Russian-born conductor Semyon Bychkov leads the Sinfonieorchester Köln in a performance of Gustav Mahler’s Das Lied von der Erde (‘The Song of the Earth’, 1908). Mezzo-soprano Waltraud Meier and tenor Torsten Kerl star as the soloists in this performance, recorded at the Kölner Philharmonie, Germany, 2001. Das Lied von der Erde is an orchestral song cycle for two voices and a large orchestra. The six movements alternate between the two soloists. The movements are settings of ancient Chinese poetry from Die chinesische Flöte (‘The Chinese flute’), paraphrased by Hans Bethge (1876-1946). Mahler was enthralled by the vision of earthly beauty and transience expressed in these poems.