Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Symphony No 9 in D major (1909/10)
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks/Sir Simon Rattle
rec. live, 26-27 November 2021, Isarphilharmonie im Gasteig HP8, Sendling, Munich
BR KLASSIK 900205 [79]
Following the death of the Latvian conductor Mariss Jansons in 2019, the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunk chose Sir Simon Rattle as its next chief conductor with the appointment effective from the 2023-24 season, so Rattle recorded this new account of Mahler’s Ninth Symphony live at the Isarphilharmonie in Munich as chief conductor-in-waiting.
The spectre of death loomed large over Mahler. He had suffered the loss of eight siblings and in July 1907 his elder daughter, Maria Anna, known as Putzi, died at only five years old from scarlet fever and diphtheria. Only a few days after her death, a Vienna specialist diagnosed Mahler with a serious heart condition, and following a vicious campaign against him, Mahler resigned as director of the Vienna Court Opera. Another significant factor was that his marriage to the much younger Alma Schindler had become troubled.
The cumulative impact of such traumatic events undoubtedly resulted in an emotional and creative crisis and significantly influenced Mahler’s compositional approach. Beginning sketches in 1908, Mahler began serious work on his Ninth in the summer of 1909 while holidaying in the South Tyrol at Toblach. The Ninth completed, he also left a Tenth Symphony unfinished when he died in Vienna in May 1911, aged 50 and did not live to hear a note of his Ninth; Bruno Walter conducted the posthumous première with the Vienna Philharmonic in June 1912 at Vienna.
The Ninth Symphony divides opinion. Some commentators regard the score as Mahler’s personal requiem, a swansong to the world steeped in introspection. Nevertheless, he never divulged any particular programme to it. Personally, I find the Ninth to be an intriguing, greatly rewarding score, the fruits of Mahler assessing the opposing poles of human existence while stoically confronting his own ineluctable mortality. Rattle and the BRSO have worked together several times previously and appear to be very much on the same page in this remarkable score. This music is much more than gallons of emotional excess. Ideally, I require broadly diverse feelings, from mollifying tones and colours to contrasting pent-up energy and hostile intent; Rattle does that here, assuredly providing well-judged tempi and dynamics, and a compelling perspective on Mahler’s orchestral writing. With playing of high calibre, the BRSO achieves high levels of dramatic intensity and passages of unerring beauty. A performance of such resolve and dignity bodes well for a fruitful partnership between Rattle and his Bavarian orchestra.
Alban Berg said that the first movement Andante comodo was ‘the most wonderful music Mahler ever wrote’. Permeated with an aching longing and a sense of bewilderment, the music seems to emanate from Maher’s analysis of his own existence. In a movement taking over twenty-seven minutes here, Rattle astutely guides his players through Mahler’s markedly challenging writing of dynamic extremes, striking shifts of rhythm and tempi, and varying expressive weight. The BRSO excels in communicating this whirlpool of emotions, with strikingly expressive responses of mood ranging from intense pain and nervous anxiety to the glorious state of tender, dream-like reflection.
In the second movement Scherzo marked Im Tempo eines gemächlichen Ländlers Mahler focuses largely on traditional Austro-German dance rhythms of fast waltzes and slow Ländler,
applying various tempi and an intensifying parody. Rattle is adept here and
resolutely holds my interest as Mahler’s trivialises the unrelenting, rustic dance rhythms that grow progressively crude as they distort, becoming feverish and, at times, astringently unnerving.
At just over twelve minutes the Rondo-burleske is the shortest of the four movements and has a distinctly tongue-in-cheek, mocking quality. The trivial, often banal, melodies are expertly realised by Rattle; in music which is chilling and grotesque, only the short, dream-like passages impart a degree of consolation. Responding assuredly to Rattle’s direction, the orchestra provides a level of vitality and strength that demands attention, especially in the final Presto passage which unfolds full of tension and wrath.
The Finale of this outstanding symphony is often understood to be Mahler’s stoic acknowledgement of his impending death. Marked Adagio, the movement alternates a pair of contrasting themes, both of which are repeatedly subject to ongoing variations and development. Lyrical and chorale-like, the captivating main theme becomes progressively rich and ampler, while conversely, the second theme is a single melody is a chilly and forlorn single melody. Recognising Mahler’s indomitable spirit, Rattle ensures captivating playing, especially from the strings; at the conclusion, the sound ebbs away with a divine tranquillity.
In first-class sound, this recording was made from live concerts given in November 2021 at Isarphilharmonie, the newly built, temporary concert hall in Munich. There is virtually no extraneous audience noise, and no applause has been left in. In the booklet there are two readable and helpful essays This is about the whole world from Maximilian Maier and a reuse of The song of farewell by Jörg Handstein.
Not surprisingly Mahler Nine has attracted a substantial number of recordings. Of those I know there are six that I find especially praiseworthy, and I wouldn’t wish to be without. Of these, three recordings are by the BRSO, two from the Berlin Philharmonic and one by the Vienna Philharmonic. Of the recordings from the pre-digital era the one I have found the most gratifying is Sir John Barbirolli conducting the Berlin Philharmonic in 1964, now remastered on EMI Classics. A recording which has grown on me is from the BRSO under Rafael Kubelik on the Audite label. Leonard Bernstein selected the Ninth to conduct for the first and only time a pair of concerts with the BPO in the Philharmonie as part of the Berlin Festival during the Cold War in 1979 and was granted more than the usual number of rehearsals. Bernstein’s Mahler interpretations are not always to my taste, but here I make an exception: the feeling of a special occasion is palpable. The RIAS tape of the live Bernstein concert was acquired by Deutsche Grammophon, remastered and issued on the label’s The Originals series. There is also the compelling and deeply perceptive 2012 live account conducted by Bernard Haitink with the BRSO in the Herkulessaal, Munich on BR-Klassik. Another memorable live recording is from Mariss Janson drawing stunning playing of considerable intensity from the BRSO in 2016 in the Philharmonie, Munich on BR-Klassik.
Simon Rattle’s first release of the Ninth was a radio broadcast recording from 1993 by Austrian Radio with the Vienna Philharmonic in the Musikverein and issued in 1998 on EMI. Far more appealing is Rattle’s 2007 strikingly played live recording from the Philharmonie with the Berlin Philharmonic on EMI Classics.
This outstanding new account of the Ninth stands shoulder to shoulder with the finest, as an expression of Rattle and the BRSO’s shared values and their devotion to Mahler’s music.
Michael Cookson
