Gustav MAHLER
Symphony No.2 in C minor "The
Resurrection"
György KURTAG
Stele op 33 for large orchestra
Arnold SCHÖNBERG
Kol Nidre op 39* for speaker, choir and orchestra
James Johnson (Speaker)* Juliane Banse (Soprano)
Cornelia Kallisch (Alto) EuropaChorAkademie
SWR Radio-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiberg
Conducted by Michael Gielen
Hänssler Classic CD
93.001 [107.28]
I have not been ablke to make any sales links for this
disc
Michael Gielen's recordings of Mahler are notable for their clarity of execution
and eschewing of romantic baggage. In this he's an interpreter who sees Mahler
very much as a precursor of radical pioneers of twentieth century music who
so admired him rather than inheritor of the nineteenth century symphonic
tradition which these men ultimately rebelled against. A valid and valuable
view which, in the case of compositions like the Seventh and Ninth
symphonies where Mahler's forward-looking aspect is more clearly apparent,
presents us with results that provide a necessary strand of interpretation
if we are to come to terms with these particular works. However we are on
more controversial ground when this approach is applied to earlier works
like the Second Symphony. Here the long shadow of late Nineteenth century
Romanticism, both in the writing and philosophical well-spring, surely demands
greater personal involvement on the part of the conductor, a more expressive
style and even a dash of the virtuoso showman. The religious text affirming
faith in the Christian resurrection that forms the centrepiece of the work
especially calls for a theatrical style of some kind otherwise the alienation
of the listener from Mahler's central message cannot be ruled out. This is
more often than not the approach adopted by conductors from Bruno Walter
to Simon Rattle in varying degrees. Only Otto Klemperer delivers something
radically different and, in the end, I believe is even more rewarding. But
any lack of orthodox expressive style in Klemperer's interpretation (best
heard on either of his EMI versions) is made up for by a keen sense of drama
and an almost truculent insistence on wearing the "hair shirt" of the man
who asks questions of a work others are prepared to take at face value. Klemperer
was a deeply religious man for all his apparent scepticism. The fact he asked
questions of what is a fundamentally religious statement only seems to add
depth and power to his view of it because you somehow know that his doubts
hurt him deeply.
Michael Gielen plays the sceptic too but doesn't interrogate the music in
the way Klemperer does and so there's a loss in drama, involvement and that
rare aspect of music making to really pin down, empathy, to be encountered
and dealt with by anyone coming to this recording. Gielen is rather like
an investigator who has been asked to deliver a detailed report on a tragedy
after it has taken place, rather than be the conduit through which we see
the chain of events enacted before us. In fact a little like the Chorus in
Greek Tragedy who comes onstage to describe the slaughter that has taken
place behind the scenes for us to then use our own imaginations to fill out.
So there is a crucial element of alienation at work in this recording of
Mahler's Second, a feeling of taking a step or two back from the fray. Whether,
as with the Chorus in Greek Tragedy, this becomes a creative aspect that
throws light on the fundamentals of this symphony can only be decided on
by the listener.
In the first movement listen to the ascending strings at the start of the
first development (bars 117-128). Others invest this passage with aching
nostalgia whereas Gielen wants to stress cool detachment. Then in the second
movement, at bars 39-85, marked "Don't hurry", hear how Gielen stresses head
over heart once again in the cello's counter-melody which is precise and
unbending in opposition to most people's view including, so we gather from
contemporary accounts, Mahler's own. In the last movement I don't think I
have ever heard the early choral passages taken quite so flowing, or so forwardly
projected, as they are here: almost as if Gielen is ashamed of any sense
of poetry and mysticism Mahler may have intended. It's certainly different
from what we are used to, though I found it most arresting, which surprised
me. In the closing pages there's a sharpness of focus also, as is the case
right through. At every turn Gielen is low on spirituality, high on clarity.
I would rather possess this reading of the Mahler Second than not, but it's
one I don't think I will listen to all that often. The playing is distinguished
and suits the "hands-off" approach of its conductor and the recording has
a good sense of concert hall.
As if to drive home Gielen's modern agenda, he couples works by Arnold
Schönberg and György Kurtag, providing a twentieth century frame
to the Mahler and the way Gielen approaches it. I suspect this was a carefully
planned move and for that let us admire the forethought and enterprise of
those involved. Schönberg's "Kol Nidre" receives a stunning performance
which English speakers will especially value for the fact that the Narration
is delivered in a stark and clear English translation by the effective James
Johnson, and Kurtag must have been pleased with a performance of such apparent
fluency of his twelve-minute, luminously scored "Stele" for large orchestra.
For consistency of vision and for delivering his very modernist and individual
view of Maher's Second Gielen has to be congratulated, even though this may
not be most people's idea of how this work should be played. Ultimately it's
just too cool and detached to endear itself. But if you are looking for an
alternative to the more conventional conductor-involved ones, Gielen is your
man.
Reviewer
Tony Duggan
Performances:
Recording:
