Prior to this 1981 Deutsche Grammophon recording by
Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau and
Julia Varady with Lorin Maazel leading the
Berliner Philharmoniker, there had been only one other recording of Alexander von Zemlinsky's Lyric Symphony, a profoundly mediocre performance by
Siegmund Nimsgern and
Dorothy Dorow with
Gabriele Ferro conducting the
BBC Symphony. More than a dozen recordings of the work followed in a revival of interest in the heretofore neglected Austrian fin de siècle composer, including this 2009 reissue of the original Deutsche Grammophon version on Brilliant Classics. Fans of the composer and the work will be happy to see its return to the catalog. The husband and wife team of
Fischer-Dieskau and
Varady turn in passionately expressive performances befitting the work's erotic text and music, and even if
Varady is a bit harsh in her upper register and
Fischer-Dieskau is perhaps old for the part, they bring both artistic and personal insight to the music; who could better understand the vicissitudes of love described in the Lyric Symphony than a married couple? Maazel and the Berlin orchestra give them the kind of opulent accompaniment the work's sumptuous orchestral writing demands. DG's early digital sound is a tad disembodied, but very clear and present.