Customer Reviews

Mahler: Das klagende Lied

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

 

 

This recording of Das Klagende Lied is one the finest available. The conducting by Tilson Thomas has good insight and honest emotion...the former quality lacking in many of his performances. Thomas has the San Francisco ensemble in fine form. The orchestra sounds very good, though at times one wants more strings and the woodwinds to play with a quality that does'nt vanish in full enesmble tutti sections.

The sing is some of best given to this work. At times however Thomas Moser sounds strained...mostly in the high range. The choral work is outstanding in everyway.

With the possible exception of the Chailly recording, it seems clear that this is the finest recording out in the market.

Although Mahler enthusiasts enjoy it, the youthful Klagende Lied hasn't found a concert audience--or much of one at Amazon, to judge by the lack of reviews for this CD. Tilson Thomas made it in 1997 when he was a PR darling in San Francisco, and it was a brave choice. His reading of the original three movements is crisply played and features a good deal of excitement, but it's all revved up on the surface. We get little sense of fantasy and mystery, which are crucial.

Also, despite the lovely singing of a youthful Michelle DeYoung, the other soloists are variable--Leiferkus sings clotted German with a Slavic timbre, and the tenor, Thomas Moser, sounds strained and baritonal. This was the first Klagende Lied I ever heard, and I'm grateful to have moved on to more convincing versions, such as Boulez's 1970 recording on Sony.

These reviews must've been written for the full price mp3 download or the CD itself, because at less then $3 this is a freakin' miracle!! No, it isn't quite the equal of either the Boulez or Haitink in performance, and yes, MTT had more chutzpah than skills at that point in his career. But the sound is gorgeous (so much so it does work against him and the orchestra occasionally) and the price is insane! Whatever lunatic marked this down to 1/3 of its earlier price--God bless him.

It took a while, but Mahler's apprentice work Das Klagende Lied seems to have established itself in the repertoire and as part of any genuinely complete Mahler symphony cycle. It is not quite a masterwork, but it does certainly contain plenty of striking things that can be found (further developed) in Mahler's later works and hardly in music by composers predating Mahler. I guess, then, that it is worth warning those unfamiliar with the work that they should not expect any Lied von Erde here, but nevertheless urge them to experience it and savor it on its own terms. The opening, huge Waldmärchen, for instance already contains the huge dynamic contrasts found in mature Mahler; beautiful, pastoral paintings interrupted by sudden surging drama and almost frightening urgency; it is, perhaps, a little too long for its material, but most of it is truly fascinating and despite its rather sudden emotional gearshifts it hangs together rather well. The following two movements ("Der Spielmann" and "Hochzeitstuck") are individually stronger movements, and the premonitions of the second symphony are realized with terrifying power in this recording.

Indeed, I can find few reasons not to recommend the version at hand. Tilson Thomas leads a performance of riveting drama and glittering power, while almost completely avoiding sugary sentimentality. Mahler's (perhaps less than fully formed) ideas come across as individually striking but also adding up to a fully coherent work. The San Francisco Symphony Chorus and Orchestra are apparently on top form, and the quartet of soloists is generally very good. Michelle DeYoung is wonderful, and I cannot really complain about Marina Shaguch either; with respect to the male soloists, however, I agree with the other reviewers here that Thomas Moser occasionally sounds strained (though he is generally very compelling), but Sergey Leiferkus is very satisfying throughout. The sound is excellent as well, smooth but with plenty of warmth and detail. In sum, then, this release is enthusiastically recommended, and although my sample size is admittedly limited I do not think I have heard a better version of this fascinating music.