For any lover of classical music, the name “Mahler” is evocative of orchestral color, broad, sweeping symphonic brushstrokes and the culmination of the romantic symphony.
However, Mahler wrote with equal mastery in another genre: It is remarkable in that he virtually wrote in two genres alone, namely symphony and song. What is more, there were few composers for whom the two genres were so closely connected: Mahler would often reuse material from songs in symphonies, and some claim that these self-quotations are keys to secret programs in the symphonies.
Most important of all is the fact that all of his mature songs were written both with orchestral accompaniment and as songs for piano and voice. In one of his final masterpieces, Das Lied von der Erde (the Song of the Earth) he combined the two into a symphonic song cycle.
Where does this leave the piano version? Are these ‘mere’ piano reductions? One might ascribe commercial reasons for their creation: in Mahler’s own time, a reduced arrangement was the only way the works could be heard outside of the concert hall, and a piano reduction would be the easiest to sell. This, however, would give far too little credit to the pieces. In fact, the attention to detail given in them shows that they were written to be performed as equals in either form.
Mezzo Soprano Marianne Kielland shows us some of the music with piano accompaniment:
