Gustav Mahler’s songs are performed often and cherished throughout the world. They are most frequently heard with orchestra, but the piano versions of the songs by Mahler himself bring to the listener an aural image different from the orchestra’s opulent sound. Here we are much closer to the music, with the smaller format allowing for greater musical intimacy in the communication of the texts. On Marianne Beate Kielland and Nils Anders Mortensen’s new album — their eighth on the LAWO Classics label — we are treated to three of Mahler’s most important song cycles: “Rückert-Lieder”, “Kindertotenlieder” and “Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen”.