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

Product Details

• Amazon Sales Rank: #140489 in Music
• Released on: 2001-03-13
• Number of discs: 1
• Dimensions: .20 pounds

Amazon.com
Pierre Boulez's ongoing Gustav Mahler cycle pleases those who prefer a lucid, analytical take on these sprawling works, while displeasing those who favor interpretations that match Mahler's wild, all-encompassing attempt to capture the universe in sound. This Lied won't change any minds, but even naysayers will appreciate its strong points, among which mezzo-soprano Violeta Urmana is by far the strongest. The voice itself is pliant, warm, expressive, and in the final "Abschied," Mahler's moving farewell to life, Urmana erases memories of most of her recorded predecessors. Tenor Michael Schade's bright, ringing tenor cuts through the orchestra, albeit with a misguided attempt to color and highlight even the words best sung simply. Boulez's attention to detail and the Vienna Philharmonic's masterly playing are other pluses. But the emotional core of the music is missing; Boulez gives us the music but not the emotions it should convey, resulting in a Lied that's alienated from itself. Interesting as this release is, the very different approaches of Walter, Horenstein, Bernstein, and Klemperer have more to say about this music. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews

A Very Strong Contender in the Mahler Das Lied Competition
Having the opportunity to hear Pierre Boulez illuminate the thick romantic orchestral works such as Gustav Mahler's DAS LIED VON DER ERDE is always a palate-cleanser. While many may find the Boulez approach distant or excessively analytical, I think that may be due to lack of hearing this conductor with these big works in live performance. For this listener Boulez takes nothing away from the sentimental edge of Mahler's works: he simplifies the paths of approach to the big climaxes and in doing so adds credibility to the honesty of Mahler's angst. Another conductor in this same approach is Esa-Pekka Salonen and it is with the latter's Los Angeles Philharmonic that the mysteries of Boulez and Mahler can be most appreciated. (Would that Salonen had the luxury of Violeta Urmana as his soloist in his recording of this cycle: the combination of those three would be well worth re-recording.)

But here Boulez conducts the Vienna Philharmonic with luxurious beauty of tone and ensemble playing. The tenor he has chosen is the rather light weight Michael Shade and while he is unable to erase memories of Wunderlich or Domingo or Patzak, he does ring with authority. The revelation here is the presence of Violeta Urmana. Having heard her with Boulez in the concert version of Act Two of PARSIFAL with the LA Phil was the primary reason for buying this recording. She is stunning and her rendering of 'Der Abschied' is ravishingly sung with an equally breathtaking collaboration with Boulez/Vienna. It alone is worth adding this fine performance of Mahler's nostalgic cycle to your library. Moments like these are rare. Grady Harp, March 2005

Almost perfect
Boulez conducting Mahler - this would have been blasphemy a few decades ago, both from the point of view of Boulezian modernists and that of dedicated Mahlerians. But the twain did meet, and though not everybody seems happy with the results, the least that can be said is that Boulez offers refreshingly new perspectives on what is slowly but inevitably becoming somewhat hackneyed repertoire (another thing that would have been unimaginable a few decades ago). As you would expect from one of the twentieth century's foremost composers, Boulez is more interested in Mahler's unique sonorities than in gut-wrenching emotionality. But of course, in Mahler's music the two are intimately linked, and the claim that Boulez's Mahler is unfeeling and cold strikes me as nonsensical. Introspective, maybe, and restrained, to some extent; generally non-interventionist. He sets out to reveal the full complexity of Mahler's scoring rather than highlighting melodies and neglecting hardworking secondary voices. The results of this can be truly stunning, as they are in this well nigh sublime recording of Das Lied. In no other score did Mahler venture as far out into 20th century territories as he does here. Parallel voices each go their own way for bars on end without any clear hierarchy among them; fragments of themes are loosely interjected; rhythms and tonalities clash. And yet the resulting sounds are always gorgeous, the underlying emotions communicated with utmost clarity. Boulez makes you realize all of that, as much as he makes you notice the very close kinship between the fourth movement, "Von der Schönheit", and the third movement of the Third symphony. I had never registered this before and yet now it seems so obvious, again thanks to the transparency of the reading, which reveals a number of staccato semiquaver runs in the violins that have literal parallels in the Third. Boulez is helped tremendously by the superb playing of the VPO (though the vulnerable, plaintive sound of their oboes may not be to everybody's taste), and even more by his excellent singers. Michael Schade succeeds better than almost any of his predecessors I've heard in making the most of his three songs and not paling completely besides the alto, who gets to sing all the more profound pieces and is given rather more 'air-time' to do so. And to be sure, Violeta Urmana is a singer that easily makes others pale beside her. Her achievements yield nothing to those of Ludwig or Baker, and in some ways even surpass them. She has the kind of voice that blends ideally with the orchestral sounds, so that the result is a true symphony rather than a song cycle with orchestral accompaniment. The recording enhances this effect by not placing the solo voices too far forward. In all other respects too the recorded sound is state-of-the-art. In all, this disc offers a deeply enriching experience. Its only imperfection I can think of is the tempo of the second movement, which simply is too fast, not at all 'schleichend' or 'ermüdet'. But the result is still extremely beautiful. This is now definitely my favorite recording of Das Lied, though I will keep cherishing the classic Haitink/King/Baker and the Giulini/Araiza/Fassbaender versions alongside it.

One of Boulez' best Mahler recordings
Boulez' Mahler cycle on DG continues with "Das Lied von der Erde". As with previous recordings in the series, this one is marked by a remarkable clarity in the orchestral playing. In this recording, you hear every detail in the score, and all of it is played wonderfully and idiomatically by the VPO. Boulez is also concerned with overall pacing and proportion, refusing to indulge in rubato, dramatic pauses, and so on, except for the minimum required by Mahler's indications in the score. The overall effect is sometimes refreshing, but also sometimes rather clinical. Most of these Mahler recordings are therefore fascinating, but not necessarily recommended as your first recording of a given symphony.

What elevates this recording above most of the other entries in Boulez' Mahler cycle, and over most of the competition, is the contribution by Violeta Urmana. A "Lied von der Erde" recording lives or dies by its last movement, "Abschied", and this is one of the best on record.

Overall, a very strong recording, but misses the warmth and otherworldly beauty of Walter/Ferrier.