Customer Reviews

Mahler: Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen; Kindertotenlieder; Rückert-Lieder

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I have, probably, 30 different recordings of the kindertotenlieder. I have probably heard 30 live performances of the work - everything from college recitals to professionals. When I found this Hampson/Bernstein disc, I was thrilled - arguably the two best Mahler interpreters working together! When I first listed to the Kindertotenlieder, I found myself sobbing in my living room. The angst and anger of the parent who lost their children come through so strongly. Then, in the last song, the resolution comes through so solemnly and prayerfully.

This is a must have disc for any Mahler fan and any classical vocal fan.

We can say this is the best cycle of Mahler's songs on CD. Of course there are marvellous performances available on the stores (Dieskau-Furtwängler, Baker-Barbirolli, Dieskau-Kubelik...), performances you will need if you want to discover some of the possibilities this songs offer, but if I'm asked for the most completely couple of the lieder I would say this is the one, the recordings in which everything is quite perfect, the singer, the orchestra, the conductor and the recording. Apart from being everything perfect, the recordings transmit the deep emotions the performances gave even to the artists we listen here; we have to remember Hampson's words about the end of Kindertotenlieder, after which both singer and conductor were crying of emotion, something I hope we can watch in a future DVD if these concerts are released.

Thomas Hampson is, in my opinion, the best mahlerian singer in our days, with a property personality, not trying to go into Fischer-Dieskau steps, something very important, because that use to be the `fault' of many singers, to try to `copy' the maestro. His understanding of every lieder is very deep and I really prefer man's voice for these songs than the very usual female one, for many reasons, one of them because of the songs' texts, which are really told by a man. Of course that feelings could be felt by every human being, man or woman, but I found the sense much more apropiate to be sung by a bariton... in my opinion, of course.

The orchestral playing is simply terrific and electrifying, perfect from quite all the points of view. Bernstein's baton understand Mahler's universe like no one and he represents the last years of a period in Mahler performing, the last maestros of the second half of XXth Century. This CD is, in my opinion one of his best in Mahler, and that's really too much. The dynamics, the tempi, the technical playing is perfect and the recording is so good we can listen everything. The piece called `In diesem Wetter in diesem Braus' is a clear example of how amazing this CD can be. I have never listen this like in this CD. The last piece is marvellous too, the contrasts are perfectely done always.

The sound is magnificent and the booklet great, with a beautiful photo of the concert.

I hope it will be released on DVD soon, because it's one of the best Mahler's recording I know... and I know hundreds... I hope we can finish the watching of that DVD on tears, like the players... this music sometimes hurts, it have to be so...

STRONGLY RECOMMENDED.

For everyone who has been exposed to the wonder of the song cycles of Gustav Mahler this CD is one that is a must for collecting. Recorded in 1991 when Leonard Bernstein and Thomas Hampson were in their heyday as the leading interpreters of Mahler's music, this CD remains the gold standard despite the fat that there are many superb performances now available. Bernstein and Hampson simply were on the same wavelength and that long collaborative history is what makes this particular recording so special.

Hampson's voice here is clear, and nuanced and relatively free of some of the mannerisms that can at times disrupt his performances both live and on recording. Here he sings the 'Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen', the 'Kindertotenlieder', and the 'Rückert-Lieder' with all the haunting sadness and despair with which Mahler imbued these works. His enunciation is perfect (Germany is his second home) and his sense of drama and of legato line is seamless.

Bernstein conducts the Vienna Philharmonic with his usual caressing legato and rhythmic freedom we have come to accept as the Bernstein Mahler mode. Here it works beautifully and the Orchestra has rarely sounded so lush and responsive.

Mahler/Bernstein/Hampson are a triad that history will always revere and nowhere is that more evidenced than in this splendid recording. Highly Recommended. Grady Harp, March 06

The performances contained here were repackaged from previous couplings with Lenny's DG Mahler symphony series. Hampson met Bernstein quite late in the maestro's career, and in recent discussions noted that--in as far as Mahler was concerned--the professional relationship was one of like minds working together, and not the "journey to the mountaintop" that many have imagined. Such is the case of many pairings of artists who share a common love. In the case of Hampson, the spell of Mahler was woven early, and has become deeper and more complex over time. At the ripe age of 52 now (and looking decades younger), Hampson is certainly one of the world's premier baritones, instantly identifiable. More to the point, though, he is in that elect company of lieder performers that convey an intense love and respect of poetic language (his German is impeccable, expressed with idiomatic fluency). I was fortunate enough to attend his recent series with Slatkin and the NSO in Washington, and can happily report that the intervening 20 years have been both kind and productive. What was then "just" terrific is now almost overwhelming in its dramatic poignancy. These late-80s recordings, though, illustrate just how much of Hampson's grip on Mahler was already in place.

The recordings with Bernstein and the VPO were live, and the overall quality was quite good. Balances were realistic, if maybe a trifle thin in the lower registers, without much apparent glare or spotlighting. The VPO itself sounds glorious, and Lenny's way with Mahler is omnipresent. It was in the early 70s that Bernstein dragged the orchestra--almost screaming and kicking--back to this repetoire after decades of relative neglect. Vienna became Bernstein's second home after his departure from the NYPO, and the years of concertizing and recording that followed were generally fruitful. Mahlerians of different stripes debate the relative merits of the early CBS/Sony cycle vs. the DG cycle utilized here (there is also the video series from the 70s also marketed by DG, which is its own special universe and well-worth owning). Did Lenny "bloat" his performances as the years wore on? Did he lose his freshness and energy? Or, did his understanding deepen, giving the composer's vocabulary more breathing space and the orchestra's palette more complexity? The truth was somewhere in between, as it usually is.

Worth remembering, though, was the fact that few conductors displayed the intense emotional bond to a composer that Bernstein did with Mahler. In the pantheon of great Mahlerians, he may be either idolized or disparaged, but certainly not ignored. Likewise, Hampson's commitment to Song, to the art of lieder singing, and to all things Mahler, cannot be questioned. The evidence lives on in the performances captured on this disc, and has been augmented by subsequent recordings made during what has become a remarkable career. We are lucky that Thomas Hampson loves Mahler as he does.

I've always had an affinity for the alto voice when it comes to Mahler's music. I find that altos are always able to bring this quality of tragedy to their singing that I don't really hear in many baritones. That said, I believe Thomas Hampson is an exception to the rule. I would say that he is much better than Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau for the reason that his singing doesn't quite sound so artificial. The voice has a haunting quality about it, and I don't think Thomas Hampson is an artist who is afraid to let his voice sound hollow for the sake of expressivity. Because of this, there is a sense of loss and abandon that I hear in this recital that I would normally hear in many a great Mahler alto. I still love Christa Ludwig and Dame Janet Baker in these songs, but Thomas Hampson sings Mahler's songs excellently and I would highly recommend this CD for anyone who wishes to hear an alternative to the usual alto cycle. In this CD, we get an exemplary Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen, perhaps the best of them all. The Kindertotenlieder are sung with a haunting beauty that is further accentuated by Hampson's intelligence with the text. Listen to his "Wenn dein Mutterlein" and you will know what I mean. The Rückertlieder too, are one of the very greatest and you must listen to the last song, Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen, to understand how much tragedy and loss were Mahler's two greatest companions during his tragic life. Hampson is perhaps the greatest lieder singer alive today (in the baritone department), and how fortunate we are that we can hear this Mahler cycle recorded with one of its greatest exponents. Add to that Bernstein's natural feeling for Mahler's music and the fantastic playing of the Vienna Philharmonic and you have a recording which will stand the test of time as a classic.

First, let me say that I can not yet review the recording, I have only now ordered it. I can tell you about the performance, however. I had the good fortune of attending this live performance at the Musikverein in Vienna. I was also privileged to have been given one of Maestro Berstein's personal seats in the front row. This was in 1991, however, I have never forgotten the emotion that filled the room during and after this work was performed. It goes without saying that there was an enthusiastic standing ovation which wasn't surprising in view of the great love the orchestra and the people of Vienna felt for Bernstein. The fact there was hardly a dry eye in the audience gave testimony to the quality of the performance of the orchestra, Thomas Hampson and Maestro Bernstein. I might even suggest that Leonard Bernstein himself appeared to have been equally moved. I looked for this specific recording for 15+ years off and on. I am eagerly anticipating at least a partial reprise of what was a performance that I will remember the rest of my life.

This was a very beautiful piece reccommended to me by a family member after the death of my son. It's rare and was good to find it so easily.

This CD is - for this particular listener - still a reference-point for these songs as sung by baritone. I will here leave out for convenience sake the many exquisite mezzo performances, not least of all the magnificent ones by Dame Janet Baker and, more recently of course, the inimitable Anne Sofie von Otter, but I would also like to mention specifically the magnificent Gesellen-cycle as sung by Frederica von Stade.

This particular recording with Leonard Bernstein conducting the Wiener Philharmoniker is characterised by artistry of the highest level, of course. I generally like Bernsteins way with Mahler, and I don't really mind the slow speeds, especially when the musicianship is at the highest level. These are, as we can expect, rather 'heart on sleeve'-performances by Bernstein. The slow speeds make the songs sound a bit 'stilted' sometimes, though. And also, to the ears of this humble listener, Thomas Hampson's voice has a bit of an 'air of artisticality' about it which to me give to his performances a bit of a 'distancing' effect.

And also, more recently there have appeared other performances which have equalled or maybe even superceded these particular ones by a (narrow?) margin. For the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, there is for example the exquisite and excellent performance by Thomas Quasthoff (with the Wiener Philharmoniker conducted by Pierre Boulez). Also, I would like to mention the warmly sympathetic recording of all of the same songs (minus 'Liebst du um Schönheit') with Andreas Schmidt (on Telarc). Schmidt's voice to me sound even more 'natural' and with less 'artisticality' than Thomas Hampson. Also, the Cincinnati Symphony Orchesta under Jesús López-Cobos is playing very beautiful and warmly sympathetic, quite matching the warmth and intimacy of Andreas Schmidt's voice. To me, this album can stand its ground beside Bernstein/Hampson. This is just my own rather personal and humble opinion, of course.

Anyhow, these Hampson/Bernstein/Vienna Philharmonic remain benchmark recordings of the highest level, but there are a lot of sharp contenders out there (women among the very highest), which to my idea sometimes surpass these performances.

This is one of my most favorite CDs. These pieces are lovely. Baritone Thomas Hampson is a most wonderful singer whose interpretation of this music is beautiful. I admire, like, Leonard Bernstein's conducting of the symphony; always very sensitive. In my opinion Bernstein is much better as conductor, than as composer. Probably most musicians and fans would not agree with my opinion.

I give this CD to special friends.

Joan Paez

I became a Mahler fan a couple of years ago when I bought a recording of his first and ninth symphonies. Earlier this year I purchased Bernstein's complete symphony cycle on DVD, and was further drawn into the wonderful music of Mahler. In my quest for recordings of every piece Mahler ever wrote, I encountered this CD and didn't hesitate. I'd heard Thomas Hampson sing Bernstein's Arias and Barcaroles, and I had already experienced Bernstein's excellent conducting (and composition). It came as no surprise that this recording was such a wonderful one. I really enjoyed the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, and it was doubly delightful to again hear Mahler's symphonies incorporating the same sprightly melodies. The Kindertotenlieder are perhaps not extraordinary, but are by no means lacking. I think that a soprano sometimes might better express these songs, but here Hampson does an ample job.

Overall, I give this recording five stars. Five for the conductor, five for the composer, and four and a half for the singer. RECOMMENDED!