Gary Bertini - Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (1994)

Gary Bertini’s Mahler is one of amazing transparency: so many details register for the first time that it makes you reconsider music you may have thought you knew. In the case of Das Lied von der Erde, arguably Mahler’s greatest work, Bertini continually draws us into the happenings behind the voices, beguiling us with the exquisite beauties of this miraculous score. You can almost see the blue mists floating over the lotus blossoms in Der Einsame im Herbst, so perfectly does he balance the gossamer strings and wind shadings, while the arrogant bass trombone and squealing clarinets tellingly evoke the acrid irony of Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde, which Ben Heppner sings with boastful abandon. Heppner’s portrayal of the Drunken Man in Spring is particularly vivid, while Bertini’s penetrating conducting reveals this song to be a baby version of the Ninth symphony’s Scherzo Burlesque.
Marjana Lipovšek well meets the challenge of the demanding soprano part (the performance was recorded live in the somewhat harsh acoustic of Tokyo’s Suntory Hall), imbuing her full-bodied singing with a deliciously dark passion. But, she also manages to sound spiritually spent, almost soulless in the chilling second half of Der Abschied, a moment that Bertini sets up perfectly with his grim reading of the mournful orchestral interlude that precedes it. For a fully engrossing Das Lied experience, vocally and orchestrally, Haitink’s Concertgebouw recording with Janet Baker and James King remains the standard; but Bertini’s, along with Sinopoli’s, are among the top choices for a modern version. Musical Heritage Society does a great service in making this hard to find recording readily available.