensate for breaking apart the dramatic dialogue between the usual two singers. That's not the case here. Even Goerne and Bonney, the two best participants, can't compete with great Mahler singers of the past, and the others are fair-to-middling at best. Chailly conducts with his usual caution. All in all, I see no reason for one to keep this CD. I certainly didn't.

Amazing Achievement!.......2004-04-27

The recorded catalogue of works by Gustav Mahler continues to grow and fortunately so do performances of his works in the concert halls around the world. With so many recordings from which to choose, recommending the 'best' is completely impossible. There is much more leeway when it comes to the symphonies: Mahlerites tend to lean toward the Rattle/ Tilson Thomas/ Salonen/ Boulez school or the Giulini/ Walter/ Bernstein school but even that leaves an inordinate number of successful conductors unmentioned. The Song Cycles of Mahler are less frequently recorded and also they are often recorded in combination with a few of one cycle plus a few from another etc.

It is then with rather great clarity that one approaches this recording of DES KNABEN WUNDERHORN, with the urgent and sensitive Riccardo Chailly conducting the magnificent Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, primarily because of the opportunity to hear the cycle divided among such incredible talents as Matthias Goerne, Barbara Bonney, Sara Fulgoni and Gosta Winbergh. Having just experienced a performance of the cycle by Goerne alone with the Los Angeles Philharmonic, I thought these radiant songs could not be better performed. It will take many hearings of other singers' "Urlicht", whether in this cycle or in the position in the Symphony No 2, to erase the glow of Goerne's interpretation, but sure enough - on this recording that same song is utterly breathtaking as sung by Sara Fulgoni. Goerne and Bonney are in fine fettle, finding the core of each song and communicating the text with ravishing tone and technique. This is one of the finest Mahler recordings available and since the DES KNABEN WUNDERHORN songs play such an important role in the first four symphonies of Mahler, this seminal recording seems essential to all Mahler libraries. Truly a remarkable feat!

The trumpets of Doom are just behind us!.......2004-04-17

It was difficult for Mahler to be a German Jew in Bohemia, rejected by both the Bohemians because he was German and by the Germans because he was a Jew. It was even more difficult when he was obliged to convert to Catholicism to get his position in Vienna. It was evermore difficult to bear life when he lost his young daughter and discovered that he had a heart condition condemning him to an early death. So these songs for children are not exactly joyful, apart from one or two that are adapted from traditional German tales. It is most of the time stories about impossible love because the man is in prison, because the man has to go to some war, because the man does not want any love. The trumpets that are regularly souded in these tales are the trumpets of Doomsday or of war. They mean judgment and death. Mahler is carrying a heavy load of guilt, of sin, of mental heartburn. These stories are thickly lined with this ferocious vision of life as being dominated by three Ks : König, Kaiser, Krieg, the king, the Emperor, the war. Life is under the constant control of some authority, under the constant fear of some war, under the constant menace of death. And God is in no way a solace in this picture. Saint Antony of Padua comes to an empty church and goes out to preach to fish, and he fails because fish listen to him but they go back to their normal and habitual behaviors as soon as the sermon is finished. Even angels are not very helpful and try to kick men out of heavens. The music is absolutely beautiful, extremely dramatic and it associates various nuances, hues and colorations, from light viennese melodies to sombre military marches. The voices are also perfectly well adapted to this tragic vision of the world and the singing emphasizes the horror of this valley of tears in which we have to live, contemplating the beautiful green pastures knowing that sooner or later these green pastures will become our final home, our final turf, the blanket that will cover up our bones forever and ever and with no real hope to go anywhere else beyond this earth.

Tracks:

Sym No.5: Funeral March
The Boy's Magic Horn: The Drummer Boy
Songs Of The Death Of Children: Now Will The Sun Rise As Brightly
Songs Of The Death Of Children: I Often Think They Have Merely Gone Out!
Sym No.1 'Titan': 3rd Movt
Sym No.2 'Resurrection': Primal Light
Songs Of A Wayfarer: I Went Out This Morning Over The Countryside/Resurrection, Sym No.2:...
Sym No.5: Adagietto
The Song Of The Earth: The Drunkard In Spring
The Boy's Magic Hn: Who Thought Up This Song
The Song Of The Earth: The Farewell

Amazon.com

This auspicious, surprising, release debuted the Winter & Winter imprimatur, which carries on German producer Stefan Winter's longstanding role in blurring musical boundaries, as he did for so many years with the jazz label JMT. Pianist Uri Caine, known mainly for playing in the polystylistic mode of New York's downtown jazz scene, steeped himself in Mahler's music in preparation for the 1995 series of concerts leading up to this CD. Caine's ensemble--14 members strong, at points--recasts portions of Mahler's symphonic cloudbursts into a setting that smacks of klezmer, jazz, and crazy combinations of the scores' lavish bombastics. It's clear that Mahler's works tested the boundaries of so many available sounds at the turn of the century, from cantors to martial brass to Wagnerian bulk. Caine attempts it all, succeeding most somberly in the sections based on the Resurrection Symphony and most clangorously in the First Symphony's third movement, transformed into a serious klezmer bash by Caine, clarinetist Don Byron, and drummer Joey Baron. --Andrew Bartlett

Customer Reviews:

jaw-dropping interpretation of Mahler.......2006-12-03

I am a Mahler fan - and I don't like jazz! So I was rather nervous at listening to this first time around. But I found it simply stunning. The resurrection symphony slow movement, complete with screeching solo violin emulating a searingly distorted electric guitar was, in fact, profoundly moving. And the sheer musicianship of the performers, in the more sensitive sections earned my utmost respect. This album is shocking, unbearable, gripping, lighthearted, exciting, mocking, reverential, tender - everything Mahler was. Fantastic buy!

Mahler revered.......2006-11-16

On his 1997 release Urlicht / Primal Light, Uri Caine took some of Gustav Mahler's most famous compositions, and, well, jazzed them up, with some of the most prominent musicians on the downtown New York scene, including Dave Douglas and Joey Baron.

What still surprises me about this beautiful album is just how faithful Caine is to Mahler. Unlike his later Goldberg Variations, this isn't Mahler deconstructed, it's Mahler revered, in a small group jazz (and at times, thanks to Don Byron , klezmer) setting. It makes perfect sense -- if some of the greatest jazz performances have come from mediocre show tunes, why not use symphonies and lieder as a starting point for improvisation?

Uri Caine's mutiny against Mahler.......2006-09-30

I've been a big Mahler fan since Bernstein's first recording (4th Symphony) as well as a knowledgeable follower of jazz. These pieces are grotesque caricatures of Mahler melodies and while I have not heard Caine's other depredations, after listening to this one I think I'll pass. If this is something released after a jam session that somehow was rescued from the cutting room floor, my apologies. But Mahler's melodies do not belong in a setting like this and who is Caine to try to improve on Mahler's orchestrations? Save your money.

raw, gritty and fertile freshly tilled earth.......2005-12-13

it's not pure as in so many anally treated works of Mahler. admittedly i am not interested in listening to see if the sonority of the instruments is perfect to some pompous standard, and it's not but there is another dedication here and an unmeasurable energy. i love the youthfulness of this work.

The New quintessential performance of Mahler.......2005-07-06

This is the story i was told when buying this record, it's been many years so this is as close as i could remember it:

"There is an annual competition where orchestras from all over the world come together to perform Mahler pieces. It's been going many many years... then along came Uri Caine. His orchestra included Cantors (jewish religious singers) and a cacophony of other messy instruments and ideas to perform with. They won to competition to the horror of stuffy stuck-up Mahler purists the world over.. How could this horrible mess win over all ther other very traditional (very similar and boring) performances!? Uri Caine's orchestra has continued to win every year since. Why? Because Uri's interpretation gives a fuller understanding of Gustav Mahlers background, his roots, he brings so much life to the music."

So then i actually listened to the music myself and it was breathtaking, funny, it told stories, it had personality, it was bursting at the seams with new ideas.

I listen to all kinds of music, but rarely jazz and rarely classical. I was not familiar with Uri Caine or Gustav Mahler, but after hearing that story, then listening for myself i had to have this cd. And while often my purchases are terrible mistakes, this one was a resounding success. This cd is my most treasured.

Mendelssohn/Brahms/Schumann/Mahler: Songs & Duets

Average customer rating:

Lovely voices in lesser-known songs and duets.

Mendelssohn/Brahms/Schumann/Mahler: Songs & Duets

Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Von Stade, Frederica | Divas | Opera & Vocal | Styles | Music

Classical Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Classical Instrumental Music | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music

Opera & Vocal | The Sony BMG Masterworks Store | Amazon.com Label Stores | Stores | Music
ASIN: B0000062DD
Release Date: 1998-03-17

Tracks:

Die Liebende schreibt, Op. 86, No. 3
Allnachtlich im Traume, Op. 86, No. 4
Fruhlingslied, Op. 47, No. 3
Venetianisches Gondellied, Op. 57, No. 5
Der Mond, Op. 86, No. 5
Italien
Suleika, Op. 34, No. 4
Das erste Veilchen, Op. 19a, No. 2
Schilflied, Op. 71, No. 4
Neue Liebe, Op. 19a, No. 4
Bei der Wiege, Op. 47, No. 6
Klange (II), Op. 66, No. 2
Klisterfraulein, Op. 61, No. 2
Phanomen, Op. 61, No. 3
Weg der Liebe (I), Op. 20, No. 1
Weg der Liebe (II), Op. 20, No. 2
Walpurgisnacht, op. 75, No. 4
Botschaft, Op. 74, No. 8
Das Gluck, Op. 79, No 15
Ich ging mit Lust
Liebst du um Schonheit
Hans und Grethe
Ablosung im Sommer
Erinnerung
Wer hat dies Liedein erdacht?
Fruhlingsmorgen
Scheiden und Meiden
Wo die schonen Trompeten blasen
Ich atmet' einen Linden Duft

Customer Reviews:

Lovely voices in lesser