Hong Kong Philharmonic / MAHLER, Symphony No. 3 (2016)

“If one was in any doubt as to the philosophical nature of the symphony, the fourth movement makes it abundantly clear, with its setting for alto (sung here by the mezzo soprano Kelley O’Connor) of the “Midnight Song” from Nietzsche’s Also Sprach Zarathustra. Its most moving lines, Weh spricht: Vergeh! Doch all’ Lust will Ewigkeit (Pain says: Pass away! Desire longs for eternity) lead the listener into the fifth movement (which Mahler originally called What the Angels Tell Me). O’Connor delivered a powerfully focused message of what Man needs to heed.”