Music Saint Croix offers Mahler's searing 'Song of the Earth'

Thursday-Saturday: "Das Lied von der Erde (The Song of the Earth)," a searing Late Romantic song-cycle for tenor and soprano, is judged by many to be Gustav Mahler's greatest achievement. A very rare opportunity to hear Arnold Schoenberg's arrangement for chamber ensemble of the orchestral original is offered by Music Saint Croix, with Dennis Petersen and Heather Johnson, both singers of international standing, sharing the solo duties. Schoenberg's redaction of "Das Lied" has a special intimacy, laying bare both the raw emotions permeating Mahler's music and its haunted beauty. (7 p.m. Thu. & Fri., Washington County Historic Courthouse, 101 W. Pine St., Stillwater; 7 p.m. Sat., Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Macalester College, St. Paul; $10-$16, 651-430-9198 or musicsaintcroix.com)