MTT and the San Francisco Symphony
MTT and the Symphony opened the 2007-2008 season by continuing their Mahler cycle.
I had never heard Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (Song of the Earth), A Symphony for Tenor and Contralto (or Baritone) and Orchestra, after Hans Bethge’s The Chinese Flute.
Until Friday night.
All I can say is that if you love classical music, you will love this Mahler Song Symphony. And, since this concert was recorded, MTT and the San Francisco Symphony will soon have this out on CD.
Bruno Walter initiated the contralto trend with his premiere of the work in 1911, but Friday evening Thomas Hampson was MTT’s choice. And, Oh, how we will be grateful for this choice.
I was entranced by Hampson (it didn’t hurt that I was in the third row and could see the sweat and feel the spit — OK, that came from the enjoyable but at times inaudible tenor Stuart Skelton). Born in Indiana and raised in Spokane, Washington, Hampson was dramatic yet not melodramatic — simply in superb voice.
The sixth song is as long as the preceding five and is a showcase for both vocalist (baritone Hampson) and orchestra. Do not miss the flute solos.
But, the ending will keep you breathless. You could hear the proverbial pin drop in Davies Hall Friday night.
I highly recommend this 1959 version by Paul Kletzki, the incomparable baritone Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and tenor Murray Dickie until MTT, Hampson and Skelton make their digital debut.
Also, do not miss the just-released Das klagende Lied recorded at Davies Symphony Hall in late Spring 2006 by MTT and the San Francisco Symphony.
This is the San Francisco that makes me proud.