Here are two CD transfers of celebrated performances of Das Lied von der Erde which will appeal to Mahler collectors. In both cases the sound is more than acceptable—better balanced, in fact, than in some recent recordings with their obsessive highlighting of detail. Of the two, I much prefer the Reiner and was surprised to discover how severely it is dealt with in Song on Record I (Cambridge University Press: 1986). The writer of the article, comparing the many record- ings of this wonderful work, regarded Reiner's interpretation as fierce and unlovable.
I have to disagree. Reiner, like Klemperer (EMI), refuses to sentimentalize the work, but brings out very strongly Mahler's passion for life and his barely-suppressed fury at the prospect of leaving the beauty of the world. Reiner was a great conductor and this performance serves also as a reminder that the Chicago Symphony was equally as fine an orchestra in his day as it has been under Solti. The warmth of the string playing and the brilliant precision of the woodwind testify to the effectiveness of his methods, however tyrannical they may have been.
He also has two outstanding soloists in Maureen Forrester and Richard Lewis. The Canadian contralto is among the finest exponents of this work, although her achievement in it has tended to be overshadowed by Ferrier, Ludwig and others. In all three of her movements she brings sensitivity and nobility to the service of the music. The ''Abschied'' is sung with a rich variety of expression and tone. If the last degree of poignancy is not wrung from the final stanzas, that is perhaps because Reiner keeps emotion on a tight rein at this point.
How splendid it is to hear the late Richard Lewis as the tenor soloist. He was not a Helden-tenor, but nor was Wunderlich (for Klemperer) and both were able to make themselves heard above the orchestra in their recordings of this first movement. True, every tenor sounds under strain at some points here, but Lewis's artistry is such that one is barely conscious of the effort involved and in the subsequent two movements his vivid characterization of the text and the sheer beauty of his tone remind us what a versatile and intelligent singer he was.
Walter's 1960 recording, his third of this work, cannot match his 1939 and 1952 versions (Pearl (CD) GEMMCD9413 and Decca—the latter with Ferrier and Patzak), nor Reiner's. There are many lovely moments, but the New York Philharmonic does not sound to be as responsive as it ought to have been and Ernst Haefliger's dry forced tone is unpleasing—compare Lewis almost anywhere. Mildred Miller would earn from me the adjective that Andrew Clements in Song on Record I applied to Forrester—''uninteresting''. She sings this poignant music without a trace of inner feeling, quite an achievement!'