Customer Reviews

Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde / Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra

5 star:		(10)
4 star:		(1)
3 star:		(3)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Das Lied is one of Mahler's best works, and this is a slightly different version for tenor and baritone, rather than for tenor and mezzo-soprano. But the baritone in question is the great Fischer-Dieskau, and the conductor, arguably the greatest Mahler conductor of all time, teams up with his soloists to make this a fabulous recording, with great sound too. This is among the half dozen Mahler records you need (another is the Fischer-Dieskau recording of the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with the Rueckert Lieder on DGG). But between Bernstein and Fischer-Dieskau, it's hard to choose who is the star. King, the tenor, is fine also. This was a recording deal done between two companies, Decca and Columbia. Decca got this and a Mozart recording with Bernstein and the Vienna Philharmonic; Columbia got Bernstein's Der Rosenkavalier. I remember passing over the LP years ago, thinking that the "regular" version was to be preferred; now I am just glad that I finally tried this one. The orhestral sound is sumptuous, as is the playing. Fischer-Dieskau is unforgettable.

Das Lied von der Erde was the most personal and intimate work that Mahler wrote. Though he himself referred to the work as a symphony, he orchestrated it very much like one would do for a chamber orchestra, thus it makes the piece even that much more personal. This particular recording was made in 1966 by the Vienna Philharmonic conducted by the greatest Mahlerian, Leonard Bernstein. Rather than using the conventional tenor and soprano voices to sing the songs, Bernstein in this recording(he made two) chooses to use the alternative - a tenor and a baritone. I personally prefer the baritone to the soprano, because I feel as if the deep voice better conveys the irony, longing, passion, and pain that Mahler expresses in what I think to be his greatest work. This recording not only features a baritone singer, but the greatest baritone lied singer, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. This makes this particular recording of Das Lied von der Erde the best one currently available, and it is likely to be insurpassable. As usual Bernstein wrings ever ounce of emotion from this great piece, and he chooses singers who can do the same. The sound quality in this new Decca digital transfer is superb, making this old recording sound as if it were brand new. Plus a mid-price add even more to make this appealing. The definitive Lied von der erde with great sound at a great price makes this disc a must have.

Here we have the most expressionist recording of Das Lied von der Erde I know, and I know about 20 recordings (Klemperer, Giulini, Haitink, Jochum, Rattle, Walter, etc), not too much, but enough to compare it with some other conductors and styles.

First of all it's important to forget the poor Decca recording, with lot of noise and not very well balanced. Anyway, if you can go to what the interpretation is, you will find a jewel of Mahler's music.

Leonard Bernstein is recorded here in his first years playing with the wiener orchestra and the good feeling between both can be felt since the very beginning of the work, from that breathtaking Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde that Bernstein understand like a terrible tale, like a touch of attention to the not prepared listeners. The power, the intensity of the orchestra's playing is really outstanding and James King singing is the ideal complement as he is too full of energy and mahlerian style. He's one of the most convincing singers in this complex first song, together with Wunderlich (EMI, with Klemperer), who sings really wonderful too.

The Bariton songs (No.2, 4 & 6) are sung by the greatest Mahler singer of all time, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, who join his outstanding voice with a very natural and mature understanding of the scores, something he really feel like no other, as you can listen in the final Abschied, where you can think he's singing his own farewell, like Ferrier did, but, in my opinion, with a much more technical singing in this recording. The dynamics, the emotions, the tempi... are so great described by Dieskau that it really seems the work was composed for him.

The orchestra playing is not the typical from the late Wiener Philharmoniker we know, much more classical and "distant", as we can watch and listen in the new DVD releases of Mahler & Bernstein (DG). In this `60s recording the Wiener play in a state of hypnotism, following Bernstein baton and his vision of the work, a vision that will not change too much in the next years, and that brings this music full of emotion, power and lyrics, but a lyric from an expressionist point of view, very human and very devastated by the idea of departing, of the farewell. Anyway, Das Lied von der Erde is not a unique song, one feeling; it's a work of six very different pictures, every one a corner of the human soul and existence. Bernstein understand this multiple feelings very well and we can find how charm is his conducting sometimes, how wild others, how sad, how he aspires eternity at the end... The basses from the Wiener, the metals, the strings, woodwinds... give them best in this recording, not so refined like we can listen in the Giulini recording with Berlin (DG), for example, probably the most perfect from the technical point of view. This very little lost of perfection in some passages is because of the very fiery playing of the orchestra and the very deep emotion of the recording, one of the mahlerian monuments of all times.

As I wrote, the recording is not good, and it's curios that this same recording is released in a Deutsche Grammophon box (together with the rest of Mahler's symphonies and songs conducted by Bernstein) with a much more better and clean sound.

A must have, in my opinion with Klemperer (Philharmonia, EMI) and Giulini (Berlin, DG).

An intense moving rendition of Mahler's great symphonic/song poem! King and Fischer-Dieskau are both powerful and lyrical. They take the singing of this work to another level. I have several different versions of this work, but this is my favorite. Bernstein and the VPO are marvelous, it is the intensity and beauty of this interpretation that is so sublime. Everyone involved seems to be at their peak here. If you don't have this CD and you love Mahler, get it now!

This is a stupendous performance. I loved it - _after_ I fed the audio files into Audacity, added some reverb, spread out the stereo image, and adjusted the levels so that the places where the original engineers inexplicably faded in or out from the entire sound picture had been compensated for. Then I could hear the sound of Bernstein and the orchestra rather than the Decca "sonic spectacular". I don't normally do this kind of fiddling with the sound but this disc really needs it. I know it was the way things were done then, but it results in balances that were not intended by Mahler and interruptions to the melodic lines of the players and soloists, and to modern ears it is terribly annoying.

That said, the other reviewers are right - it is a thrilling recording in every way, and I don't share the reservations about James King that some people have.

Of all the symphonies Mahler wrote, "The Song of the Earth" - an unnumbered symphony Mahler wrote in fear of the "Curse of the Ninth" - evokes emotions at its most raw, fresh and intense... similar to the "earthy" passion Tchaikovsky and Rachmaninoff evokes (contrary to what Mahler did with his second and eighth, both universal-sounding works)... but then again, it probabaly should be because the piece evokes a huge longing for earthy life. Mahler even considered it to be his most personal work.

The piece utilizes a large orchestra, with two soloists, a tenor and either a mezzo-soprano or a baritone. Most performances prefered using a mezzo-soprano, but you got to give this one a chance; it's worth owning.

The performance done by James King, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra under the baton of Leonard Bernstein adds to a highly irresistable, stunning performance. While it is Lenny's only (if not one of the very few) collabaration with London/Decca label, what a performance it is.

The entry of the horns and the orchestra in the first movement already takes us into his world of intense passion and longing. King's performance is incredible. He seems to know when to evoke hope and despair, joy and sorrow, denial and reconciliation. Although he's an American, he didn't let his German wither away with his passionate singing. The climax is especially intense, as he and the orchestra reach the high spot, then crumble into despair. The other two movements featuring the tenor are equally impressive.

The legendary Fischer-Dieskau is phenomenal! The highly ecstatic fourth movement is especially difficult for a baritone, but he mastered it! And in the concluding song in the final movement, he never sounded so tender... it really puts me into tears. It really sounds as if he's ready to depart.

Many conductors tend to treat Mahler's music as a form of entertainment, but Bernstein is one of the few which makes his pieces something to really witness. This is one of the many albums, and one of the best, which can really draw out the composer's feelings.

Here's my "Warning" ad: Probably not suitable for casual listeners.

Bernstein stands alone as the greatest Mahler conductor because of his special sense of joy in the music. Anyone doubting this sense of joy would do well to watch the video of his Mahler 2nd finale on youtube.

This is a riveting recording from the opening bars. I have not heard a more muscular rendition of the first song. The Vienna Philharmonic fires on all cylinders and Bernstein leads them onward with characteristic panache.

The addition of Fischer Dieskau as baritone makes the recording even more worthy, even if you typically prefer the more typical casting of alto in this role (most recordings feature the alto).

A worthy addition to any Mahler collection.

Truly this is an important recording, and one worthy of inclusion in the Decca Legends series. Its importance stems not only that this is among Leonard Bernstein's earliest recordings with the Vienna Philharmonic - a fruitful association which would last until his death - but it is yet another splendid example of his strong affinity for Gustav Mahler's music. Without question Bernstein was one of the foremost interpreters of Mahler's orchestral music, and here he leads the Vienna Philharmonic in an emotionally riveting performance. It's an elegant, vibrant performance which features beautiful woodwind solos and silky smooth playing from the strings. But most importantly, Bernstein here has opted for a baritone in lieu of the usual contralto - in virtually all performances and recordings, a soprano - and not just any baritone, but the great Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, perhaps Germany's foremost interpreter of 19th Century Lied music. Both Fiescher-Dieskau and American tenor James King are superb too in this symphonic song cycle. Mahler regarded Das Lied von Der Erde as a symphony, but instead, it probably deserves to be called a tone poem. Decca's sound engineers have wrought a sonic masterpiece, greatly enhancing the already excellent sound quality using state-of-the art digital image-bit remastering.

I own every Bernstein Mahler recording but place this one pretty far down on the list. The Vienna Phil. plays gorgeously, and the engineers capture everything in super-bright, detailed sonics. I can remember what a blockbuster this produciton was in its day. But Bernstein underlines with heavy ink, barely letting a single bar of the music speak for itself. James King is a bluff tenor soloist, sounding too burly and not sensitive enough to the text. Fischer-Dieskau tries to outdo Bernstein by dramatizing every syllable with leaned-on emphasis but showing no natural lyricism or poetic surrender to Mahler's line.

If you want the baritone version of this masterpiece, there is an excellent reading from Salonen on Sony with Bo Skovhus outsinging F-D by miles. An earlier, less exagerrated reading under Kletzki shows F-D off in better form for his many fans.

Overall, a disappointment from a great Mahlerian.

Bernstein famously identified with Mahler but, though he brings many insights into the composer, his supreme egomania gets in the way here.

The baritone alternative works surprisingly well but the conductor can't resist infusing the whole work with his self-indulgent pulling and twisting and, at times, with his dripping sentimentality.

Though this approach has its frequent rewards, I can't imagine, for myself, having to live with with such an overdone interpretation.

Mahler has put enough emotion into his music without having more forced onto it.