Concert Review: A Song of Eternity

Sir Simon Rattle leads Das Lied von der Erde.
by Paul J. Pelkonen

Earth mover: Stuart Skelton (left) sings as Sir Simon Rattle conducts Das Lied von der Erde. 
Photo by Kevin Yatarola © 2018 the photographer.

The honeymoon weekend in New York continued Sunday afternoon for Sir Simon Rattle and the London Symphony Orchestra. This was the second installment of Mahler Transcending, a three-day exploration of that composer's last three symphonies. Sunday's matinee was dedicated to the first of these works: Das Lied von der Erde. This piece, written in the summers of 1908 and 1909, is both symphony and song cycle. His penultimate completed work, he did not live to hear it performed.