Which "Lied von der Erde"?
Fri, Apr 9 2010, 2:24PM
Which versions of this masterpiece would you recommend?
Fri, Apr 9 2010, 5:05PM
#2
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
This is of course very difficult as there are so many recordings of this great masterpiece and I´ve only listened to a few.
In fact,I´m currently listening to Barenboims recording with Chicago and I really love this performance.
Two other very good recordings are Levine/BPO and Walter/NYPO.
Fri, Apr 9 2010, 6:16PM
#3
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
I can strongly recommend the Haitink recording with Baker and King on Philips - by far my favourite version.
Should be quite cheap too, if it hasn't been deleted
Fri, Apr 9 2010, 8:23PM
#4
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
My favorite version is Giulini with Araiza and Fassbaender and the Berliner Philharmoniker on DG. Very lyrical and intense performance. Also much better engineered than many DG recordings made in Berlin with Karajan, meaning less glossy and hazy, full but transparent sound.
Fri, Apr 9 2010, 8:40PM
#5
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
My fav remains the Haitink/ Baker version. I also have a weak spot for the 1957 Scherchen version.
By the way, if you search the archive:
http://www.gramophone.net/Search/Results/lied+von+der+erde
There has been an article about the recordings in 1997. (any good CD's since?)
And on the AVRO site there is a 2006 Video of the Concertgebouw with Haitink:
http://cgi.omroep.nl/cgi-bin/streams?/tv/avro/haitink/bb.20061226.asf
Greetings,
Rolf
Fri, Apr 9 2010, 9:02PM
#6
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
I prefer contralto/tenor/full orchestra versions starting with Ferrier/Patzak/Walter, a recording that seems to divide opinions quite radically but still sounds good to me.
A big disappointment was the Baker/Spiess/Kempe issue on BBC Music, which received rave reviews in, ahem, certain quarters (there you go, this thread will be shut down before the day's out). I'm a big Kempe fan but I don't think he quite has it in Mahler and Spiess is horrendous, scooping up to his higher notes. The recording is also iffy.
Fri, Apr 9 2010, 10:29PM
#7
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
I've been well pleased with my Horenstein, BBC Northern Symphony Orchestra with Alfreda Hodgson and John Mitchinson on Descant 01.
Sat, Apr 10 2010, 1:34AM
#8
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
I am also very fond of the Klemperer Das Lied, as Ludwig has everything required for the demands. Yet Wunderlich is a delight as well; if he probably wouldn't have had the heft outside the studio, it hardly matters on this classic disk. It's a favorite.
I've recently downloaded the Kubelik version with Dame Janet and Waldemar Kmennt. I've never been a fan of the tenor's (mostly turned sour by the earlier Beethoven 9th with HvK), but he sounds in very good form here, not stressed at all. Baker is magical. Kubelik's expertise with Mahler is well-known, and the rich details orchestrally are many. I'm customarily very suspicious of live recordings, especially "historical" ones, but this is in excellent sound for its era and I can recommend it very highly.
Bill
Fri, Apr 16 2010, 9:32AM
#9
RE: Home
musicfan, An intersting topic as it raises an issue which I suspect many older listeners now experience. My generation was the one which collected the pioneer Patzak/Ferrier/Walter recording when it came out. We played it many times; we still sense their voices when we mentally hear the work. Most of us investigated the many good - indeed often technically better - versions that followed that have already been mentioned. But we return to the now classic Walter version, wifh Ferrier's inimitable closing phrases.
Mon, Apr 12 2010, 10:07PM
#10
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
I enjoy the Baker, Mitchinson and Leppard one as well as the Walter.
Mon, Apr 12 2010, 10:38PM
#11
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
Baker is a great Mahlerian. Unfortunately, I have not heard her in Das Lied von der Erde. I will look out for that recording. I especially enjoy her in the Kindertotenlieder, the Ruckertlieder, and the Lieder Eines Fahrenden Gesellen conducted by Barbirolli. There is this one lieder that sticks in my mind: "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen."
I have heard versions of this lieder sung by other singers. There is something about the intrinsic qualities of Baker's voice and her phrasing that are unmatched by others. There is a husky/dusky quality in her voice that is so moving.
The Walter with Patzak and Ferrier is quite moving except that Ferrier struggles with some of her top notes in the Der Abschied, but to her credit she is no less moving in that final movement.
Mon, Apr 12 2010, 11:07PM
#12
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
Where did you download the Kubelik version with Dame Janet? For some reason, I expected to find it on the DG site? (I know why. Because Kubelik recorded the entire symphonies for DG). In the meantime, I will look on iTunes just in case.
Mon, Apr 12 2010, 11:21PM
#13
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
Found it! It is published by Audite and can be downloaded from both emusic and iTunes. Now, to decide between the Haitink/Baker and Kubelik/Baker. Any suggestions? Was Baker younger when she worked with Kubelik and therefore fresher-voiced? Or is it the other way round?
Mon, Apr 12 2010, 11:33PM
#14
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
Based on a sampling of the recording, I have to admit that my initial impression of Kmennt's voice is that he sounds terrible - at least that is my initial impression. Baker as you say does sound "magical."
Tue, Apr 13 2010, 8:04AM
#15
RE: Which "Lied von der Erde"?
I've heard both and my preference remains for the Haitink - fantastic playing as well as singing - just sample the last five minutes of 'Der Abschied' if you can. Very special!
First, you have to decide whether you prefer a version with a tenor and mezzo or a version with tenor and baritone.
Personally, I prefer the chamber versions of this work. There is one version on Harmonia Mundi conducted by Philippe Herreweghe leading the Ensemble Musique Oblique which is good. The chamber versions emphasize the voice which is often overpowered in the full orchestral version.
But my favorite is the version for piano only published by Warner Classics I believe on their Apex label for tenor and mezzo (Thomas Moser and Brigitte Fassbaender). This is because it brings out the voices more than any version I have heard to date.
A full orchestra version that will not disappoint is the Wunderlich and Ludwig version conducted by Klemperer and published by EMI. This is my favorite in full orchestra and tenor and mezzo with Wunderlich sounding very heroic and Ludwig just emitting that luscious sound of hers, especially in the opening bars of Der Abschied, the last movement.
The full orchestra tenor and baritone rendition conducted by Rattle leading the CBSO with a German tenor whose name I cannot recall and American baritone Thomas Hampson. This is my favorite for tenor and baritone.
Still another full orchestra rendition, is kind of a rarity/oddity. Conducted by Salonen leading the LA Philharmonic, it features no less than Placido Domingo with his Spanish-accented German and Swedish baritone Bo Skovhus.
Hope this helps and that I wasn't too pedantic. Octavio
A music lover currently living in the middle of nowhere.