Mahler - Des Knaben Wunderhorn / von Otter, Quasthoff, Berlin Phil., Abbado

Gustav Mahler (Composer), Claudio Abbado (Conductor), Berliner Philharmoniker (Orchestra), Anne Sofie von Otter (Performer), Thomas Quasthoff (Performer) | Format: Audio CD

Product Details

• Performer: Anne Sofie von Otter, Thomas Quasthoff
• Orchestra: Berliner Philharmoniker
• Conductor: Claudio Abbado
• Composer: Gustav Mahler
• Audio CD (June 15, 1999)
• Number of Discs: 1
• Label: Deutsche Grammophon
• ASIN: B00000J9G6
• In-Print Editions: MP3 Download
• Average Customer Review: 4.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (12 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #155,784 in Music (See Top 100 in Music)
  • #35 in Music > Classical > Opera & Vocal > Divas > Otter, Anne Sophie von

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

31 of 31 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars A TRUE LANDMARK IN LIEDER RECORDING, September 9, 2002

By 

J. C. Bailey (East Sussex United Kingdom) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mahler - Des Knaben Wunderhorn / von Otter, Quasthoff, Berlin Phil., Abbado (Audio CD)

I received this album by accident, as a record club recording of the month that I had neglected to cancel. I could have returned it to the club, but decided to keep it because of the connections between "Des Knaben Wunderhorn" and Mahler's astonishing second symphony which I have loved for many years.

It turned out to be a lucky accident. These are flawless songs, perfectly exhibiting the craft of the second-greatest orchestrator in history. This new recording combines the talents of two of the greatest living lieder-singers with one of the few truly world-class teamings of orchestra and conductor. The sound quality is outstanding even by the best modern digital standards.

In historic terms also, this is a significant milestone. To my ears, certainly, no one is ever likely to match Fischer-Dieskau's iron-fist-in-a-velvet-glove combination of power and smoothness, or his dramatic flexibility. However, Quasthoff's own experience of triumph over adversity does seem to give his reading a special value in these lyrics that are so trifling on the surface and yet have such profound depths of insight into the human soul. Von Otter in the songs for female voice gives what is perhaps the new definitive performance. And ultimately in terms of overall listening enjoyment, no other version (not even the Fischer-Dieskau/Schwarzkopf set) can compare.

This is beautiful music, wonderfully performed, expertly engineered, and unreservedly recommended.

20 of 21 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A Small Reservation/Complaint, April 13, 2005

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J. M. Way (CA, USA) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mahler - Des Knaben Wunderhorn / von Otter, Quasthoff, Berlin Phil., Abbado (Audio CD)

Perhaps it should be mentioned that 5 of the songs in Mahler's Des Knaben Wunderhorn are set as dialogues between a soldier and a girl. In both the Baker/Evans and Schwartzkopf/Fischer-Dieskau recordings, both singers participate in those songs. In this recording, these songs are performed by one or the other of the two vocalists;not both.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It just doesn't get much better than this!, November 12, 2004

By 

Grady Harp (Los Angeles, CA United States) - See all my reviews
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This review is from: Mahler - Des Knaben Wunderhorn / von Otter, Quasthoff, Berlin Phil., Abbado (Audio CD)

Having reviewed the Bonney/Goerne/Chailly recording of Mahler's DES KNABEN WUNDERHORN and settling in to that fine CD of this important cycle of songs, it feels a bit traitor-like to offer a new recommendation of this music. Perhaps it is partially due to being in the afterglow of Thomas Quasthoff's radiant performance of KINDERTOTENLIEDER with the Los Angeles Philharmonic that propelled the purchase of this CD.

Be that as it may, this volume of the songs of DES KNABEN WUNDERHORN now tops the list. Anne Sophie von Otter is such an extraordinary artist that her performance here is no surprise in its execution, subtlety, and sensitivity. But it is the revelation of Thomas Quasthoff as a Mahler virtuoso that crowns this wondrous recital. His voice is not huge, but it is so intelligently used and has such intrinsic beauty and nuance that it begs comparison with the finest singers in this repertoire of the last century. Claudio Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic provide the finest possible collaboration.

One can only hope that he will soon record KINDERTOTENLIEDER: rarely sung by a male voice, Quasthoff brings insights that are continuously revealing in this most difficult of Mahler's song cycles. Grady Harp, November 2004