Das Lied von der Erde
Ferrier's association with Glyndebourne bore further fruit when Rudolf Bing, the festival's general manager, recommended her to Bruno Walter as the contralto soloist in a performance of Mahler's symphonic song cycle "Das Lied von der Erde". This was planned for the 1947 Edinburgh International Festival. Walter was initially wary of working with a relatively new singer, but after her audition his fears were allayed; "I recognised with delight that here potentially was one of the greatest singers of our time", he later wrote. "Das Lied von der Erde" was at that time largely unknown in Britain, and some critics found it unappealing; nevertheless, the "Edinburgh Evening News" thought it "simply superb". In a later biographical sketch of Ferrier, Lord Harewood described the partnership between Walter and her, which endured until the singer's final illness, as "a rare match of music, voice and temperament."