Der Abschied
A little dickie bird (or, more accurately, quite a large one with impressive plumage) emailed me to point out that today, 18th May 2011, is the 100th anniversary of the death of Gustav Mahler. I couldn’t let the date go unmarked, so thought I’d post something here. I couldn’t decide which of two bits to put up, so decided to go with them both.
Although it’s long (and I don’t really like posting segments of things) it seemed appropriate to offer Der Abschied (“The Farewell”), the last movement from Das Lied von der Erde. I picked this version, featuring the legendary mezzo soprano Christa Ludwig.
Incidentally, Das Lied von der Erde is a symphony and it was written by Mahler after the 8th Symphony. However, it isn’t the 9th Symphony, which is a different work, or indeed the 10th which was unfinished at Mahler’s death and which I heard here in Cardiff recently.
If you haven’t got time to listen to all of that one, try this remarkable recording instead. It’s Urlicht, one of the songs from Das Knaben Wunderhorn which appears in Mahler’s 2nd Symphony (“The Resurrection”), sung by the late Maureen Forrester (contralto) and conducted by none other than a (very young) Glenn Gould.
In the Dark 
May 19, 2011 at 3:52 pm
Gould conducting Mahler!!! Now I have seen everything.
May 23, 2011 at 1:36 pm
I’ve always thought that Glenn Gould hated late romantic music – he certainly made the strangest recording I’ve ever heard of the Brahms piano concerto! – but there’s no evidence from this that he had anything against Mahler. Quite the opposite, I’d say. This is a lovely performance.
May 19, 2011 at 11:24 pm
I really love the recordings made by the Philharmonia and, later, the New Philharmonia with Otto Klemperer in the 1950s and 1960s.
I heard the Philharmonia in Mahler’s Second Symphony a month ago conducted by Lorin Maazel. The playing was excellent and the conducting very good, although strangely I felt little emotion during the performance. The great climax was very impressive, but emotionally empty for me. Curious.