Des Knaben Wunderhorn (Youth’s Magic Horn)
Pierre Boulez conducts Mahler
Mahler:
- Des Knaben Wunderhorn (12 songs, complete)
Performed by Magdalena Kožená and Christian Gerhaher
- Symphony No. 10 in F sharp major – Adagio
Performed by The Cleveland Orchestra, conducted by Pierre Boulez
In celebration of the 150th anniversary of Mahler’s birth and just one month short of his own 85th birthday, composer-conductor Pierre Boulez marked his forty-five-year collaboration with the Cleveland Orchestra by directing this very special Mahler-only concert .
Following the Adagio from Mahler’s unfinished Tenth Symphony, he presented Twelve Songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn with soloists Magdalena Kožená and Christian Gerhaher, both much-sought-after opera and concert singers on the world’s leading stages.
These early songs from Des Knaben Wunderhorn are a clear demonstration of Mahler’s youthful interest in German Romanticism. They are brought off with great spirit by the fine soloists and the brilliant Cleveland orchestra. An interesting interview with Pierre Boulez is included with this recording.
Boulez, in the included interview, notes that Mahler left no tempo markings other than the basic Andante – Adagio, etc. Boulez has elected to use a lot of tempo changes and he achieves a great effect as a result.
Here is a section from this recording:
And here is Mr. Boulez, telling us more about himself and his works:
UE Interviews: Pierre Boulez from Universal Edition on Vimeo.
If you’d like to purchase this DVD at Amazon, please click on the image below:
Tags: Gustav Mahler, Knaben Wunderhorn, Pierre Boulez