David Geffen Hall, Lincoln Center, New York
May 6, 2018

Lincoln Center’s Great Performers series is an opportunity for New Yorkers to catch up on the finest from around the world, but this triple concert Mahler-fest was especially welcome for the chance to hear Sir Simon Rattle at the helm of his new band, the London Symphony Orchestra. The central panel in Rattle’s triptych was the symphonic song cycle Das Lied von der Erde, which offered a bonus in the form of Australian Heldentenor Stuart Skelton, ably partnered by German baritone Christian Gerhaher.

Sir Simon Rattle & the LSO. Photo © Kevin Yatarola

All three works on offer were premiered posthumously, thus none were never heard by their composer who, it can be argued, might have revised matters here and there, not least by making a call on his preference for alto or baritone for the lower voice in Das Lied. The matter has been hotly debated over the years with a general preference for a woman’s voice tending to win out thanks to the imprimatur of Bruno Walter. However, an increasing number of conductors like to experiment with the all-male version, with Jonas...