Customer Reviews

Mahler: Songs With Orchestra - Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, Ruckert-Lieder, Des Knaben Wunderhorn

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Michael Tilson Thomas and his San Francisco Symphony are in the forefront of the complete Mahler recordings with this collection, and while not everyone will agree with Tilson Thomas' interpretations of various works mighty Mahler, he does engage the majesty and depth of feeling the works all convey.

On this recording SONGS WITH ORCHESTRA he has selected from live recordings from Davies Hall in San Francisco and the unity of the orchestral sound in the hall in which the orchestra calls its home is a plus. The recordings were from May 2007 and from September 2009. Tilson Thomas wisely selected two of the world's finest Mahler interpreters to perform these orchestral songs. Susan Graham is in fine voice for the 'Rückert-Lieder'. Her voice has rarely sounded so honey-filled, and her phrasing is both intelligent for the voice and for the poetry. This is a performance of the 'Rückert-Lieder' to stand with the best.

Thomas Hampson may be losing some of the sheen and the range of his earlier years - he opts for lower notes as in 'Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz' when options are available, but this in no way alters the beauty of his communication. Few baritones today have the exquisite diction Hampson owns. His 'Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen' is heartfelt without being morose. In the selections from 'Des Knaben Wunderhorn' (oddly not pairing both Hampson and Graham as many performances/recordings elect to share this cycle) Hampson is at his finest. In all of the recordings of 'Der Tambourg'sell' this listener has never felt the mystery of the final 'gute nacht' that Hampson almost breathes instead of sings: the result is hauntingly beautiful. Another very fine choice on the part of both conductor and singer is including the setting of 'Urlicht' so well known from the Second Symphony and usually sung by the mezzo-soprano. Hampson makes it his own and the orchestra is at its finest here.

Michael Tilson Thomas collaborates very well with these two singers, being sensitive to their voices and interpretations and providing eloquent orchestral accompaniment. It is the rare opportunity to have three fine Mahlerites on one recording - especially on as satisfying as this. Grady Harp, September 10

Where to begin!? The entire Mahler project that Michael Tilson-Thomas began a few years ago has been distinguished by a relentless attention to detail, and an extraordinary depth of understanding balanced by a modulated passion we might associate with MTT's progenitor, Leonard Bernstein. From the start, this effort has been what I always wanted, but was afraid to ask for, in Lenny's heroic, but comparatively undisciplined approach. The recording of the Hampson/Bernstein/VPO Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen of 1990, a little less than two years before Lenny's death, is worlds away from the present recording. In these intervening 20 years, Thomas Hampson has found his own approach to the young man's wandering in the Bavarian hills. This isn't a merely "correct" reading. We hear a very personal, intimate and ear-arresting take on Mahler's transcendent vision. But the best is yet to come.

Susan Graham brings an amalgam of maturity, superb musicianship and the sort of mezzo sound that begs to be heard. There's no fatigue factor - I could listen to this reading of Ich bin der Welt abhanden gokommen over and over again. In fact, just as an exercise in the outer limits of aficionado-dom, I compiled ten other readings of this song spanning 80 years (Sara Charles-Cahier, Kathleen Ferrier, Jenny Tourel, Kirsten Flagstadt, Christa Ludwig, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau [with an overwrought Lenny on piano], Janet Baker, Anne-Sophie Von Otter, Lorraine Hunt-Lieberson and Violeta Urmana [how's that for lofty company?]) on the same cd. Susan Graham's is at least the equal of the best of these. She sings with a knowing, intense lyricism that makes me reassess my notion of what a Mahlerian mezzo should sound like. Aw hell, folks; this is just drop-dead gorgeous.

As in the earlier Mahler readings in this series, the San Fransisco Symphony shows off an extraordinary virtuosity, and from people one doesn't usually single out, such as the principal harpist (pivotal with Mahler), and principal reeds. Michael Tilson-Thomas continues to show us that the gravity-center of western concert music is no longer the exclusive province of High Europa - not to mention the US east coast. I just wish there were more Mahler for him to record.

I want to like Tilson-Thomas' Mahler; I really do. But this disc is conceptually flawed from the start. I say that because handing us only the male oriented, sometimes soldiering songs gives us a very flawed view of one of Mahler's very best creations: Des Knaben Wunderhorn. At the very least, it's his most underrated work. Why then, should MTT and the SFSO give us only half of it (more or less)? That said, Thomas Hampson turns in a truly heroic effort in barking out some of Mahler's darkest lyrics (the text is borrowed, of course). Unfortunately, MTT hardly even comes halfway in meeting him. If you think I'm exaggerating, just compare various versions of "Revelge" or "der Tambourgesell". Perhaps Tilson-Thomas' Mahler would have been more idiomatic from the start - especially in the earlier symphonies - if he had begun with "DKW" firsthand. But here, he hardly makes any effort to truly dig in and march relentlessly in "Revelge". It's almost as though Hampson is fighting the battle on his own, with the rest of the army standing safely in the background. Again, listen to how Bernstein, Markus Stenz (Oehms), or even Boulez turn up the intensity as the relentless marching continues. This is prime Mahler - one of the best songs in the entire cycle - so it shouldn't be underplayed.

Normally, I very much like Susan Graham. But I get the impression that Mahler's Ruckert Lieder may lie just a tad too high for her comfort. I say that because much of "Um Mitternacht" is sung way too loud. Thus, the climax at the end of "Um Mitternacht" completely misfires. This is one of Mahler's trickiest and strangest sounding climaxes to begin with, and success with "Um Mitternacht" is greatly dependent not only on tempo relationships, but on strongly contrasted dynamics. MTT's "Um Mitternacht" is a misfire on both accounts. Conversely, "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" - THE most gorgeous orchestral song ever composed - is given a relatively swift and restless sounding performance. While Graham's "Ruckert Lieder" aren't poor in any technical sense (except, perhaps in regards to dynamics), neither are they a match for the best efforts already turned in by Janet Baker, Christa Ludwig, or even Anne Sophie von Otter (with J.E. Gardiner on DG).

As for "Des Knaben Wunderhorn", get the full picture from Szell (EMI), Bernstein, MacKerras, Markus Stenz (Oehms), or even Boulez (sans "Urlicht" and "das himmlische Leben").

By the way - not that it matters - even Joshua Kosman, music critic for the S.F. Chronicle (and often times a shill for the MTT/SFSO Mahler cycle in general), thought that this release was a miss. While it's certainly not terrible, I couldn't agree more.

The news here is twofold: Tilson Thomas's nine-year Mahler cycle reaches its conclusion, and Susan Grahama departs from the French repertoire to sing Mahler (she had previously recorded a single Ruckert song, "Liebst du um Schönheit," as an encore in her Carnegie Hall recital album). My enthusiasm for MTT's Mahler has been tempered; I have been most impressed by the later parts of his cycle, especially Das Lied von der Erde and Sym. #8. In the former he called upon Thomas Hampson to sing the baritone alternative to the usual mezzo, with splendid results. For twenty years Hampson has been the best Mahler singer to come from America. We begin with his second account of the "Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen," the first being with Leonard Bernstein on DG. The voice still has command and power--at the climax of the third song, I can't imagine a living rival, aside from Thomas Quasthoff, who could deliver anguish with such abandon. Bernstein dominated the earlier account, whereas MTT is a considerate accompanist, providing a cushion for Hampson's interpretation rather than an interpretation of his own. Tempos are conventional throughout.

Is this a great performance? It gets to be quite impresssive as it goes along. Hampson isn't the young man of the texts, and that hurts in the first song, where his soft singing sounds too mature. As always, the singer tends to remain outside the poetry, inflecting it quite musically but not involving us in a character. I hate to cavil, because this is really masterful singing by someone who has enormous experience with Mahler and considerable intelligence.

Graham's entry in the Ruckert Lieder is remarkable -- she sings with tender, rapt, lyrical tone, as if she was born to this music, and her delivery is more personal than Hampson's. I'd rate her just short of Lorraine Hunt Lieberson and Christa Ludwig. The two most challenging songs are "Um Mitternacht" and "Ich bin die Welt abhanden gekommen" (arguably Mahler's greatest, certainly one of is most haunting). Graham has a bi voice and plenty of power for the former, but MTT drags the tempo and loses tension at the great emotional climax. His tempo for the latter is moderate and convincingly delivered. Graham's interpretation is tender and inward, with just the right balance in the orchestra--this is one of the best items on the program.

Hampson returns for five songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn, a cycle he hasn't recorded completely but which has figured in outstanding early recordings for Teldec and a piano recital for EMI. It's a shame he wasn't caught earlier with orchestra, because these songs are red meat for him, and yet one detects minor strain. (I am not softening things; the defects are all but insignificant.) MTT's conducting is surprisingly brisk; he offers almost not expressive rubato, either. The result is fresh but superficial at times; it all depends on whether you see this songs as weighty or not. The conductors who do see them as weighty include Bernstein and Klemperer. The grouping here include four military songs culminating in that early masterpiece, "Wo die schonen Trompeten blasen." Hampson captures the soldier's melancholy and stolid bravery, but he also goes out of his way to paint the irony of "Der Tambourg'sell," which he portrays as being sung by a fearful drunk! The last chill of death isn't quite present, but still I can't imagine a rival except Quasthoff and perhaps Thomas Allen in these songs, and at 55, Hampson's voice is arguably in better shape than theirs (Allen is 66, Quasthoff 49). I'd judge this part of the program Hampson's best effort by far.

Throughout this program the orchestra plays beautifully, with their characteristic lightness, and the recorded sound is absolutely lovely. In short, I'm perfectly willing to set aside my reservations about Tilson Thomas in Mahler, since they don't apply here. This CD is a complete success.

I am the world's greatest SFS/MTT fan and I was really surprized at the somewhat lackluster quality of these three great Mahler works. In fact, I have a recording of Hampson with the SFS/MTT doing "Das Lied von der Erde" which has so much more life and energy to it than this recording it's hard to believe the performers are who they are in the light of my recording. I have attended Mahler concerts with the San Francisco and Thomas and this recording isn't up to their potential.

Some/most of the tempos are for the most part sluggish. MTT did no favors for two of the greatest Mahler singers in the business these days. They just "drug" on and on. The band did fine, but the recording quality was sketchy. Ach, Himmel! Sometimes I think Thomas does these things just to be different.

My personal favorite remains the classic Fischer-Diskau/Schwartzkopf/Szell/London Symph. recording. There is another with with Quastoff/von Otter/Abbado and the Berlin which is right up there with the best givings of this wonderful work.

Sadly, this recording isn't in that class.