Mahler: Symphony No. 4

"The five songs that follow the performance of the Fourth Symphony (two from Des Knaben Wunderhorn and three from the Rückert-Lieder) date from the time of the Klemperer/Ludwig Das Lied von der Erde, and rank among the finest examples of Mahler singing ever recorded. Christa Ludwig's "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen"–the most beautiful song in the world?–is every bit as fine as Janet Baker's more celebrated version on the same label, and Otto Klemperer's unsentimental conducting style suits the music's "innigkeit" ("inwardness") better than Barbirolli's more affectionate approach.

Fans of Gustav Mahler's joyous Symphony No. 4 in G major will relish this buoyant performance by Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra, featuring soprano Miah Persson, for it is wholly in keeping with the light tone and merry spirit of the score and is as delightful as any other recording on the market.

After a period-instrument reading of the Symphony no.1 that received unanimous acclaim from the critics, François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles return to Mahler. Joined by the luminous voice of Sabine Devieilhe for the famous finale, they offer us their vision of the Fourth Symphony, which in its own way marks the composer’s transition to modernity, and reveal unsuspected colours and instrumental balances. We still have much to learn about the polyphonic transparency possible within Mahler’s big orchestra!