Walter’s classic Mahler
recordings of 1945-47 are here enshrined
in Sony’s slimline double, part of an
ongoing and well-titled ‘Classic Recordings’
series. Of the virtues and occasional
limitations (in direction, in recording
balance and depth) I should think we
are by now well aware though a few words
wouldn’t go amiss. Since there was no
magnetic tape available the symphonies
were recorded onto 33 1/3 16-inch lacquers,
which allowed greater recording time
(but equally had to be interrupted to
fit onto 78 sides). The Fourth sounds
fine in its latest incarnation here
but the real difference is the Fifth.
Previous transfers have used tape copies
of the original lacquers but for this
reissue the producer Dennis D Rooney
has utilised those original discs. The
result has been to open out the somewhat
dim and boxed-in acoustic. As we have
seen from a recent reissue (from Cala)
of an almost contemporaneous Vaughan
Williams Sixth Symphony conducted by
Stokowski (also issued by Sony), going
back directly to the original lacquers
can have a dramatic effect on transparency,
clarity and depth and the original dynamics
are also better revealed. As Rooney
says some scratches on the lacquers
are unavoidably audible but I can’t
say they concerned me greatly. This
is a significant advance for admirers
of Walter’s Fifth.
His Fourth is an affectionate
and light reading, quite lithe and forward
moving, as his Mahler could so often
be, though never sounding harried and
breathless. Phrasing remains utterly
natural sounding and in soprano Desi
Halban he has a singer with a bit of
grit in her voice – though she’s certainly
not for those who crave liquid effulgence
in their Mahler singing. The Fifth is
again on the brisk side (with his famously
fast Adagietto) but Walter’s accents
are superbly weighted and the sense
of propulsive animation infectious –
even if we may crave greater relaxation.
The orchestral playing is first class,
brass and horns especially, and the
opening up of the sound perspective
a decisive advantage. Walter and Halban
join forces for the eight songs from
Lieder und Gesänge aus der Jugendzeit.
Here nothing can be done to salvage
the skewed balance which means that
Walter’s piano is semi audible at best;
it does nothing to aid a genuine sense
of communing music making though Halban
again proves a singer of convincing
musicality; the quality of the voice
is something else.
As that Stokowski issue
showed, aural restoration leaves one
with a dilemma. Hang onto your original
reissue or trade it in for a sonically
improved release? Then I strongly suggested
investing in the new release and I’ll
do so again if you value Walter’s Fifth
highly. Certainly it’s a significant
performance and a recording of high
historic and musical value.
Jonathan Woolf
New York Philharmonic Orchestra 