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The Telegraph, 15 Aug 2002 |
James Allen |
Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde, Edinburgh 2002
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Treasures unearthed from the Czech heartland
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James Allen reviews a series of chamber
concerts at the Queen's Hall, Usher Hall |
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On
the other side of the city, in the Usher Hall, the popularity of the £5
late-night concerts continues unabated. On Tuesday, Peter Donohoe and Martin
Roscoe gave a virtuosic and thoroughly life-affirming performance of
Messiaen's Visions de l'Amen.
There were no heavenly moments in mezzo soprano Alice Coote and tenor Jonas
Kaufmann's performance with the Edinburgh Festival Ensemble of Schoenberg's
chamber version of Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde on Wednesday night. The
only thing I would have cared to take away from it was Coote's vital shaping
of "Der Abschied", shot through with pungent contributions from the
instrumentalists under conductor Garry Walker.
The rest was rough and ready, and Kaufmann's undergraduate renderings of the
drinking songs were swamped by an orchestra so ardent it could have made its
presence felt in this Song of the Earth from six feet under. |
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