Salastina: Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde

2 singers, string quintet, piano, winds, percussion… and no conductor. Arnold Schoenberg, of all people, arranged what Leonard Bernstein called Mahler’s “greatest symphony” for chamber ensemble. Composed during an incredibly difficult period of converging life crises, this piece — based on classical Chinese poetry — is about the beauty and transience of life, and is sublimation at its finest.