Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn / Holzmair

Mahler: Des Knaben Wunderhorn (12 songs, complete) Wolfgang Holzmair (baritone) & Charles Spencer (piano)

Wolfgang Holzmair is one of the great word-painters of our time and one of the foremost interpreters of Mahler’s songs. He is embarking on an international tour of this repertoire, which has been a central part of his career, to mark his 60th birthday. His interpretation of this music draws upon many years of experience and brings a deep insight to these wonderful songs. Mahler composed his settings of poems by Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim in 1892. The piano-writing is remarkable for its almost orchestral complexity and imitation of orchestral effects. Mahler would eventually score 12 of the 'Wunderhorn' songs for orchestra. The poems’ appeal to Mahler is easy to understand: nature, yearning, love, farewells, night, death, spectral goings-on, boisterous youth, high spirits and wry, crisp humour all combined with the agitated imagination and personality of the composer to produce some of the greatest songs by any composer. They also formed the fertile ground from which several of the symphonies grew.

Price: $21.98