Mahler Adagios: 2cd

2010 sees worldwide anniversary celebrations for the centenary of Mahlers death. Composer of expansive symphonic vistas, he came to the attention of a much wider public when Visconti used the Adagietto from his Fifth Symphony as the centerpiece for his iconic film Death in Venice. That music opens this 2CD compilation of great Mahler Adagios and their breath is extraordinary, for beneath their sometimes unruffled exteriors seethes burning passion. But, too, in their songfulness, they are unrivalled. In addition to movements from selected symphonies, we have the immortal farewell (Der Abschied) from Das Lied von der Erde (Song of the Earth) and a singularly beautiful song from the Rckert-Lieder. Two great Mahler conductors dominate the anthology Riccardo Chailly and Sir Georg Solti both of whom have recorded critically acclaimed Mahler cycles for Decca.