Customer Reviews

Song of the Earth / Ruckert Lieder

5 star:		(6)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(0)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

I still do not understand why Maestro Ormandy always got the short end of the stick when it came to the great neo-classic masterpieces. He did a magnificent recording of Mahler's 1st with the 'Blumine' movement on RCA along with the 2nd, 'Resurrection', which is still the best one out there and he also had the first recording of the Derrick Cooke reconstruction of Mahler's unfinished 10th on SONY.

At the time everyone was touting Maestro Bernstein and Sir George Solti with the CSO and reviews that said that the CSO proved its superiority over any other orchestra in the world, and here Maestro Ormandy, quietly recorded four masterful performances, of which Das 'Lied Von Der Erde' was the last, I believe.

If there was or still is the perfect Mahler orchestra the PHO is still it (I refer you to the 'Titan' performed magnificently by Ricardo Muti with the PHO-goosebumps the whole time I was listening). No other has captured a sound that is nonpariel romantic. Maestro Ormandy recorded all of the Russian composers who were inspired by Mahler and captured that sound these composers wanted, Shostakovitch, Rachmaninoff, Prokofiev and I am sure there a some others that I now forget. (I almost forgot Sibelius). He also performed them with Mahlerlike/Eastern European passion.

His conducting and the orhestral playing is absolutely magnificent. I had goosebumps, while listening to this recording, the whole time. Richard Lewis, Lili Chookasian were both wonderful, although I thought the mike was a little too distant for Ms. Chookasian. I can remember hearing comments on the performance of 'Der Abschied' by Sir George, and I used to have that recording, but Ormandy is more passionate and the orchestra plays so maginicently and the strings, as usual, add a mystical quility and color that was totally missed by Solti. In fact, that quality was magnificent throughout this recording. The brass and wind sections were wonderful. Norman Carrol, French Horn, John deLancie, oboist, and I don't know if the trumpet was played by Gilbert Johnson or Frank Kadderback, but they were magnificent as well. I have always loved to hear tremolo from the brass section. I am sorry that it seems to not be present in any of the PHO recordings since the Maestro passed away.

Each 'song' is crafted and played, by the Maestro, so wonderfully and the union of singers with the orchestra is sublime. The Maestro captures the mood of each piece with tenderness when needed and then passionate explosions of sound, as only Mahler can do. I have had hundreds of Ormandy, PHO recordings and have loved them all but this could be his finest performance of all and the orchestra with him. I just wish that the Ruckert Lieder had been performed with him and Ms von Stade.
Would have been a wonderful contrast, but with a Mahler conductor.

Come on RCA and SONY re-release the rest of the Ormandy Mahler recordings.

This is an absolute must for any classical collection. Write SONY and RCA and demand!!! re-releases of Ormandy's Mahler!

As I grow older, my appreciation for Eugene Ormandy grows, thanks largely to the many inexpensive reissues of his work. Though never highly regarded as a Mahlerian, his Das Lied does just about everything right without resorting to the hysteria which ruins much of the favored Bernstein/Vienna performance. Ormandy's is a supremely lyrical account that lets the score unfold naturally. He presents a wealth of orchestral detail in the most natural manner - never spotlighted or dragged out of proper balance. The Philadelphia Orchestra is superlative and the sound excellent. Both soloists offer straightforward and musical accounts without effacing the memories of Wunderlich and Ludwig for Otto Klemperer or Patzak and Ferrier for Bruno Walter (still my two favorite Das Lied's.) There is a lot to be said for honest music making and Eugene Ormandy is a champion of the musicmaking that is merely musical. Listeners who need to be jolted out of their seats should look elsewhere.

In the 1950s and 60s, CBS/Columbia (now Sony Classical) had the great fortune to have three of America's best orchestras and their conductors on its recording roster -- Leonard Bernstein and the New York Philharmonic, Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia Orchestra, and George Szell and the Cleveland Orchestra. Nearly a half-century later, only Leonard Bernstein remains a name that even the non-classical music world knows well. But in the world of the compact disc, this is a wonderful thing, because while Leonard Bernstein analog stereo recordings sell at mid-price, classic performances by Ormandy and Szell are regulated to the budget line. Well, my friends there is justice in the world because the vast majority of these "budget line" recordings are simply amazing. This particular disc features Ormandy and the Philadelphians in Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde" with mezzo-soprano Lili Chookasian and tenor Richard Lewis. This 1966 performance of "the symphony that was not a symphony" (for those of you who don't know, it chronologically would be Symphony 8 1/2) is outstanding, though I would have to rank it slightly behind Bruno Walter (who actually premiered the work six months after Mahler's death in 1911) and Otto Klemperer's stereo versions. The 1979 recording of the "Ruckert-Lieder," by Andrew Davis, not Ormandy, is enjoyable but I will always prefer Janet Baker and Barbirolli. However, all the aforementioned alternatives are mid-line, and it is rare when something of such high quality comes at a budget price. Enjoy!

The orchestral execution - including the balances - on this Ormandy "DLvdE" is simply outstanding. If anyone wants ammo to prove that Ormandy stood for a whole lot more than gloppy strings and your grandmother's kitsch, take this along. Clarity, precision, perfect intonation - it's all there! Frankly, I like the playing better on this one, than on the famous Reiner/Chicago "DLvdE". In its latest sacd/cd hybrid remastering, that one remains preferable, simply for the outstanding yet understated singing of Maureen Forrester. But Chookasian and Lewis aren't bad by any means. They're simply upstaged by those fabulous Philadelphians, is all.

In addition, the inclusion of a really fine performance of Mahler's middle-period Ruckert Lieder (Frederica von Stade), combined with Sony's budget pricing, make this a very attractive bargain. I traded this recording away once. I'll never make that mistake again.

Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth, composed in 1907-08) was actually Mahler's 9th Symphony. Perhaps we can all relate to his having purposefully not dubbed it as such since when many composers (e.g., Beethoven) wrote their 9th, it was their LAST! As it turned out, his Symphony No. 9 in D major, (he finally decided to go forward with the enumeration, 1909), indeed turned out to be his final major work prior to his death.

Ancerl Gold Edition 33: MAHLER Symphony No. 9

Just prior to composing Das Lied von der Erde, Mahler had been informed by his medicos of a serious heart condition. So, overall, he was being a little superstitious and, given 20/20 hindsight, I can't say as I blame him.

There has been a fairly recent upsurge in Mahler's popularity -- I don't know that anyone can put their finger on exactly why but the result is that many of his works are being played by orchestras more frequently and good renditions his works are mostly obtainable on CD.

Das Lied von der Erde is a major symphony in six movements. It was also called "Symphony for Tenor and Contralto [baritone] and Orchestra". So, if you are accustomed to hearing instrumental symphonies, this 'singing with the orchestra' approach might be fairly new to you. Most folks are familiar with Beethoven's Symphony No. 9 where vocals are a facet of the final movement, so it wasn't entirely new ground but it is out of the ordinary. Essentially, the overall theme of Das Lied von der Erde, (sung in German here), focuses on life and death.

You can pretty much tell if a performance of this symphony is going to be either a mediocre one or a great one in the first 20 seconds or so, given it's dynamic opening. Mahler does not permit the orchestra any "wake-up time" here -- this one really jets off from the start. You probably won't hear a better rendering than this performance as Eugene Ormandy kept it nice and tight, organized and unjumbled, but, at the same time, incredibly melodic and awe inspiring.

This performance by the Philadelphia Orchestra was recorded in 1966 and the quality is superb. It's an ADD recording.

The second set of selections on the CD, "Lieder nach Gedichten von Friedrich Rückert" are, simply put, German songs (from poems). Rückert's poetry was a powerful inspiration to various composers and there are about 121 settings of his work in all. All the songs here are aptly conveyed and they make a fine complement to Das Lieder von der Erde. These selections were recorded by the London Philharmonic Orchestra, Andrew Davis conducting, in 1978. They are also ADD recordings.

I would state that these combined performances are as historic as they are amazing. The best you'll find anywhere.

This is no doubt one of the great recordings of Das Lied along side Horenstein BBC, Kubelik's Audite, Tennstedt, Szell, Karajan, Giulini's recording. Ormandy had natural feeling for Mahler's music and he knew how to let music speak for itself in a very direct and profound way. This performance with the two brilliant singers is gripping from the very bold and awesome opening to the serene ending. Lili Chookasian gives deeply touching and warmly expressive performance of Abschied without theatrical gestures of Kathleen Ferrier. 'Die liebe Erde..' emerges like a dream at the most sublime moment in the movement. The ending, Ewig Ewig, really conveys the sense of eternal rest. The sumptuous Philadelphia sound is beautifully recorded. Coupled with tenderly sung Rückert Lieder conducted by Andrew Davis.

What a shame that Ormandy left us only a few Mahler recordings; Symphony No.1, Resurrection (badly recorded RCA stereo version which might have surpassed all existing recordings if properly recorded) and Das Lied.