Mahler - Symphonie No. 4; Berg - Sieben frühe Lieder (2005)

De opname van Mahler 4 op deze CD zit ook in de Abbado/Mahler-box die vlak na het verscheiden van de maestro in 2014 verscheen. De Sieben frühe Lieder van Berg ontbreekt daarop echter. "Mahler's Fourth from 2005 is extraordinarily spiritually led by the old Master at the peak of his interpretative abilities. His fluent technique is even more refined, but Abbado now seems more relaxed and thus more expressive than before, allowing and even encouraging portamento and vibrato. And his endless love of music -- and of life -- has infused the performance with a tangible sense of transcendence. The Berlin Philharmonic responds to its former music director with obvious affection and consummate artistry. Some listeners might find that Renée Fleming is too ironically maternal for the child's view of heaven that closes the symphony, but no listener will complain that Fleming is anything less than incandescently erotic in Berg's Sieben frühe Lieder." (James Leonard, Allmusic; 5 uit 5 sterren)