Music is an omen, at least for Gustav Mahler. Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Death of Children) was written three years before the death of his own child. He composed Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth), a symphony that ends in a farewell, to avoid the same fate that had led Schubert and Beethovento an early grave – alas, things turned out differently. Legendary lied pianist Hartmut Höll and rising star Yajie Zhangperform Mahler’s songs, whose prophecies came true.

Yajie Zhang, mezzosoprano
Hartmut Höll, piano