European American Music Distributors Company is a member of the Schott Music Group

Colin Matthews’ New Arrangement of "Trinklied" from Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde Debuts in the UK

Apr. 30, 2012

Colin Matthews’ New Arrangement of "Trinklied" from Mahler’s <em>Das Lied von der Erde</em> Debuts in the UK

The Hallé Orchestra’s performance this month of Gustav Mahler’s symphonic lament, Das Lied von der Erde, features the world premiere of Colin Matthews’ new arrangement of the work’s first movement, "Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde," for tenor and orchestra. Mahler’s original, performed only posthumously and with problematic balance between voice and orchestra, is finally presented in this new and long-anticipated performance version, commissioned by Sir Mark Elder and the Hallé Orchestra. The premiere takes place at the Bridgewater Hall in Manchester, England on May 10 and features celebrated soloists Lars Cleveman, tenor, and Alice Coote, mezzo-soprano. 

Composed in 1908, Das Lied von der Erde premiered shortly following Mahler’s death in 1911, under the direction of Bruno Walter with Sara Cahier, mezzo-soprano, William Miller, tenor, and the Tonkünstler Orchester. Walter considered the work to be “the most personal utterance among Mahler’s creations, and perhaps in all music.”

Colin Matthews, composer and Mahler specialist, was previously the Associate Composer with the London Symphony and is currently the Composer Emeritus with the Hallé Orchestra. His dedication to Mahler’s oeuvre has resulted in the current performing version of Mahler’s Tenth Symphony, completed in 1976. In this new version of "Trinklied", the orchestration has been so carefully crafted as to resolve balance difficulties while maintaining the original number of orchestral musicians, which are employed in this movement in full.

This performance of Das Lied von der Erde honors the centenary of the birth of legendary contralto Kathleen Ferrier, who performed the work with Bruno Walter until her death in 1953. The program also includes Mozart’s Symphony No. 40. 

For more information on Colin Matthews, visit his Faber composer profile at www.fabermusic.com.

Visit www.universaledition.com for more information on the new performing version of “Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde”

For more information on the performance, go to www.halle.co.uk.

Gustav Mahler
Das Lied von der Erde Nr. 1
“Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde” (1908, arr. 2012)
arranged by Colin Matthews
pic.3.3(3.ca).Ebcl.3.bcl.3-4.3.3.0-perc-2hp-str
8’

News