Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau – Mahler: Symphony No.1 In D Major; Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (1989/2017) [Official Digital Download 24bit/96kHz]

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau – Mahler: Symphony No.1 In D Major; Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen (1989/2017)
FLAC (tracks) 24 bit/96 kHz | Time – 01:06:27 minutes | 1,27 GB | Genre: Classical
Studio Masters, Official Digital Download | Front Cover | © Deutsche Grammophon (DG)

„Here’s a delightful coupling: Mahler’s First Symphony and the song cycle that donated many of its themes to the larger work. Best of all, both performances are superb. Rafael Kubelik is the dark horse among Mahler conductors. His interpretations are always fresh, unforced, and seemingly without exaggeration. However, he knows how to build a climax, and his generally swift tempos never permit a minute’s boredom. There are many moments to cherish in his performance of the symphony, not least the delicious woodwind playing and the tangy trumpets in the third movement’s Fiddler on the Roof music. Reissued at midprice in excellently remastered sound–better than most new digitals in many respects–this is a performance that remains one of the best, and as a coupling it’s unbeatable.“ (David Hurwitz)

“Rafael Kubelík is essentially a poetic conductor and he gets more poetry out of this symphony than almost any other conductor who has recorded it. Although he takes the repeat of the first movement’s short exposition, it’s strange that he should ignore the single repeat sign in the Ländler when he seems so at ease with the music.

Notwithstanding a fondness for generally brisk tempos in Mahler, Kubelík is never afraid of rubato here, above all in his very personally inflected account of the slow movement. This remains a delight. The finale now seems sonically a little thin, with the trumpets made to sound rather hard-pressed and the final climax failing to open out as it can in more modern recordings.

The orchestral contribution is very good even if absolute precision isn’t guaranteed.

Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau’s second recording of the Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen has worn rather less well, the spontaneous ardour of his earlier performance (with Furtwängler and the Philharmonia) here tending to stiffen into melodrama and mannerism. There’s much beautiful singing, and he’s most attentively accompanied, but the third song, ‘Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer’, is implausibly overwrought, bordering on self-parody. By contrast, Kubelík’s unpretentious, Bohemian approach to the symphony remains perfectly valid. A corrective to the grander visions of those who conduct the music with the benefit of hindsight and the advantages of digital technology? Perhaps.” (Gramophone Classical Music Guide)

Tracklist:
1-1. Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks – I. Langsam. Schleppend (14:34)
1-2. Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks – II. Kräftig bewegt (07:00)
1-3. Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks – III. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen (10:38)
1-4. Symphonieorchester Des Bayerischen Rundfunks – IV. Stürmisch bewegt (17:45)
1-5. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau – I. Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht (03:57)
1-6. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau – II. Ging heut’ morgen übers Feld (04:01)
1-7. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau – III. Ich hab’ ein glühend Messer (03:15)
1-8. Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau – IV. Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz (05:13)

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