SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Other Links

Editorial Board

Google Site Search

Wagner, Mahler: Alice Coote (mezzo soprano), Paul Nilon (tenor), Members Of The London Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Mark Elder, Wigmore Hall, London, 9.1.2009 (BBr)

Richard Wagner: Siegfried Idyll (1869)
Gustav Mahler: Das Lied von der Erde (1908/1909) – arranged for small ensemble by
Arnold Schönberg (1920 – unfinished) and completed by Rainer Rhein (1983)


Schönberg’s Society for Private Musical Performances was founded in Vienna in 1918 to give carefully rehearsed performances of contemporary works to a genuinely interested public. Between 1919 and 1921 the Society gave 353 performances of 154 works in 117 concerts. A special sign was shown on the door: Kritikern ist der Eintritt verboten (Critics are forbidden entry), so perhaps I shouldn’t really be writing this piece.

Not only were original works performed by the Society but Schönberg and his circle also arranged orchestral works for the forces it had available; thus Erwin Stein arranged Mahler’s 4th Symphony, Schönberg the Lieder eines Fahrenden Gesellen, Stein, Hanns Eisler and Karl Rankl made a version for nonet (!) of Bruckner’s 7th Symphony and Schönberg started this version of Das Lied von der Erde, which Rhein completed 63 years later. Listening to Mahler’s sometimes nihilistic view of the world in this chamber version is like listening to Beethoven Symphonies in Liszt’s versions for solo piano – with the music pared down to its barest essentials only the most important material is allowed to remain which can help us follow the musical argument more easily.

It was a treat to be able to hear this version in concert and it was good to see a sold out Wigmore Hall for the occasion, but the full house was more for the appearance of Alice Coote than anything  that Schönberg and Rhein achieved.

Ms Coote has come a long way in a very short time, and, to some extent, her fame is well justified even though, sadly, tonight she didn’t always appear at her best. Although the possessor of a rich, fruity and vibrant mezzo voice – which she used to good effect most of the time – she seemed, on occasion, intent to spoil the vocal line by raising her voice and producing a less than beautiful sound, by almost shouting the music at us. But neither MS Coote or Paul Nilon – whose small contribution was most welcome – were helped by an accompaniment which was badly balanced and rather unsympathetically played. To take just two examples of this: in the development section of the first movement – this is a Symphony, remember – the solo cor anglais and trumpet were simply far too loud for both the surrounding orchestral sheen and Mahler’s scheme of things – where was the mystery? where was the expectation of Dunkel is das Leben, ist der Tod (dark is life, dark is death) as the howls in the night and the ghostly figures disturb our equilibrium? The second movement began well with the sinuous violin line but the oboe theme was far too loud, heavy and far too unsubtle.

Strangely, in the fourth movement the frenzied middle section seemed out of place, the idyll of Junge Mädchen pflücken Blumen (Young girls pick flowers) had no relation to O sieh, was tummeln sich für schöne Knaben (O see the handsome young men galloping (on their lively horses)) and one never felt:

In dem Funkeln ihrer großen Augen,
In dem Dunkel ihres heißen Blicks
Schwingt klagend noch die Erregung ihres Herzens nach.

(In the flash of her large eyes,
in the darkness of her ardent glance,
the agitation of her heart leaps after him, lamenting.)

Ultimately, although there were some good things in this performance – the swagger of Das Trinklied vom Jammer der Erde and the intensity of Der Abschied, especially the funeral march, I was left with a feeling of dissatisfaction at a performance which failed to deliver the necessary Weltschmerz and the crucial hope of the final prayer of Ewig, dying into infinity.

Das Lied… was prefaced by an unconducted performance of the original, chamber, version of Wagner’s Siegfried Idyll. Immediately, the problems of balance which beset the Mahler were obvious. The small wind group used in both works proved too much for the string quartet with bass; the wind could, and should, have played much more quietly and the poor strings couldn’t make any more sound than they did. Nowhere in the performance was a true pianissimo achieved.

The Wigmore Hall has long been my favourite hall in London, and I love my visits to it, but it simply wasn’t the right place for this show. A larger stage was necessary, to allow the players to not be crowded together for this might have helped the balance. However, I did feel that Sir Mark’s direction wasn’t all that it should have been – he needed to display a firmer hand, and more sensitive ear, to the proceedings.

Bob Briggs


^{Back to Top                                                    Cumulative Index Page}