Michael Gielen’s Mahler
cycle for Hänssler has been
emerging gradually but this is the first
of them that I’ve heard. Having listened
to this CD I have two regrets. One is
that I haven’t encountered Gielen’s clear-eyed,
objective Mahler before on disc. The second
is that, like several other distinguished
Mahler conductors, including Abbado, Bernstein,
Haitink and Tennstedt he has elected not
to include Deryck Cooke’s performing edition
of the score that Mahler left on his death.
I’m sure he would have given us an interesting,
if provocative account of Cooke’s realization
of Mahler’s sketch.
For a full and highly
informed discussion of the genesis of
Cooke’s performing version and a review
of most of the available recordings I
refer readers to Tony Duggan’s monograph
on the Tenth Symphony in his survey of
each Mahler symphony. I fully agree with
him that Simon Rattle sweeps the board
in this work (and, as Tony states, Rattle’s
1980 performance with the Bournemouth
Symphony is by no means put in the shade
by his 1999 re-make with the Berlin Philharmonic).
It’s instructive to note that Rattle took
23’54 for the adagio first movement in
1980 and by 1999 (in a live account) this
had stretched to 25’11". Gielen’s
much less expansive reading is "lean
beef" Mahler by comparison. The clue
lies in his pacing of the adagio elements
in the movement where Rattle is daringly
(and thrillingly) spacious. The movement
opens with a long theme played in unison
by the viola section without accompaniment.
It’s a spare, searching theme, pregnant
with possibilities. In Rattle’s 1999 performance
it is 1’23" before we reach the point
where any other instruments enter. Gielen
reaches the same point in 1’05",
a modest difference, perhaps, but an indicative
one, I think.
I think the clue to Gielen’s
approach can be found in a short comment
of his that’s included in the notes. He
notes that Mahler integrates into this
movement two distinct elements, those
of adagio and andante. Gielen
views the andante as a danse macabre,
a kind of scherzo, and that’s how he plays
those (substantial) sections of the movement.
So, when one takes account not only of
a brisker approach than Rattle to the
slower music but also his danse macabre
view of the brisker music (which Rattle
also does superbly, with great pungency
and irony) it’s not to be wondered at
that Gielen’s overall performance is comparatively
swift. Interestingly, he’s not alone in
this approach. In May 1966 Jean Martinon
gave a performance of the full Cooke score
with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (the
score’s Chicago première) and he
too is brisk in this opening movement,
dispatching it in just 20’55". That
performance is included in the CSO’s illuminating
"First 100 Years" set of CDs.
The word I think I’d
use to describe Gielen’s performance of
this Mahler movement is "bracing".
I still think that Rattle digs far deeper
under the surface and finds rather more
in the music as a result. However, Gielen’s
reading is objective, disciplined and,
in its own terms, well conceived. As I
indicated earlier, I do wish he had recorded
the full Cooke version (the documentation
contains no clue as to why he opted to
avoid Cooke). I suspect that had he done
so my allegiance to Rattle would have
remained unshaken but Gielen’s is a provocative
and valid alternative slant. Like Boulez,
you may not warm to what he does with
the music but you cannot but respect the
artistic integrity.
Gielen’s Mahler cycle
has been notable for the interesting "fillers"
included on his CDs. The choice of repertoire
has been challenging and has, I suspect,
said a lot about Gielen’s view of Mahler
as the pivotal figure between nineteenth
and twentieth century music. On this CD
we hear two pieces by Webern that complement
the late Mahler work in a very apposite
way. The idyll for orchestra, Im Sommerwind
was composed in 1904 but was then withdrawn
by the composer and it was not until 1962
that it was first performed, under Eugene
Ormandy. Coincidentally, Ormandy’s première
recording of the piece, made just a few
months later, has just resurfaced in the
volume of EMI’s Great Conductors of the
Twentieth Century series devoted to Ormandy
(so far as I know these two recordings
are the only ones currently available).
Gielen gives a splendid account of the
work. Though relatively short in duration
it is a large piece, scored for a substantial
orchestra and it inhabits the same tonal
world as the early orchestral works of
Schoenberg, with whom Webern was shortly
to study. It has a febrile, intense, hothouse
atmosphere and a successful performance
needs to capture that atmosphere whilst
retaining clarity of texture. Gielen is
superbly well equipped to achieve this
and he does. His view of the piece is
rather leaner and sparer than the more
opulent performance of Ormandy. Ormandy’s
pioneering account still has much to commend
it but I think Gielen’s recording just
has the edge.
Four years later, at
the conclusion of his studies with Schoenberg,
Webern penned the work he was content
to acknowledge as his Op. 1, the Passacaglia.
This, I must confess, is a work to which
I don’t find it easy to warm. However,
Gielen secures a performance that is lucid,
powerful and clear. His clever juxtaposition
of these two works shows how far Webern
had travelled in the space of four years.
He gets an excellent performance from
the orchestra and between them they give
an especially impressive account of the
eerie, nocturnal closing pages of this
score.
To complete the programme,
Cornelia Kallisch gives a fine and sensitive
account of Kindertotenlieder. She
may not exhibit quite the same degree
of emotional involvement that the likes
of Baker, Ferrier or Ludwig bring to these
songs but she is an expressive soloist.
She sings with full tone and clear diction
and benefits from idiomatic, sharply observed
accompaniment by Gielen and his orchestra.
A fine reading of the fifth song, ‘In
diesem Wetter’ where the opening minutes
are sharply projected by singer and players
alike crowns the performance. The poignant
last few pages of this song are touchingly
done. Unfortunately neither the texts
nor translations are provided, a most
regrettable omission, especially in a
full price release.
In summary, this is a
fine and stimulating CD. The music has
been thoroughly prepared and is well played
and thoughtfully executed. I couldn’t
claim either of the Mahler items would
be a clear first choice but the performances
have a serious claim on the attentions
of all devotees of this endlessly fascinating
composer and the Webern performances are
first rate.
John Quinn
See Tony Duggans
comparative
review of recordings of Mahler 10
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CDTnº1 - G. MAHLER
Kindertotenlieder
Nun
will die Sonn' so hell aufgeh'n
Nun
seh' ich wohl, warum so dunkle Flammen
Wenn
dein Mutterlein
Oft
denk' ich, sie sind nur ausgegangen
In
diesem Wetter
Symphony No. 10
Adagio
CDTnº7 - A. WEBERN
Passacaglia
Op.1
CDTnº8 - A. WEBERN
Im
Sommerwind
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