Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde Christian Gerhaher

• Gustav Mahler (1860 - 1911): Das Lied von der Erde:
• 1Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde: Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde08:13
• 2Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde: Der Einsame im Herbst09:27
• 3Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde: Der Pavillon aus Porzellan02:55
• 4Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde: Am Ufer06:45
• 5Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde: Der Trinker im Frühling04:43
• 6Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde: Der Abschied27:20
• Total Runtime59:23

Info for Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

Christian Gerhaher - undoubtedly the world's leading Lied interpreter - turns to an intimate, piano-accompanied version of Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde for his latest release on Sony Classical. Gerhaher's long-time piano partner Gerold Huber accompanies the baritone as well as tenor Piotr Beczała.

Mahler wrote the six songs of "Das Lied von der Erde" in 1908 after the death of his eldest daughter, his forced resignation from the Vienna State Opera and the medical revelation that he himself was close to death. The result is the fascinating synthesis of song and symphony, a reflection on life, death, farewell and redemption in which grief and jubilation seem to mingle. Inspired by Mahler's own discovery of the cultures of the Far East, she set classical Chinese verses to music in the interpretation of the German poet Hans Bethge. Mahler insisted that all of his songs be performed in his own versions with both piano and orchestra, making the piano version of Das Lied von der Erde a stand-alone version of the work.

After the opulence of a symphony orchestra - with which Gerhaher recorded "Das Lied von der Erde" for Sony Classical in 2009 - Mahler's piano version offers a sharper focus, an X-ray view as it were. It is perfect for Gerhaher's trademark intimacy of sound and striking attention to detail in interpretation. Together with Gerold Huber - Gerhaher's trusted piano partner, whose decades-long collaboration with the baritone was hailed by the New York Times as "the greatest song partnership in the world" - Christian Gerhaher has won multiple Diapason D'or, Opus Klassik and Gramophone Awards.

Piotr Beczała, who sings the first, third and fifth movements of the "Lied von der Erde", is known for his luminous tenor, which combines aristocratic poise, penetrating vocal power and meticulous textual finesse. The Polish tenor's voice is an ideal partner for Gerhaher in colour and weight.

"For Christian Gerhaher, the most important Lied baritone of the present day, this "Lied von der Erde" is already the second recording of Gustav Mahler's late work. This time in the alternative version with piano accompaniment, and with Piotr Beczała as a rather Mahler-inexperienced tenor. The two did not meet during the recording sessions.

And also the result - regardless of all the prominence of the stars involved - is at least ... problematic." (Kai Luehrs-Kaiser, rbbKultur)

Christian Gerhaher, baritone
Piotr Beczała, tenor
Gerold Huber, piano

Christian Gerhaher
During his studies under Paul Kuen and Raimund Grumbach, German baritone Christian Gerhaher attended the Opera School of the Academy of Music in Munich and, together with his regular piano partner Gerold Huber, studied lied interpretation with Friedemann Berger. While completing his medical studies Christian Gerhaher perfected his vocal training in master-classes given by Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Inge Borkh. In the meantime Christian Gerhaher is himself an enthusiastic teacher and holds an honorary professorship at the Academy of Music in Munich. In 2013 he received the German Theatre Award „Der Faust" for his portrayal of Pelléas.

Christian Gerhaher's exemplary lied interpretations with Gerold Huber set standards – their recordings have repeatedly won prizes. The lied duo can be heard on the stages of major international recital centres, for instance at the Wigmore Hall in London, in the Carnegie Hall in New York, the Concertgebouw Amsterdam, the Cologne and Berlin Philharmonie, the Konzerthaus and the Musikverein in Vienna. Christian Gerhaher is a regular guest at festivals such as the Munich Opera Festival, the Rheingau Music Festival, the London Proms, the Edinburgh and Lucerne Festivals as well as the Salzburg Festival. After the world premiere of Heinz Holliger's cycle Lunea on 23 fragments by Nikolaus Lenau in spring 2013 in Zurich, the 2013/14 season saw two further world premieres, both dedicated to Christian Gerhaher: Jörg Widmann's Das heiße Herz, followed by performances in Vienna, Frankfurt, London and Luxembourg (combined with Schumann and Fauré) as well as Goethe's Harzreise im Winter by Wolfgang Rihm, a programme contrasting settings of Goethe texts by Wolfgang Rihm and Franz Schubert. The world premiere was given at the Würzburg Mozart Festival in June 2014, further performances followed at the Rheingau Music Festival and the Salzburg Festival, and in the autumn in Paris, Amsterdam, Hamburg, Florence and at the Schubertiade in Hohenems.

Besides his principle activity giving concerts and recitals, Christian Gerhaher is also a highly sought-after performer on the opera stage. Under Riccardo Muti he sang Papageno in a production of The Magic Flute at the Salzburg Festival (issued by Decca as a DVD). Gerhaher gave guest performances in the title role in Henze's Prinz von Homburg at the Theater an der Wien, as Wolfram at the Teatro Real in Madrid, at the Vienna State Opera and Munich State Opera, and at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden in London, where he received the famous Laurence Olivier Award for his interpretation. Roles such as Mozart's Don Giovanni, again in Frankfurt – where he has already sung Orfeo, Wolfram, Eisenstein and Pelléas – Posa in Don Carlo in Toulouse or concert performances as Olivier in Capriccio at the Royal Opera House Covent Garden testify to Gerhaher's broad repertoire. Wolfram remains a constant role in his calendar in the opera houses in Berlin, Vienna, London and Munich. During the Munich Opera Festival in 2014 he has been much acclaimed in the title role in a new production of Monteverdi's Orfeo.

Christian Gerhaher performs together with conductors such as Nikolaus Harnoncourt, Simon Rattle, Herbert Blomstedt, Kent Nagano, Mariss Jansons, Daniel Harding, Bernard Haitink and Christian Thielemann in the world's major concert halls. Gerhaher's intensive preoccupation with the music of Gustav Mahler brought him together with Riccardo Chailly, Gustavo Dudamel and Pierre Boulez (Wunderhornlieder with the Cleveland Symphony Orchestra, also on CD, issued by DG). Major orchestras which regularly invite Christian Gerhaher to perform include the Berlin Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic and the London Symphony Orchestra. He also gives concerts with major orchestras outside Europe, for instance with the NHK Symphony Orchestra, the Boston Symphony Orchestra, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. Christian Gerhaher has very close ties with the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra, a partnership audiences were able to enjoy in the 2012/2013 season during his residency with the orchestra. Together with this outstanding ensemble, conducted by Daniel Harding, Christian Gerhaher recorded his first album of arias devoted to opera in the German Romantic era and for which he received the International Opera Award 2013. In the 2013/14 season Christian Gerhaher was a particularly frequent guest in Berlin, the first time a singer has been artist in residence with the Berlin Philharmonic. Many concerts show how versatile the lyric baritone is, beginning with Mahler's Songs of a Wayfarer conducted by Simon Rattle, Schumann's Faust Scenes with Daniel Harding, Bach's St. John Passion and the Schubert cycles Die schöne Müllerin and Winterreise accompanied by Gerold Huber, as well as Schoeck's Notturno and Fauré's La bonne chanson with a quartet from the Scharoun Ensemble. During the 2014/15 season Christian Gerhaher has a residency at the Gesellschaft der Musikfreunde in Vienna and can be heard with the Bavarian State Orchestra conducted by Kirill Petrenko (Hartmann's Gesangsszene), with the Staatskapelle Dresden and Christian Thielemann (German Romantic arias) and in a Mahler recital in the Golden Hall of the Musikverein. This programme can also be heard in London, Paris, Essen and at the Salzburg Festival.

Christian Gerhaher's CDs are issued by Sony Music, with which he has an exclusive partnership. Accompanied by Gerold Huber, Schumann cycles, all the Schubert cycles, as well as many other lied recordings have been issued. Furthermore, Christian Gerhaher can be heard on CDs with orchestras such as the Berlin Philharmonic, the Cleveland Orchestra, the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra and the Concentus Musicus Wien in works by Bach, Haydn, Mendelssohn, Humperdinck, Orff and Mahler, whereby this list is far from complete. Of primary importance to Christian Gerhaher is the music of Robert Schumann – both Paradies und die Peri and in particular his interpretation of Scenes from Goethe's Faust were recorded live and are available on CDs issued by Sony and RCO live, and will also be issued very soon on the BR Klassik Label. In January 2014 Christian Gerhaher received the German record critics' honorary prize Nachtigall 2014.

Booklet for Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde