Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde / 3 Ruckert-Lieder [Original recording remastered]

Kathleen Ferrier (Artist), Julius Patzak (Artist), Gustav Mahler (Composer), Bruno Walter (Conductor), Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
• Conductor: Bruno Walter
• Composer: Gustav Mahler
• Audio CD (November 14, 2000)
• SPARS Code: ADD
• Number of Discs: 1
• Format: Original recording remastered
• Label: Decca
• ASIN: B00004XQ8E
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.4 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #15,545 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

46 of 51 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It should have six, maybe seven, stars!, October 21, 2001

By 

David Paisley (Lakewood, Ohio United States) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde / 3 Ruckert-Lieder (Audio CD)

Out of the many "Das Lied"s in my collection--starting with Bernstein/Fischer-Dieskau/King, purchased when I was a junior in high school, this is undoubtledly the nonpareil. I have owned this recording in one form or another for over thirty years--in fact, I even ordered a copy of Decca's previous CD remastering from England when I couldn't find it here, and so I was a tad hesitant to purchase another copy when this release came out; I suppose it was the three Ruckert songs that made me decide to purchase it. A quick comparison with the earlier CD sold me on this one right away. There is a clarity to the orchestra's detailing and to the singing that just wasn't there in earlier versions. The inclusion of the original cover art was a bonus, as well. This is a heartbreaker--Ferrier's wonderful dark voice is unequalled in any other performance I've heard--including Walter's earlier recording with Thorberg, as well as Christa Ludwig's with Bernstein, etc. Julius Patzak approaches his parts with a passionate abandon that I prize as well. If you care anything about Mahler, you must own this recording, along with EMI's latest re-release of Ferrier's Kindertotenlieder. There's nothing to compare. One of the greatest of great recordings, and better than ever!

17 of 17 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars DESERVEDLY A CLASSIC BUT..., January 8, 2006

By 

Klingsor Tristan (Suffolk) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde / 3 Ruckert-Lieder (Audio CD)

Now this recording is out of copyright it is beginning to turn up on several labels (e.g. Naxos). It is, after all, a classic recording. However, it was Decca who recorded it and they therefore are the ones who have access to the originals. So this is probably the best transfer, worth the extra cost over its rivals.

Its status as a classic is well deserved. Walter was a close colleague of the composer, talked through the work with him and conducted the world premiere after Mahler's death. It was a piece he had lived with for more than 40 years by the time this recording was made and his interpretation therefore at least deserves serious respect. Of course, it merits much more than that. Walter loved this music and invested it with all the depth of humanity he brought to everything he conducted. There is appropriate weight and thrust to the opening Trinklied, a logically consistent flow to the meandering melodic lines of the Einsame im Herbst, Schubertian delicacy in Von der Jugend and so on right through to the yearnings and final resigned acceptance of Der Abschied. This, as you might expect from Walter, is a Das Lied viewed from the Mozart, Schubert, Brahms end of the telescope rather than as the forerunner of Schoenberg, Berg, Webern and beyond. To that extent he could be said to smooth out some of the more abrasive orchestration, to soften the impact of the clashing harmonies in the great Funeral March and to try to integrate the often disparate and apparently unrelated contrapuntal melodic lines. For a contrasting point of view, you need to turn to Rattle, Boulez or, interestingly, Horenstein.

One of the chief raisons d'etre for this recording, of course, was the special relationship that had developed between Walter and Kathleen Ferrier. In the unique sound of that voice and in her special artistry, Walter felt he had at last found the perfect vehicle for this piece. And she doesn't disappoint. She gives a near-definitive performance of her three songs and especially of Der Abschied. The last outburst of love and regret for the `liebe Erde' and the ensuing resignation that drifts into an infinity of repeated `ewig...ewigs' over Mahler's achingly unresolved sixths in the harmony, these are heart-rending moments. If there is just the slightest note of reservation in my praise, it is that Ferrier (as her letters show) was rather in awe of Dr. Walter, particularly in this piece which was so much a part of his life. As a result she always seems to be following Walter's lead in this performance, without quite allowing herself the interpretive freedom she shows even in her live New York performance with him. But in her live performance with Barbirolli (on APR) the sympathy - empathy even - between the two close friends leads to greater freedom still, greater risk-taking on both their parts that I find all the more moving, despite the pretty dreadful sound quality.

Julius Patzak is also an integral part of this Vienna performance. The tenor role is a tough one, having to scale the heldentenor heights of the opening movement, the porcelain delicacy of the third and the drunken abandon of the fifth. Patzak doesn't have quite the ideal heft for the Trinklied and occasionally gets submerged in the orchestral swell, but he does bring a wonderfully plangent colouring to his voice in the `Dunkel ist das Leben' refrain. There's a wealth of experience behind the subtle word-painting of Von der Jugend, however, and the Drunkard in Spring is also a perfect blend of singing off the words and the notes.

This recording is deservedly a classic of the gramophone, a great performance which displays roots that reach directly back to the composer himself. However, if you can listen through bad sound quality, I'd urge you to listen to Ferrier's performance with Barbirolli as well.

The three Ruckert Lieder also included on this disc are also wonderfully done - especially Ich bin der Welt anhanden gekommen. Um Mitternacht, too, is mightily imposing. Only Janet Baker (again with Barbirolli) runs them close.

14 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars My thoughts....., July 12, 2005

By 

Shota Hanai (Torrance, CA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde / 3 Ruckert-Lieder (Audio CD)

For a performance more than 50 years old, it sounds really good. Kudos to the engineers; I never knew the early 50s recording can be that good. Kudos too to Bruno Walter, a close friend and great interpreter of Mahler, and the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, certainly one of the world's finest orchestras.

Personally, I didn't really like Julius Patzak on the tenor. He sounded to mellow, less dramatic compared to James Kings on a rivalling performance done by Bernstein with the same orchestra (and the same label) 14 years later.

Kathleeen Ferrier, on the other hand, is an absolute winner. There's something really special about her performance that really makes me want to cry, particularily in the "Farewell" movement. She sounded very rich and warm when she was singing in moderate registers, but very sweet and delicate - fragile even as if she know she was going to live no longer - whenever she took the higher notes. By the time she sings "Everywhere the lovely earth blossoms" I was in tears, knowing that this would be one of her glorious moments in her career before dying of cancer. Fischer-Dieskau's performance (with Lenny) was touching in one thing, but Ferrier's performance was an excrutiating experience...

May her performance touch others... for ever... and ever.