Das Lied von der Erde on St. Luke's Collection Now Available

Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) has just announced the release of the seventh album on its record label St. Luke's Collection: a live recording of Schoenberg and Riehn's masterful chamber arrangement of Gustav Mahler's Das Lied von der Erde. The work was performed to great acclaim in September 2011 by St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble with conductor George Manahan, mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnson Cano and tenor Paul Groves at Baryshnikov Arts Center (BAC).

OSL's recording label, St. Luke's Collection, was launched in the spring of 2003, with the SACD release of Mozart's Symphonies 39 and 41 "Jupiter." OSL's stellar 70+ discography now includes seven releases on St. Luke's Collection and four Grammy Award-winning recordings. As part of the release of Das Lied von der Erde, OSL will also issue its first-ever limited edition LP with a small number of signed collectibles. 

This performance of Das Lied von Der Erde commemorated the 100^th anniversary of the premiere of Mahler's monumental song-symphony. It also marked OSL and BAC's first artistic collaboration in their shared home at 450 West 37^th Street and George Manahan's first performance of the chamber arrangement of Das Lied von der Erde.

"Performing this piece with the musicians of St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble-many of whom are old friends-was such a joy. Schoenberg's voicing is so brilliantly done, and the musicians played a very active part in weaving everything together. The two soloists gave remarkable performances, with an enormous range of expression and exquisite sensitivity to the text. This is truly a recording for the ages." said conductor George Manahan.

Mahler's deeply profound farewell to life received its premiere after the composer's death in 1911. Based on a collection of Tang Dynasty poems entitled The Chinese Flute, Das Lied von der Erde features the use of 'Chinese' motifs that were unique in Mahler's output. The work ranges from exuberant, drunken joy to noble acceptance of life's passing.

The chamber arrangement of Das Lied von der Erde demonstrates Mahler's great compositional architecture on a reduced scale. As a strong advocate of Mahler's music, Arnold Schoenberg began work on a chamber arrangement of Das Lied von der Erde after World War I for his Society for Private Musical Performances; however, with little funding, the project was never finished. German musicologist Rainer Riehn ultimately completed the arrangement in 1983.

 A conductor of wide renown in both operatic and orchestral settings, George Manahan served as Music Director of New York City Opera for 14 years and currently serves as Music Director of the American Composers Orchestra (ACO), Portland Opera (OR) and Director of Orchestral Activities at the Manhattan School of Music. His guest appearances include the symphonies of San Francisco, Atlanta, Milwaukee and the opera companies of Chicago, Seattle, St. Louis and Santa Fe. 

Paul Groves' interpretation of Das Lied von der Erde has been commended in past performances with the Pablo Casals Festival, the Philadelphia Orchestra and the Mostly Mozart Festival. Mr. Grove's additional recordings include DVDs with the Salzburg Festival's productions of Die Zauberflöte (Deutsche Grammophon) and La Damnation de Faust (Naxos Records), CD recordings of Roger Waters' new opera Ça Ira opposite Bryn Terfel (SONY Classics) and a solo recording of songs by Henri Duparc (Naxos Records) as well as several recordings with Maestro James Levine. 

Jennifer Johnson Cano has earned praise in performances with the Metropolitan Opera, Chicago Opera Theater, New York Philharmonic, Cleveland Orchestra, San Francisco Symphony and Marlboro Festival among many others. She is a 2012 Richard Tucker Career Grant Winner, a 2011 Sara Tucker Study Grant Recipient and has had the opportunity to perform numerous solo recitals as a winner of the Young Concert Artists Competition.

Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth)

1. Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde (The Drinking Song of the Earth's Sorrow)
2. Der Einsame im Herbst (Autumn Loneliness)
3. Von der Jugend (Youth)
4. Von der Schönheit (Beauty)
5. Der Trunkene im Frühling (Wine in Spring)
6. Der Abschied (The Farewell)

OSL performers

Elizabeth Mann, flute 
Stephen Taylor, oboe 
Jon Manasse, clarinet 
Marc Goldberg, bassoon 
William Purvis, horn
Barry Centanni, percussion 
Maya Gunji, percussion 
Margaret Kampmeier, piano 
Robert Wolinsky, harmonium/celeste 
Krista Bennion Feeney, violin 
Naoko Tanaka, violin 
Maureen Gallagher, viola 
Myron Lutzke, cello 
John Feeney, double bass

Produced, Engineered, Edited and Mastered by Adam Abeshouse. Assistant Engineer, Andy Ryder. CD production: Digital Force, NYC

This recording was made possible in part with funding from The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, and The Enoch Foundation, with special thanks to Robert Ferguson and Marianne Lockwood.

Recorded at Jerome Robbins Theater, Baryshnikov Arts Center (New York City) on September 8-9, 2011. 

CDs available for purchase at Amazon and through OSLmusic.org.

About Orchestra of St. Luke's

Now in its 38th season, Orchestra of St. Luke's (OSL) is one of America's foremost and most versatile ensembles. Dedicated to engaging audiences throughout New York City and beyond, OSL performs approximately 70 orchestral, chamber and educational concerts each year-including an annual orchestra series at Carnegie Hall, an annual chamber music series at The Morgan Library & Museum and Brooklyn Museum and summer concerts as Orchestra-in-Residence at Caramoor International Music Festival. OSL's Principal Conductor is Pablo Heras-Casado.

OSL collaborates regularly with the world's great artists, such as Renée Fleming, Yo-Yo Ma, Jessye Norman, Anna Netrebko, Anne-Sophie Mutter, Mark Morris Dance Group, Peter Gabriel, Sting, Elton John and many more. In March 2011, OSL opened The DiMenna Center for Classical Music-its first permanent home, and New York City's first rehearsal and recording facility dedicated to classical music. Committed to community-building, OSL produces free concerts in each of the five boroughs as part of its Subway Series, free concerts devoted to the artistic process as part of its OSL@DMC series at The DiMenna Center and has engaged more than one million people in its Community & Education programs.

OSL's stellar 70+ discography includes seven releases on its own label, St. Luke's Collection, and four Grammy Award-winning recordings. Launched in 2003, St. Luke's Collection is the official recording label for OSL. St. Luke's Collection features performances by St. Luke's Chamber Ensemble and OSL that reflect the group's hallmark energy and versatility. Throughout its history OSL has commissioned more than 50 new works and performed more than 150 world, U.S. and New York City premieres. For OSL's calendar of events, tickets and more information, visit OSLmusic.org.