Lied von der Erde 1983Edinburgh International Festival
Read more about the opera Song of the Earth
Spending most of his career in East Germany, Klaus Tennstedt only became known in the west relatively late in his career. He was a great interpreter of the central Germanic repertoire. Fortunately a substantially proportion of his work during his last years was with the London Philharmonc, and their visits to Edinburgh were wonderfully impressive.
Tennstedt's lyrical way with Mahler was indicated immediately by the choice of companion piece. This was a Mozart Violin Concerto, no4 in D, K218, with soloist Miriam Fried. The two voices were perhaps lighter and more lyrical than are sometimes heard. Hermann Winkler, in particular, had a keenly focussed lyric tenor that was able to cut through the finely moulded orchestral texture.
