Mahler: Symphony Nos.1-10 - Das Lied Von Der Erde

This cycle of Mahler's symphonies plus his Das Lied von der Erde is the last will and recorded testament of Gary Bertini. Although the Moldavian-born, Israeli citizen Bertini lived another decade after most of these performances were recorded in the early '90s, he made very few other recordings and thus his posthumous reputation will be determined in large part by his way with Mahler. For Bertini, Mahler is lyrical but cool, dramatic but restrained, colorful but not garish, powerful but not bombastic, and, above all, intensely expressive but never ever excessively emotional. For Bertini, Mahler is a tightrope walk above raging chaos and ecstatic bliss and, no matter what, he never once loses his footing. Whether this seems appropriate or not will depend on the listener. Bertini's performances with the Kölner Rundfunk-Sinfonie-Orchester were recorded live on tour in Japan and are nevertheless superbly polished and supremely virtuosic with a tremendous sense of occasion, particularly in Das Lied with Marjana Lipovsek and Ben Heppner, both of whom are in great voice. EMI's recordings are huge but close, detailed but full, brilliant but mellow. While listeners who like Bernstein's intensely emotional Mahler or Karajan's extravagantly sensual Mahler or Solti's extremely dramatic Mahler might not approve of Bertini's interpretive approach, those who like Haitink's strictly rational Mahler or Inbal's clearly articulated Mahler or Abbado's luminously linear Mahler might Bertini's way with Mahler persuasive. ~ James Leonard, AMG