*lied*

Conducted by Sir Simon Rattle, this performance of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth) was recorded at concerts in Munich's Herkulessaal on January 25 and 26, 2018, and features Magdalena Kožená and Stuart Skelton. The work is subtitled 'A symphony for tenor, alto (or baritone) voice and orchestra'. It examines the border between two different genres: the Lied, in its extended form as a song cycle, and the symphony. The entire work is spanned by a taut arc, culminating – in accordance with the principle of intensification – in a huge final movement lasting as long as all the others together, and entitled Der Abschied (The Farewell). Here, Mahler is continuing the genre of the 'Finale Symphony', and the brightening of C minor to C major is even reminiscent of his usual apotheoses. In this symphony, as in his others, Mahler wanted to 'create a world using all existing technical means'.

Gary Bertini’s Mahler is one of amazing transparency: so many details register for the first time that it makes you reconsider music you may have thought you knew. In the case of Das Lied von der Erde, arguably Mahler’s greatest work, Bertini continually draws us into the happenings behind the voices, beguiling us with the exquisite beauties of this miraculous score. You can almost see the blue mists floating over the lotus blossoms in Der Einsame im Herbst, so perfectly does he balance the gossamer strings and wind shadings, while the arrogant bass trombone and squealing clarinets tellingly evoke the acrid irony of Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde, which Ben Heppner sings with boastful abandon.

Sandra Lied Haga's album debut with Tchaikovsky and Dvorak is recorded in the Great Hall of Moscow Conservatory. Supported by the State Academic Symphony Orchestra of Russia 'Evgeny Svetlanov' and conductor Terje Mikkelsen, Sandra Lied Haga emerges as one of the strongest musical voices in recent years.

From the symphony to the song would seem to be an enormous step: from the largest form for the largest orchestra to the smallest form for the smallest ensemble. Gustav Mahler nonetheless brought them together and interwove them in previous symphonies as well as in ‘Das Lied von der Erde’. "The long, endlessly stretched crescendo on the single note "e" (filled with so much desire) leads to the final part of Abschied, which I can only describe with the word ‘cosmic’. The voice is surrounded by floating meteors, objects, particles or stars, which move in various directions and speeds. We have left the atmosphere and look back on the beautiful green and blue planet." - Iván Fischer, conductor