Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major Elizabeth Watts

• Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
• 1 I. Bedächtig, nicht eilen 16:32
• 2 II. In gemächlicher Bewegung, ohne Hast 10:14
• 3 III. Ruhevoll, poco adagio 21:42
• 4 IV. Sehr behaglich 09:20
• Total Runtime 57:48

Info for Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major

Mahler’s Symphony No. 4 portrays another side of the composer, different to the one hitherto seen by the general public. No major battles are fought in this symphony; rather, it is a portrayal of a childlike vision of life and a better world in the Hereafter.

Mahler’s Dutch friend and colleague, Alphons Diepenbrock, may well have provided the most fitting description of the nature of this symphony and its position within Mahler’s oeuvre: “[...] in his Symphony No. 4, he exclusively praises the sensations of the soul, severed from all earthly ties, from various angles - either as childish yet unearthly merriment, or as the highest ecstasy attained by mystics in bygone years during the contemplation of the divine.

However, one should not search for irony here. The work is like a beautiful dream, an indispensable link in the series of Mahler’s nine symphonies that speak sufficiently of harsh reality, and that, according to some, will one day be considered the monumental musical oeuvre of the present day.” The Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra lives up to its reputation for its brilliant Mahler performances and surpasses all expectations under the baton of conductor Marc Albrecht. And Elizabeth Watts’ performance in the final movement is surely one not to be missed. The chemistry between Watts and the orchestra is utterly pervasive. With a voice described by International Record Review as “one of the most beautiful Britain has produced in a generation”, Watts sweeps the listener off their feet with this sunny, accessible symphony from Mahler.

Elizabeth Watts, soprano
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra
Marc Albrecht, conductor

Elizabeth Watts
With a voice described by International Record Review as “one of the most beautiful Britain has produced in a generation” Elizabeth Watts is “now established as one of Britain’s leading sopranos” (The Guardian). Her debut recording of Schubert Lieder for SONY Red Seal, a Gramophone magazine’s ‘Editor’s Choice’, was hailed for its “milky timbre & interpretative maturity” (FT) “technical mastery” (Gramophone) and “radiant delivery” (BBC Music). She has also released a discs of Bach Cantatas for Harmonia Mundi and and a disc of Strauss Songs for Hyperion, both to critical acclaim. Other recent recordings include CPE Bach’s Magnificat (winning a Gramophone Award) and JS Bach’s St John Passion with Bach St Matthew Passion, Mahler Symphony No 4 . In 2015 her disc of Mozart arias with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra was both BBC Music Magazine CD of the month and Classic FM CD of the week. In addition Elizabeth has just released an exciting disc of rarely heard works by Alessandro Scarlatti, many of which are premiere recordings.

Elizabeth was a chorister at Norwich Cathedral and studied archaeology at Sheffield University, before attending the Royal College of Music. She was selected by YCAT in 2004, won the 2006 Kathleen Ferrier Prize, the 2007 Outstanding Young Artist Award at the Cannes “MIDEM Classique Awards” and gained international recognition at the 2007 BBC Cardiff Singer of the World Competition, winning the Rosenblatt Recital Song Prize. From 2005- 2007 she was a member of English National Opera’s Young Singers Programme, where she appeared as Papagena Die Zauberflöte, Barbarina Figaro, Music and Hope in Monteverdi L’Orfeo and in Purcell King Arthur. She currently is an Artist in Residence at the Southbank Centre, London and the recipient of a Borletti-Buitoni Trust Award.

A former BBC Radio 3 New Generation Artist, Elizabeth is much in demand as a recitalist. She has given recitals at the UK’s leading venues, including Wigmore Hall, Bridgewater Hall, Purcell Room, Aldeburgh Festival and Cheltenham Festival. Further afield, Elizabeth has performed at prestigious venues and festivals such as the Hardanger Festival in Norway, with the Orquesta de Radio Televisión Española in Madrid, at the Bad Kissinger Summer Festival, at the Musée d’Orsay in Paris and at the Tonhalle, Zürich. Future plans include returning to the Concertgebouw Amsterdam and a number of appearances at Wigmore Hall, London with pianists Julius Drake and Roger Vignoles.

Other plans this season and beyond include Countess Le nozze di Figaro for Welsh National Opera; Marzelline Fidelio in a new production by Dimitri Tcherniakov at Theater an der Wien with Marc Minkowski for the 2016 Wiener Festwochen; Minerva Il Ritorno d’Ulisse in Patria with Academy of Ancient Music; Vaughan Williams Symphony No 3 with the LSO and Sir Mark Elder and a European tour of Messiah including Lisbon and Barcelona.

Recent concerts have included The Last Night of the Proms in 2014, Mozart Requiem with the London Symphony Orchestra; Mass in C Minor with Akademie für Alte Musik and Daniel Reuss and with the Scottish Chamber Orchestra and Olari Elts; Brahms Requiem with the LPO and Yannick Nezét-Séguin; Bach St Matthew and St John Passions (concert and recording) with the Academy of Ancient Music and Richard Egarr; Beethoven Symphony No 9 and Haydn Scena di Berenice with the SCO; Mahler Symphonies 2 and 4 and Strauss Lieder with the Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra; No 4 with the LSO and Michael Tilson Thomas and the Philharmonia Orchestra and Vladimir Ashkenazy; Vaughan Williams Sea Symphony with the Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra and the BBC SSO and Kurtág Kafka Fragments for Soprano and Violin with the Hebrides Ensemble, as well as performances with Bachakademie Stuttgart and Hans-Christoph Rademan and with RIAS Kammerchor, Berlin and Ottavio Dantone and Handel L’Allegro, il Penseroso ed il Moderato with the Mark Morris Dance Group at Teatro Real, Madrid.

Operatic appearances have included Zerlina Don Giovanni and Marzelline Fidelio for the Royal Opera, Covent Garden; Susanna Le Nozze di Figaro for Santa Fe Opera and Welsh National Opera, for whom Elizabeth has also sung Pamina Die Zauberflöte and Fiordiligi Così fan tutte and for Glyndebourne on Tour, Almirena in Handel Rinaldo.

Elizabeth was made an honorary Doctor of Music by Sheffield University in 2013.

Booklet for Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Major