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have this possibility in mind. He would have expected a capable singer to have been able to charac-
terize each role sufficiently, without recourse to a partner.” (The Wunderhorn Years, p. 260 n. 34).
Be that as it may, the device can be justified from a dramatic standpoint, and I find the added vari-
ety refreshing. The pairing is only applied to three songs—“Trost im Unglück,” “Lied des
Verfolgten im Turm,” and “Verlor’ne Müh”—and each one consists of pure dialogue (the last stan-
za of “Trost im Unglück” is written for both protagonists) so it hardly seems far-fetched to charac-
terize the songs through the use of two voices. The voices of these particular singers, youthful and
unaffected, produce versions of the songs that should please all but the Mitchellian purist.
Volle and Stenz give “Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt” a somewhat slow and dark read-
ing, which adds just the right touch of irony to this familiar piece. The two later songs, “Revelge”
and “Der Tamboursg’sell,” find Volle in martial mode, his delivery falling somewhere between the
declamatory and lyric, but always dramatically true. “Wo die schönen Trompeten blasen,” sung by
Oelze alone, is quite moving, her pure tone adding the appropriate touch of pathos.
Oelze offers a moving “Urlicht,” for which she manages the darker mezzo timbre very con-
vincingly (she recorded the soprano part of the “Resurrection” Symphony with Fabio Luisi,
reviewed in Fanfare 31:5). The song is given a very close audio perspective—this is almost an inti-
mate setting, highlighting the simple sincerity of the words and setting it apart from the lighter vein
or martial theme of the preceding songs. Another notable vocal achievement occurs with “Das irdis-
che Leben,” which is sung by Volle—if not actually unique, certainly exceptionally rare. One might
have expected Oelze to take this song, thus providing the finale of a mini-drama with “Das himm-
lische Leben.” Volle also begins the program with a charming “Rheinlegendchen,” another song
more characteristically taken by the soprano when the vocal duties are shared by two singers.
Two classics, the EMI previously alluded to and the more recent DG set featuring Thomas
Quasthoff and Anne Sofie von Otter, accompanied by Abbado and the Berlin Philharmonic, provide
stiff competition for any newcomer. I have no qualms about placing this new set in such august com-
pany. Stenz and his Cologne orchestra produce accompaniment of subtlety, humor, and power by
turns, never content to simply play along. The sound production is spacious, detailed, and grounded
with solid lows. I recommend this inspired set to Mahlerites and Lieder-lovers without reservation.
(There is one minor blemish: The songs come with no translations.) Christopher Abbot

MAHLER Rückert-Lieder. Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. Des Knaben Wunderhorn: 5 Lieder •
Michael Tilson Thomas, cond; Susan Graham (mez); Thomas Hampson (bar); San Francisco SO •
SFS MEDIA 821936-0036-2 (SACD: 64:57) Live: San Francisco 5/2007; 9/2009
With this new CD, the San Francisco Symphony Mahler Project reaches its conclusion. The
recording also concludes the SFSO survey of Mahler’s orchestral songs: earlier releases offered Das
Lied von der Erde, the Kindertotenlieder (sung by Michelle DeYoung, in the set with the Third
Symphony), and the reissue of the RCA recording of Das Klagende Lied. The only quibble I have
is the omission of two-thirds of the Wunderhorn songs, especially since Thomas Hampson hasn’t yet
recorded the complete set in its orchestral setting; I can’t imagine that a two-disc set would have
been a deal-breaker for most listeners.
Hampson’s authority in the songs of Mahler is second only to that of Fischer-Dieskau (perhaps
by now, on par), and is surely unquestioned. The only issue for listeners, then, will be how the older
Hampson measures up against his own earlier recordings, some nearly 25 years old. His DG record-
ing of the Wayfarer songs, accompanied by Leonard Bernstein (with the Vienna Philharmonic, no
less), is available in many different versions (there is also a set of these songs on a live LPO CD with
Tennstedt, paired with the First Symphony).
Bernstein’s treatment is almost Wagnerian in its sumptuousness and generally slower tempos,
so a little leavening doesn’t go amiss. Tilson Thomas’s tempos and the leaner quality of both the
orchestra and the sound production are a salubrious corrective (the sound production is by no means
anemic; it is just less plush and more detailed than that of the older DG). There is little noticeable
difference in Hampson’s voice or delivery; though the higher notes take a bit more effort, they sel-
dom sound labored, and the falsetto is still quite silky; the character of the interpretation is the same

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balance of character, animation, and precision, never stooping to archness. In short, this is a fine per-
formance of Mahler’s first real “Mahler” work.
The Wunderhorn songs, with the exception of “Urlicht,” are all “soldier” songs and therefore
make a sensible and satisfying group, if they must be separated from the rest. Hampson has per-
formed these songs many times, yet they sound fresh. His isn’t the heroic baritone of Fischer-
Dieskau (with Szell, EMI), but there is power as well as sensitivity here, the latter especially when
voicing the female characters. His version of “Urlicht” is unique in my experience. As with the bari-
tone version of Das Lied, there’s no reason why this song can’t be as effective when sung by the
male voice, and when that voice is Hampson’s, the result is moving as well as unusual.
For comparison with Susan Graham’s performance of Rückert-Lieder, I turned to the very best.
Janet Baker’s recording with Sir John Barbirolli on EMI is now more than 40 years old, but for many
it is the gold standard for these songs (a fascinating comparison can also be made between these two
artists accompanied by Tilson Thomas: Baker sang the songs for inclusion with MTT’s Mahler Third
on Sony). Graham’s voice is lighter in timbre than Baker’s dusky mezzo, and Graham’s vibrato is
just as quick and unobtrusive. The main difference in the two interpretations is Graham’s generally
more animated characterizations—Baker tends to deliver the songs straight, though not without
nuance. I can make no qualitative judgment between these two beautiful voices, nor would I wish
to. Tilson Thomas provides a much livelier accompaniment than Barbirolli, and the SFSO delivers
a performance of chamber-like delicacy, or full-throated power, where it is called for.
Those readers who have been following the SFSO Mahler Project will need no endorsement
from me to purchase this new CD; other prospective buyers should rest assured that it deserves the
highest recommendation. Christopher Abbot

* * *

This SACD, titled Songs with Orchestra, concludes MTT’s extraordinary Mahler cycle and—sad
to say, from my standpoint—the tag team coverage that Mahler expert Christopher Abbot and myself
have provided since the arrival of Symphony No. 6 nine years ago. A landmark cycle it has been, sell-
ing, so far, more than 140,000 units. This is a big number by classical-music standards, and the series
has won seven Grammys, including three for Best Classical Recording (Symphonies Nos. 3, 7, and 8).
The project is also recognized as very successful from a sonic standpoint, with a number of those
Grammy awards/nominations coming in engineering categories. That’s why I’ve been joining Abbot
for these reviews. Back in 2002, SACD was a novelty, and I was among the first at the magazine to
have the capability to listen to the high-resolution options on the hybrid multichannel disc, certainly the
first to be able to listen in surround sound. Over the last nine years, SACD has established itself as a
niche product, not the world-beater that Sony and Philips had hoped for. But it’s a niche of interest to
plenty of Fanfare readers—classical collectors who value superlative sound quality.
This time out, the recorded perspective provided by producer Andreas Neubronner and his team
is more intimate than that employed for the more massive symphonies; a comparison to the opening
of the SFS Media Third is illustrative. In surround, the presentation of the musicians with this latest
recording is dimensional, but without the sense of you, the listener, sitting in a large hall with a lot
of other people. It’s less of a “you-are-there” experience, though still quite involving. The two solo
voices are beautifully characterized and naturally scaled.
The conductor and singers are perfectly attuned to the meaning and psychological milieu of the
songs. “Interpretation” isn’t the right word, as that would imply an element of evident exertion that
distracts from a direct emotional connection to the poems. Listen, for example, to how Thomas
Hampson, surely among the finest Mahler singers on the planet, subtly changes the quality of his
voice as he shifts between the roles of the prisoner and the girl in “Lied des Verfolgten im Turm”
(Song of the Persecuted Man in the Tower) from Das Knaben Wunderhorn. Or the sense of accep-
tance and leave-taking—akin to what the composer creates at the close of Das Lied von der Erde—
that Susan Graham generates with the last of the Rückert-Lieder, “Ich bin der Welt Abhanden” (I am
Lost to the World). For his part, Michael Tilson Thomas makes every note the orchestra plays count,

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in support of the vocalists’ artistry.

Want List material, once again. MTT and the San Franciscans have now run out of Mahler.
Happily, it’s been revealed that SFS Media will this year be releasing SACDs offering works by
Copland, Ives, and Beethoven, with more Beethoven and John Adams to follow. Very, very glad to
hear it. Andrew Quint

 MAHLER Symphony No. 1. PROKOFIEV Piano Concerto No. 3 • Claudio Abbado, cond; Yuja
Wang (pn); Lucerne Fest O • EUROARTS 2057968 (DVD: 93:00) Live: Lucerne 8/11–15/2009
This DVD presents two quite disparate works, but each is worth the price of admission on its
own. These live concerts from the Lucerne Festival are an opportunity for Abbado to revisit his
repertoire, and for us listeners to savor the resultant performances. The video picture is high-defini-
tion quality, and the sound production is available in PCM stereo and DTS or Dolby surround sound.
The Prokofiev appears first on the program. Abbado, a Prokofiev specialist of impeccable cre-
dentials, last recorded the Third Piano Concerto in 1993 with Evgeny Kissin for DG (his 1967 per-
formance with Martha Argerich is an acknowledged classic). With the exhilarating Yuja Wang, the
athletic and sprightly characteristics of the music are most prominent. The first movement is taken
at a brisk tempo, its rhythmic energy and trenchant attacks tossed off with aplomb by the diminutive
dynamo at the keyboard. The more contemplative music at the heart of the movement isn’t subject
to the same treatment, though, and Wang is just as convincing here as well. At the conclusion of the
scintillating coda, the pianist casts a puckish smile at the conductor.
Taking her cue from the rhapsodic central theme of the first movement, Wang delves just as
deeply into the music of the second movement, which enters the same shadowy world as the Second
Concerto, particularly in the Andantino meditativo. Any tendency toward schmaltz is negated by the
martial strains of the orchestra, played with precision by Abbado’s hand-picked band. The finale
returns us to the bright-hued circus world of the first movement. Wang’s no-nonsense performing
demeanor is admirable; one marvels at the commanding presence of this 23-year-old, whose
undemonstrative technique lends a deceptively effortless quality to her playing.
This interpretation is (apparently) primarily that of the soloist: Abbado appears to defer to her,
looking over his left shoulder in the direction of the pianist quite frequently. The sound is sparkling and
clear, the piano dead center in the mix but not overly prominent, well integrated into the orchestra.
Abbado has all but completed his survey of the Mahler symphonies with the Lucerne orchestra
in this video series, begun in 2003 with the Second (a Ninth performed by the Gustav Mahler Youth
Orchestra is a sort of step-relation to the others); all that remains is the Eighth, a festival work if ever
there was one. Those readers who are familiar with Abbado’s Mahler series with the Berlin
Philharmonic on DG (or his older one, featuring several orchestras, also on DG) will know what to
expect here: a unique approach to the works that combines the best elements of the more objective
styles of Haitink or Boulez with the emotional impact of Bernstein or Tilson Thomas. The musicians
who comprise the Lucerne Festival Orchestra are the equals of just about anyone you could name,
and they obviously relish their performances with Abbado, their founder and mentor.
Abbado is clearly in his element, basking in the sunny glow and infectious energy of the first
two movements of the Mahler symphony. He now conducts sans baton, and appears to be dancing
with the orchestra as much as leading it. As with the other performances in this series, Abbado puts
his whole body and spirit into his conducting; in comparison to the (quite fine) Mahler recordings
with the BPO, there is a vitality and depth to these versions from Lucerne that makes them among
the most compelling to be had in any medium.
If you’ve been following this series on EuroArts, you will need no further incentive to add this
new volume to your collection. If either of these works is tempting, you should consider purchasing
this DVD; you won’t readily find performances to surpass those on offer here. Christopher Abbot

MAHLER Symphony No. 1 • Sakari Oramo, cond; Royal Stockholm PO • EXTON 34 (SACD: 53:21)
Session and Live: Stockholm 9/10-12/2009
Sakari Oramo’s Mahler First Symphony not only has to compete with Riccardo

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Reproduced with permission of the copyright owner. Further reproduction prohibited without permission.