Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra
Conducted by Bruno Walter
Kerstin Thorborg (contralto)
Charles Kullmann (tenor) on gramophone records
Practically the whole of Mahler's work is an attempt to express in music a definite, on the whole pessimistic, view of life. Owing to the limitations of purely instrumental music in the expression of definite thought, he often found himself obliged to introduce the human voice into his symphonies: but in none of these does he achieve such a satisfactory synthesis of song and symphony as in Das Lied von der Erde.'
In Hans Bethge's ' Die chinesische
Flbte, a volume of translations from the Chinese classical poets, he found not only a series of lyrics that beautifully expressed his own view of life but, by their general character, gave a special stamp to his music. Mahler does not attempt to imitate Chinese music, but he does sometimes suggest it, and this ' speech through a Chinese mask' helps to give ' Das
Lied von der Erde ' a charm that has held many musicians who find Mahler's music generally unattractive.