Gustav MAHLER
Symphonies 1 - 9
Maria Oran (2), Jard van Nes
(2), Norma Proctor (3), Alexandra Coku (4), Ulla Gustafsson (8), Marianne
Haggander (8), Carolina Sandgren (8), Ulrika Tenstam (8), Anne Gjevang (8),
Seppo Ruohonen (8), Mats Persson (8), Johann Tilli (8).
Dutch Theatre Choir (2), Ambrosian Singers (3), Wandsworth School Boys Choir
(3), Estonian Boys Choir (8), Brunnsbo Children's Choir (8), Gothenberg Opera
Chorus (8), Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Choir (8).
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra (1), Residentie Orchestra of The Hague (2),
London Symphony Orchestra (3), Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra (4&6),
Leipzig Gewandhaus Orchestra (5,7&9), Gothenberg Symphony and Opera Orchestras
(8).
Conducted by Yuri Simonov (1), Hans Vonk (2), Jascha Horenstein (3), Hartmut
Haenchen (4&6), Vaclav Neumann (5&9), Kurt Masur (7), Neeme Jarvi
(8)
Brilliant Classics 99549
(11 Discs)
[11.07.24]
Crotchet
£24.99
This is one of the great bargains. All of Mahler's completed symphonies for
the same price you might pay for one of them at full price. How have Brilliant
Classics done it? Presumably by licensing recordings for reissue from various
smaller labels and driving a hard bargain. Are there any catches? I suspect
a zeal to keep the cover price as low as possible has meant some compromises
on quality, but it would be interesting to know what, if anything, was rejected
on grounds of cost because, with one exception, they've done well. This would
make a perfect addition to the collection of someone starting out as well
as provide experienced collectors with alternative versions they may have
overlooked. Smart friends with money to burn might cast aspersions, but if
this is all that can be afforded here is a set of Mahler symphonies that
will certainly last a long time even if it doesn't provide the very best
versions on the market. (Though even here there is an exception.) Of course
it's the case that recordings from many sources, dates, artists and engineers
means you don't get the kind of consistent approach you get from a set made
by one conductor and orchestra, but this is no bad thing. No one conductor
has ever been suited to all the Mahler symphonies consistently.
The first recording that caught my eye when looking down the list on the
back of the slipcase housing the individual boxes is one of the most famous
Mahler recordings ever made: the Unicorn version of the Third conducted by
Jascha Horenstein. Of all the recordings in this set this is the one I would
count an essential purchase for any collection and Brilliant Classics must
be congratulated for getting rights to it and giving it a new lease of life
when it's becoming harder to obtain in home livery. The playing of the London
Symphony Orchestra is remarkable for character, alertness and ability to
reflect every aspect of Horenstein's view, one that grasps all aspects of
the first movement and welds it into an expressive whole riveting attention.
Something sadly lacking in a large number recordings. The second movement
is the perfect Prelude to Part II and is distinguished again by the playing
of the LSO's woodwinds, one of the glories of this recording. Then in the
third movement there is a hazy, nostalgic feel, but when muscularity is called
for Horenstein is not found wanting. Clarity is the keynote in the fifth
movement where the boys are a joy - sharp and cheeky - and then in the last
movement Horenstein manages to bring out the drama and tension alongside
great beauty and a sense of contemplation. This is so good it doesn't really
need much reviewing in this context. This is how great Mahler conducting
sounds, believe me.
Two conductors are represented by two symphonies each: Hartmut Haenchen in
the Fourth and Sixth, and Vaclav Neumann in the Fifth and Ninth. Haenchen's
Mahler recordings with the Netherlands Philharmonic appear on a number of
European bargain labels and have their admirers. The Fourth benefits from
a big acoustic that allows lower woodwinds especially to tell. Haenchen's
view is lyrical and full of feeling with the strings especially memorable
adding distinctive slides that are very idiomatic. The first movement is
deceptively quick, but such is the attention to detail it never seems so.
The second movement is impish and shadowy at turns, which is a nice combination
that leads to a rich and warm slow movement superbly played and then followed
by Alexandra Coku as a pert and attractive soloist with excellent support
from Haenchen. This is a really enjoyable Fourth with much in it to admire.
In the Sixth Haenchen and the orchestra are recorded "live" which accounts
for some lapses in ensemble and, I'm sure, the "original ideas" the timpanist
has at the lead up to the first movement coda. The repeat is observed in
the first movement but I cannot escape the feeling that things are a touch
under-powered right through. Haenchen cannot seem to make up his mind whether
the mood should be trenchant or energetic in the March material and then
falls between them into a kind of emotional limbo. The playing, though good,
is not outstanding and this carries over to the Scherzo which is placed second.
Here again Haenchen doesn't seem to have made up his mind about how the music
should go and rather misses the target - energy is dissipated, feelings of
the world out of joint, Mahler whipped and driven, all missing. To bring
off a Mahler Symphony the conductor must have a view clear in his mind and
I don't think Haenchen does in the Sixth. In the last movement the problems
of "live" performance and Haenchen's basic inability to penetrate fully the
terrible message being conveyed confirms this as a sound but ultimately routine
account of a work that, under the greatest interpreters, leaves you changed.
Haenchen is better suited to the Fourth. Perhaps he's a Wunderhorn man at
heart. He does include the discarded "Blumine" movement from the original
First symphony as coupling to the disc containing the Fourth.
Vaclav Neumann's recordings of the Fifth and Ninth with the Leipzig Gewandhaus
Orchestra originate from the 1960s and the old East German state recording
company Eterna. The Fifth has also appeared on four other labels and is somewhat
inferior to the Ninth coming as it does from early in Neumann's relationship
with this orchestra. His view of the first movement is stiff and unyielding.
This adds a touch of excitement to the frantic central section but this is
not enough to stop me feeling a bit cheated overall. Where is the sense of
loss, Mahler's unique grieving on the grand scale? Neumann's failure to really
bury himself in the music of the second movement also means what we hear
is mostly sound and fury signifying not very much. Things improve a little
in the Scherzo. This is unsophisictated in the right sense with a homespun
quality that has its advantages. As too does the clear-headed approach to
the Adagietto fourth movement with sleek lines and emphasis on phrasing.
The last movement doesn't contrast enough with the first, however. Indeed
it almost feels as if it's out of the same mould, which is not how things
should be at all. Also the general recording quality doesn't allow the music
to fill space as it should being rather top heavy. Moving on to Neumann's
recording of the Ninth Symphony from a year or so later there is no doubt
this is more successful. The first movement is set out at a good Andante
comodo and sustained at that which allows Neumann to steer an almost ideal
course between nostalgic repose and penetrating drama. The fine recording
balance, with rich but clear bass lines, also means we hear how good this
great orchestra is in every department. Neumann knows when to press forward
and rein back and deliver the nodal climaxes with vision and scope, never
losing sight of the bigger picture. In the second movement there is bitterness
contrasted against basic gayety which makes for a very Mahlerian mix and
this is carried over to the third movement Rondo Burleske presented at a
well-judged tempo allowing all the notes to be heard clearly. The lower strings
are allowed to be heard accentuating the fugue element if this movement also.
Something we know Mahler used deliberately to "get his own back" on detractors,
real or imagined. At 22.32 this is not one of the slowest last movements
on record but it has such sense of proportion and is so well tailored into
the rest it emerges as totally natural. The strings deliver some searing
emotion and the rest of the orchestra responds to the passages where the
scoring is pared down, soloists especially fine. Only in the closing pages
does Neumann's touch seem wanting in that he appears determined to keep his
sharpness of focus to the end. In this he is similar to Bruno Walter in his
1938 "live" Vienna recording which, like Neumann, brings in a performance
that fits on to one disc.
The Leipzig Gewandhaus appears for a third time in this box, in the Seventh
Symphony where they are conducted by Neumann's successor Kurt Masur. He is
not generally noted as a Mahlerian because what Mahler we have had from him
(the First and Ninth Symphonies from New York) sounds too patrician, even
Olympian, for general approval. That is the case here but this is still a
worthy part of the set. It's a very clear nightscape indeed that Masur provides
us with in Mahler's great "night into day" journey: more towards the Arctic
Circle than the Equator, I think. In the first movement he is very good on
the inner tempo relationships and also the clarity he brings to the instrumental
canvas, showing some superb playing which is aided by an excellent recording.
The second subject "Schwung" passage is held back rather and the "Brisk"
marking at 487-522 is very brisk indeed. The distinguished playing carries
on in the first Nachtmusik and Scherzo but the clarity, welcome in the first
movement, robs the second movement of some mystery and the Scherzo of some
novelty. All of this is a pity when more can be made of this music without
impeding the argument. A warmer Nachtmusik leads into an account of the Finale
that is fleet and neo-classical in feel. I also felt Masur was anxious to
stress this as a Rondo that benefits from a lighter touch and a feeling for
structure. It works out well even though, as in the rest, something more
challenging and unbuttoned brings greater dividends still. For all that,
in what is Mahler's most problematic work the box contains a fine version
that deserves attention.
There are fewer recordings of the Eighth Symphony to choose from for a set
like this so I imagine that must have presented a problem for Brilliant Classics.
In the end they have gone to one of the major labels and secured the single
disc recording of a "live" performance from Gothenburg conducted by Neeme
Jarvi that originally came out on the Bis label in digital sound. Though
"live" you would hardly know it until the very end and even then the audience
waits a few seconds before they start to applaud. I'm not sure if this is
such a good thing because I believe an element of the "live" experience adds
something to Mahler's two great choral symphonies. There is the requisite
"impetuoso" at the start of Part I but not much of the reining back further
in which gives the first clue to what we are in for. This is a very fleet
and athletic account that therefore lacks somewhat the kind of "critical
mass" to be found in other versions. But there's no doubt the energy and
drive is persuasive and doesn't tip over into harshness, as it sometimes
can when the conductor hits the accelerator. The fugue following "Accende
lumen sensibus" is well drilled and exciting but I would have liked more
sense of ebb and flow. This work must be a nightmare to balance for the engineers
and they do well with the soloists especially well placed in a general picture.
They are a good team too with no one outstanding but no one letting down
the side either. In Part II the orchestral prelude is notable for its clarity
so there is some sacrifice of the extraordinary atmosphere Mahler brings.
Not surprisingly following what has gone the "scherzo" sections are the ones
that come off best. This is a Part II for the brightest part of the day and
there is something refreshing in that. A fine performance well played, sung
and recorded. Not top drawer, but satisfying and enjoyable even though I
cannot say I was especially moved by it, as I think I should be. An example
of this latter feeling is the account of the final hymn that moves too quickly.
There are far more versions out there to choose from in the case of the other
great choral symphony, the Second. Which is why I find myself wondering why
choice for this box fell upon one by the Residentie Orchestra of The Hague
conducted by Hans Vonk. Was it a question of cost? Had too much been spent
on acquiring an Eighth that Vonk's was all that could be afforded without
driving up the set's cover price? Whatever, it's a pity it has to be the
Second that is the weakest recording in the box when this work is one of
Mahler most stunning experiences. The first movement receives an unimaginative
performance. It's stiff and crucially held back by the rather correct playing
of an orchestra that don't sound as if they know the music and have had to
learn it especially, and by a conductor who seems semi-detached by missing
so many points of detail. So this is only adequate when compared it with
other versions, some which compete in price. The sound recording doesn't
help either, being rather blunted and lacking in body and impact. Things
do improve a little in the second movement. There is more feeling and some
mellow charm but this hardly compensates especially as the third movement
shows the same shortcomings as the first with no real impression of the orchestra
digging into the peculiarities of this music. The last movement does save
the performance from descending into boredom. Vonk keeps the music moving
along well and the thread running through it is clear. But again there's
so much more that could be made of this. The great central march is managed
well with a steady hand and some welcome new determination from the orchestra
that, at last, seems to have lifted itself. So all is not quite in vein and
the conclusion of the work brings a certain sense of satisfaction. This
performance is the weak link in the box but it's not quite a fatal one. It's
from a "live" performance but this doesn't really help or hinder in any way.
I wouldn't want to end my review on a negative note so it's good to report
that the First Symphony gets a very lively and enjoyable performance by the
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra conducted by Yuri Simonov. This first appeared
on the Tring label as one of the "Royal Philharmonic Collection" and is the
most recent recording in this box. It's a reading of great contrast and maximum
conductor involvement. The horns whoop magnificently in the first movement's
climaxes but Simonov is also able to bring out the deep and expressive world
of feeling that emerges in the opening bars. He broods superbly when he has
to and then whips his players into tremendous frenzy when the score calls
for that. The second movement goes along at a great swing and then the third
arrives, all dreamy and evocative of a lost world of feeling. Predictably
the last movement is the most exiting with some rhetorical touches that might
raise a few eyebrows. But Simonov knows when to bring back the world of the
work's opening before rounding the whole thing off with overwhelming brass
and percussion, all stops pulled out. The 20 bit digital sound is as lively
as the performance and brings an experience that would have brought the house
down in the concert hall. At home it might be a bit too high octane, not
a reading that ultimately goes very deep, but I enjoyed it and I think you
will too.
This box is an unbeatable bargain that brings you all the completed Mahler
symphonies in performances that are never less than good and, on a couple
of instances, are among the best on the market.
Reviewer
Tony Duggan
Overall rating: 
