Mahler: Das klagende Lied

Mahler initially had a hard time of it. When Das klagende Lied finally met with his own critical favor, he stated, “My first work in which I have found myself as ‘Mahler’!” Here it is heard in colorful contrast to the fragment from his last symphony and the “Blumine” andante originally intended for the first symphony. The Beethoven Orchestra of Bonn under its resourceful conductor Stefan Blunier is in top form on this fascinatingly detailed look at Mahler’s compositional techniques.

Pierre Boulez is an icon of today’s classical scene and closely associated with the works of Mahler.

Featuring the acclaimed Vienna Philharmonic and the chorus of the Vienna State Opera – historically connected to Mahler, Berg and Boulez.

These performances were recorded live at the opening concert of the prestigious Salzburg Festival in 2011, conceived as a tribute to Gustav Mahler, and will be released to coincide with the maestro’s 88th birthday in March.

Mahler’s 2-act Das Klagende Lied is a mythical tale of fratricide, guilt and retribution, based on stories by the Grimm brothers and Ludwig Bechstein.

Only the most eminent and respected Russian musicians were allowed extensive foreign tours in the early 1960s, and Gennadi Rozhdestvensky was awarded this status. He appeared several times in Britain, mainly with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, and at Covent Garden. In 1971, he conducted the Leningrad Philharmonic Orchestra at the Proms. Rozhdestvensky became Artistic Director of the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra (1974–77 & 1991–95), and principal conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra (1978–81) and Vienna Symphony Orchestra (1980–82). He worked with the Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Chicago and Cleveland orchestras. He also is the honorary conductor of the Yomiuri Nippon Symphony Orchestra.

Rozhdestvensky was the first Russian-born conductor to perform and record all Mahler’s symphonies in his country.

Mahler’s Das klagende Lied is a rarity and here is performed live, complete in the original three-part edition The performance was reviewed by Gramophone magazine as follows: ‘Rozhdestvensky’s highly dramatic account of Mahler’s three-movement drama’.

The recording was first issued in 1995 but deleted shortly afterwards with the demise of BBC Radio Classics. The ICA version has been completely remastered, restoring the wide dynamics of Rozhdestvensky’s magnificent performance. The distinguished soloists feature Dame Janet Baker, one of the greatest Mahler interpreters of the twentieth century.

The CD also features another rarity – Janácˇek’s The Fiddler’s Child – from the 1979 Prague Festival. This live recording has never been issued before and is Rozdestvensky’s only taping of the work. Rozhdestvensky’s recordings of Tchaikovsky’s Symphony No.4 (ICAC5035) and Holst’s The Planets (ICAC5053) have received great critical acclaim.

This performance was recorded in 1960.

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony present a newly re-mastered Hybrid SACD of Das klagende Lied, the ninth installment of their Grammy Award winning Mahler recording cycle. Employing Sony’s Super Audio 5.1 digital surround sound technology, this critically acclaimed performance of Mahler’s first large-scale orchestral work was recorded live at Davies Symphony Hall in San Francisco from May 29-31 and June 2, 1996 and first released on the RCA Red Seal label in 1997. Written when Mahler was an unknown twenty-year-old, the first performance of the three-movement version was a broadcast over Radio Brno, Czechoslovakia, in 1934, twenty-three years after Mahler’s death.