Customer Reviews

Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde / 3 Ruckert-Lieder

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

 

 

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!

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.

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.

Walter, Ferrier. This alone could count towards this performance being excellent. But it's not. I had the very first encounter with Mahler when I was 14 through the introduction music of a radio program. I did n't know it then but it was the first notes of the Abschied. After a while I bought my first "Song" CD (the latter Walter version with the NYPO on Sony - a very good account also). Since then I have heard to more than ten interpretations including that of Bernard Haitink on Philips and a live with Agnes Baltsa and Fischer with the Hungarian State Orchestra - two really great accounts but still I haven't found that Ferrier feeling of Abschied. You can feel that she thinks it as her Swan song. Walter also just knows her so well - not the first time they were together in the "Song" - and the music making is unmatched since today. Not to forget Julius Patzak, a very characteristic voice that attributes to the greatness of this interpretation... But still this is a Ferrier CD. The sound have limitetions being mono (strings are a bit thin) but this can not abstract anything from the best MAHLER recording ever....

I own nine different recordings of Mahler's Das Lied Von Der Erde, and I would probably rate this somewhere in the middle, with Kubelik, Sanderling, and Klemperer ahead of it, and close to on-par with the Horenstein.

This is an excellent and deservedly legendary performance. Patzak and Ferrier both give extremely artistic performances. There is great charisma and depth to their singing and interpretation of the words and melodies. However, technically, there are far better performances out there (they were both past their prime). Fritz Wunderlich, Peter Schrier, and Waldemar Kmentt as tenor and Janet Baker and Alfreda Hodgson as alto come to mind immediately. Bruno Walter gives a very moving reading of the song cycle, but the Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra does not perform very well. It sounds rather unrehearsed and unrefined (and not in a good "fresh" way).

What you have here is a very moving, very magical performance of Das Lied Von Der Erde that should be heard by everyone. But it saddens me to think that many people would purchase this as their "only" recording of this piece (due to the justifiably positive reviews) and feel they can explore this piece sufficiently with it.

I highly recommend checking out the Kubelik/Baker/Kmentt recording. It is an absolutely essential recording with a brilliant conductor, excellent orchestra and sound, the best alto performance available for this work (Baker!), and an excellent tenor. Klemperer and Sanderling give equally amazing readings with two of the best tenors you will ever hear perform this piece (Schrier and Wunderlich, respectively).

Although I find this recording to be far inferior to the three mentioned above, I truly believe one must own several recordings of this work, and in that respect, this Walter/Ferrier deserves the shelf space.

There are times when you can't let something pass. I've heard this nonsense about how Bruno Walter "didn't understand Mahler." The fact that Walter knew Mahler well and worked with him gave him far better insight into the composer than those commenting almost a century after the fact. The poetry in this performance is there for those whose who are capable of hearing it. Stating that Ferrier was past her prime seems odd in that she was about 40 when this recording was made and if made in 1951 it would have been two years before her death. She was a true contralto (the voice for which the music was written)with a tonal color that any mezzo-soprano can only approximate. Regarding this not being opera it might do well to remember that Mahler was primarily a conductor of opera. Would this have influenced how he may have wanted this work performed? I think so.

Mahler is one of my favorite composers, I consider him the best composer of symphonies ever. "Das Lied von der Erde" might not be as "big" as his other symphonies, yet with the proper vocalists, it can make you shiver in you chair. And this recording surely packs the proper vocalists. There is a perfect balance between the powerful tenor Julius Patzak and the crystal clear voice of Kathleen Ferrier. The Wiener Philharmoniker orchestra under Bruno Walter is working in perfect union with the vocalist. I don't know if this is the "best" recording of "Das Lied von der Erde", but it surely deserves a place of honor in any music lover's collection. 5 shining stars for this piece.

This has to be one of Decca's crown jewels! Ferrier's wonderful performance, directed by Bruno Walter, who knew Mahler personally, is obsolutely outstanding; no serious lover of Ferrier's singing and Mahler's music should be without it. My only regret is not having bought it decades ago! Having having taken a dislike to Julius Patzak's voice in a work by Franz Schmidt, I was concerned that he would disappoint me in the Mahler. He did not; he's in fine voice, and he delivers a strong performance that complements admirably that of Ferrier. Mahler-lovers - snap up a copy of this CD before they're all gone!

Beautiful, but I feel that the Klemperer/Ludwig/Wunderlich rendition is more vigorous and performed with greater feeling.

This account is exquisite--and heartbreaking. One of my very favorite classical discs.