G. Mahler - Des Knaben Wunderhorn

Roger Vignoles writes in his booklet notes that �to enter the world of Mahler�s Wunderhorn songs is like opening a picture book. Each page gives us another character, another fairy tale, another episode, whether happy or tragic, in the tale of human existence � such is the consistency of its musical tone that Mahler achieves a remarkably intense evocation of human life in this collection, portrayed with empathy, humour and compassion�.Some of these celebrated songs are much more familiar in their orchestral versions and pose a great challenge to the pianist. However the piano�s capacity for quasi-orchestral sonorities and textures was an essential element in the evolution of the Lied as an art form, allowing as it did for a far wider range of symbolic reference than would have been possible with any other accompanying instrument, and Roger Vignoles achieves a great level of intimacy within this framework.