Boulez Conducts Mahler – DVD and Telecasts

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A 90-minute high-definition DVD of Pierre Boulez conducting The Cleveland Orchestra in works of Mahler, produced by WVIZ/PBS ideastream® with international production partners CLASART Classic, ARTE, Accentus Music, and Deutsche Grammophon, has just been released. The world premiere telecast took place on Sunday, May 1, at 4:30 p.m. on WVIZ/PBS ideastream®, with a prime-time rebroadcast on Saturday, May 7, at 9:30 p.m. The program will be aired in Europe on ARTE TV on May 15.

The program, produced and directed by William Cosel, was taped during live performances presented in February 2010 at Severance Hall. It includes Mahler’s Adagio from Symphony No. 10 in F-sharp major, and his Des Knaben Wunderhorn (“The Youth’s Magic Horn”), Songs for Voice and Orchestra, with vocal soloists Magdalena Kožená, mezzo-soprano, and Christian Gerhaher, baritone.

An audio recording of this program was released by Deutsche Grammophon in 2010. It was cited as “Disc of the Month” by BBC Music Magazine, that said, “Energy and quality of imagination shine throughout this disc.” The Plain Dealer’s review said, “Kozena is every bit the star she was before, animating her roles with intense vocal and theatrical character. Gerhaher, meanwhile, sounds even better on record, delivering dramatic, full-bodied performances. No less a keepsake is the Adagio from Mahler's Tenth, a cool and insightful reading marked as before by overwhelming softness, piercing dissonance, and throat-grabbing peaks.”

The television program and recording celebrate several milestones, including Pierre Boulez’s 85th birthday and the 45th anniversary year of his debut with The Cleveland Orchestra; the 150th anniversary of Mahler’s birth (2010), and the 100th anniversary of his death (2011). This release marks Boulez’s 24th recording with The Cleveland Orchestra.

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