SEEN AND HEARD INTERNATIONAL

Mahler and Beethoven: Matthias Goerne (baritone), Lisa Milne (soprano), Karen Cargill (mezzo soprano), Peter Auty (tenor). Peter Rose (bass), London Philharmonic Choir (artistic director: Neville Creed), London Philharmonic Orchestra, Neeme Järvi, Royal Festival Hall, London, 4.2.2009 (BBr)

Mahler: Kindertotenlieder (1901/1904)
Beethoven (arranged Mahler) : Symphony No.9 in D minor, Choral, op.125 (1822/1824) (London première of Mahler’s Retuschen version) (performing version compiled from Mahler’s orchestrations of 1895 and 1900 by Dr David Pickett)


Despite the subject matter, Mahler’s Kindertotenlieder (Songs on the Deaths of Children) is neither a depressing nor a morbid work. True, there’s not much variety in the music, most of it being slow in tempo – even the final storm is quite restrained – but there is much for a performer to work with, and a singer of intelligence can make this cycle a very moving experience.

The first problem to overcome is the question of is this a man’s cycle or a woman’s? With a voice like Goerne’s the richness of his lower register adds a darker dimension to the piece and, heard from the father’s viewpoint, so to speak, there seems to me to be an added poignancy to the music, a resignation which I find lacking when it is sung by a woman. This is not to say that the tragedy of the deaths isn’t felt as strongly by a female, but the richness of a, say, Janet Baker, seems somehow wrong within the context of the piece. Goerne gave a fine performance tonight ranging from the straight forward narrative of Nun will die Sonn’ so hell aufgeh’n (Now the sun will rise as bright, as if no misfortune happened in the night) to a beautifully considered Wenn die Mütterlein tritt zur Tür herein (When mummy comes in the door) where the feeling of naïve expectation was fully realised and Oft denk’ ich, sie sind nur au8sgeganged! (I often think they have only gone out!) to the resigned reverie, musing, in a private moment, that the children will soon return from their walk in the sunshine. The final In diesem Wetter, in diesem Braus (In this weather in this bluster) is, of course, a storm in the heart, not a real storm – I’d never have sent the children out! They were dragged out, I was allowed no say in it! – with a real sense of nihilistic desperation. The final prayer allows us a little hope – They are resting as if at home with Mother – and the ending is as stark as anything heard before.

Goerne and Järvi gave a well thought out performance of this difficult work; it was marvelously understated and they both understood that the best approach was to let the music speak for itself allowing the drama to unfold on its own terms without overt interpretation. The playing from a reduced London Philharmonic was a model of restraint.

After the interval came a real shock to the system! Sitting on the stage – for a performance of Beethoven’s 9^th Symphony(!) – was an orchestra consisting of quintuple woodwind, eight horns, four trumpets, three trombones and tuba, two sets of timpani, three percussionists and a very large string body! For this was no ordinary Beethoven 9, this was Gustav Mahler’s version of Beethoven 9.

Things started well with Järvi setting a perfect tempo for the first movement and bit by bit more players were added to the texture. There were moments which were simply grotesque – at one point bass trombone and tuba, very loudly, doubled the bass line for no good reason other than they were there and just had to be used. Elsewhere there was a woodwind phrase which, when played by 15 players, instead of the usual six, sounded strangely out of tune. However, as Mahler had tinkered with the music – adding extra accompanying phrases – who knows what was of Mahler’s making and what was the original. By the time we reached the recapitulation the sound was deafening and, just to ensure that no one was left out, the second set of timpani joined in to ac–cent–tchu–ate the positive effect of the dotted rhythm of the main theme, with the winds holding their instruments up, pointing outwards at the audience, in true Mahlerian style. If you love the original, as I do, and as the composer must have done, then this was enough to make Beethoven turn in his grave.

The scherzo was furious and by now I’d had enough; it was too overblown (no pun intended) and I lost interest. The slow movement seemed to have little done to it but the finale, was a real orchestral free-for–all! I can understand why Mahler made this arrangement ( I think)  and I am sure that he made it with the very best of intentions – to take advantage of the better orchestral techniques available at the time, and to fill the large concert halls – but unlike the Stokowski orchestrations of Bach and others, which are quite fun and very enjoyable, this really was, musically, unpalatable. The ending was grossly over the top in dynamic and brought the house down!

The performance was very fine indeed, the solo quartet did their little bit satisfactorily and the London Philharmonic Chorus was excellent, despite some odd accompanying flute sounds when the sopranos were in their highest range. Järvi directed with a straight face and treated it all with reverence, as one should do with this work, making it a Beethoven 9 to remember – but perhaps for all the wrong reasons.

Bob Briggs


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