Songs with Orchestra (Incls ‘Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen’ & ‘Rückert-Lieder’)

"Tilson Thomas is as good a Mahler conductor as is currently alive... the Ruckert songs are just wonderful, Graham having evolved to a magnificent Mahler mezzo at this point in her career.... the SFS (is) rapidly becoming the premiere Mahler orchestra in (the USA) if not the world. A solid recommendation for a series worth owning, each and every disc." (Five Stars AudAud.com)

Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony bring their historic Mahler recording cycle to a close with the composer's three song cycles. Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony, who launched their historic Mahler recording cycle in 2001, complete the best-selling, critically acclaimed and award winning project with the composer's atmospheric song cycles. The live recordings, taken from concerts in the orchestra's Davies Symphony Hall, features two of America's most lauded singers, mezzo-soprano Susan Graham in Rückert-Lieder, and baritone Thomas Hampson in Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, and selections from Das Knaben Wunderhorn.

The release coincides with international celebrations Mahler's music, as 2010 is the 150th anniversary of his birth, and 2011 marks the 100th year of his death. The SFS and MTT, among the world's leading interpreters of Mahler's music, will play a significant role in the global commemoration of Mahler, through concerts, prominent media projects, and extensive international tours. The MTT/SFS Mahler cycle has won seven Grammy Awards, including three for Best Classical Album, and has sold over 140,000 recordings world-wide. This final instalment puts the crowning touch on every collector's CD shelf.