Search - Gustav Mahler, Philippe Herreweghe, Ensemble Musique Oblique :: Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (Arranged by Schoenberg)

Wonderfully played chamber version of Das Lied von der Erde

Alvin Kho | Boston, MA United States | 11/01/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Caveat: This is the Schoenberg-Riehn chamber - *not* Mahler's original orchestral - version of DLvdE. So for example, a piano replaces much of the original percussion instruments like funereal tam-tams in Der Abschied. Everything in the original is shorn down here and the transparency of the work becomes even more evident. Minimalist, almost anti-thetical to Mahler's "a symphony should be like the world" idea. No matter! - it's brilliantly played by Herreweghe & co., and the Remmert and Blochwitz are amongst the best DLvdE singers to my ears. And at budget price, this CD is practically a steal for those who love (the original) DLvdE. I would recommend those new to DLvdE to listen to Mahler's original *first* - many fine classic recordings of this exist e.g., Ludwig/Wunderlich/Klemperer (EMI), Baker/Kmentt/Kubelik (Audite), Hodgson/Mitchinson/Horenstein (BBC), etc. Even though I much prefer Mahler's original version - I'll hang on to this one for its alternative & wonderful musicianship."

Viennese Mileu: Mahler and Schönberg...

Sébastien Melmoth | Hôtel d'Alsace, PARIS | 01/05/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

".

Schönberg loved and respected Mahler as man and master musician. In order to give more currency to Mahler's magnum opus--The Song of the Earth, in 1920 Schönberg reduced the orchestration down to a manageable nonet for chamber performance: flute, clarinet, two violins, viola, cello, double-bass, piano, and harmonium. (He likewise had done a chamber-reduction for Mahler's early Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen Mahler Symphony No. 4; Lieder eines fahrenden .)



Ear-candy for enthusiastic Mahlerians.

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Fighting Weight Mahler

Ben Abraham | New York, New York | 03/16/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"With scientific precision, Schoenberg has taken Mahler's great symphonic song cycle and, through re-orchestration, has sharpened, x-rayed, excised, and clarified. The result is clear beauty, and it provides revelatory insight to a Mahler masterpiece.



The singers and the musicians are all wonderful -- clean, crisp, and patient, with beautiful sound.



Schoenberg's re-orchestration has brought the orchestra to an intimacy and immediacy that marvelously matches and compliments the voices. Dare I say it's better than the original?"