Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

Much has been written about Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde, and deservedly so. Das Lied is undeniably one of the most passionate and compelling works in all of classical music. Mahler himself described it as “…the most personal composition I have created thus far." Das Lied was composed in 1908 on texts from Hans Bethge's 'recently published “The Chinese Flute". Mahler was very taken by the vision of earthly beauty and transience expressed in Berhge’s translations and chose seven (two of them used in the finale) to set to music.