Commissioned by the Wiener Festwochen and in collaboration with the Ensemble of the Wiener Klangforum, Philippe Quesne elegantly stages Gustav Mahler's "Das Lied von der Erde". This is a rare foray into a musical repertoire that is nostalgically influenced by Romanticism and cultivates an intimate relationship with time and nature.
Mahler composed "Das Lied von der Erde" in 1907, reflecting Mahler's later life struggles after leaving the Vienna Opera, losing his eldest daughter and being diagnosed with heart disease. Das Lied von der Erde is performed by Reinbert de Leeuw's chamber orchestra as a cycle of six songs for two soloists. The texts were inspired by Chinese poetry. In his unadorned production of Mahler's work, Philippe Quesne presents a melancholy view of nature that is nourished by a longing for Romanticism, an era in which people had a different relationship to time and nature, which came to a brutal end with the beginning of the 20th century. The suffering of the modern Anthropocene echoes in this vast abyss. In composing his ethereal décor, Quesne, set designer and director, draws on elements such as rain and dirt as well as two paintings by Albert Bierstadt, a contemporary of Mahler, whose landscapes reflect the cycle of life.
Picture: Martin Argyrologo