This
famous recording of the Fifth Symphony was the first made of
the work, though Bruno Walter had previously recorded the Adagietto
live in concert with the Vienna Philharmonic for HMV in 1938
(Dutton CDBP 9722).
In
his indispensable synoptic survey of the Mahler symphonies my
colleague, Tony Duggan comments “tempos are quick throughout
and, though this probably reflects Walter's more astringent
approach at that time in his life, you cannot escape the impression
that another determinant was the need to fit the recording onto
78rpm sides.” (www.musicweb-international.com/Mahler/Mahler5.htm)
This may be a correct assumption. Walter’s other early Mahler
recordings (the Ninth Symphony, Das Lied von der Erde)
are also on the swift side, perhaps for the self-same reason.
However, I have a suspicion that the tendency towards swiftness
may well have to do at least as much, if not more, with Walter’s
view of Mahler’s music at the time. It’s interesting to note
that in the aforementioned 1938 recording of the Adagietto
the movement plays for 8’00” but in 1947 Walter was slightly
quicker, clocking in at 7’38”.
What
is beyond dispute is that Walter’s recording is one of the swiftest
ever made of this symphony and it’s by some distance the fastest
that I know. It may be interesting for readers to see a comparison
of the timings of some of the versions in my own collection:
Conductor Movt.
1 2 3 4
5 Total
Walter (1947) 11’47”
12’32” 15’03” 7’38” 15’42” 60’51”
Rattle (2002) 13’03”
14’23” 16’55” 9’32” 14’52” 69’08”
Barshai (1997) 11’53”
14’26” 18’29” 8’17” 16’18” 69’33”
Stenz (2002) 13’34”
15’56” 17’42” 9’52” 14’37” 71’52”
Tennstedt (1988) 13’38”
15’25” 18’06” 11’21” 14’52” 73’24”
Barbirolli (1969) 13’48”
15’14” 18’04” 9’52” 17’27” 74’29”
Bernstein (1987) 14’32”
14’59” 19’02” 11’13” 15’00 75’00”
I’ve
not gone into detail about these timings to suggest that they
show us a right way or a wrong way to play this symphony but
simply to illustrate the wide variety of approaches. And note,
for example, that the conductors who take the longest overall
aren’t necessarily the ones who take longest in every movement
(Barbirolli in the fourth movement, for instance, or Bernstein
in the finale.) There are points of interpretation in each one
with which I may mildly disagree but each of these seven performances
is of immense stature to which I return frequently when listening
for pleasure. Yet there’s 14 minutes difference between the
slowest overall (Bernstein) and Walter. Does that disqualify
Walter? I don’t think so. Rather, his version shows the symphony
in a different and refreshing light.
I’ve
had a copy of this recording in my collection for several years
and I’m bound to say that for the most part I don’t feel that
the music is unduly pressed (though the New York players undoubtedly feel the pressure
at times!) This is as good a time as any to comment on the new
Naxos transfer. My existing copy is a 1994
transfer by Sony Classical in their Bruno Walter Edition (actually
the same one, SMK 64451, cited by Tony Duggan). That transfer
is quite acceptable. However, I prefer the new transfer for
Naxos by Mark Obert-Thorn. I’ve played it on two separate CD players (but
through the same amplifier and speakers) and I find that the
newcomer reproduces more warmly and with better definition,
especially in the bass.
Walter’s
performance is electrifying. The first movement, the great Trauermarsch,
has weight and drama but there’s never any suspicion of Walter
overdoing things. There’s not quite the same level of angst
and emotion that I find in the accounts by Bernstein (DG), Barbirolli
(EMI) or Tennstedt (his live EMI account with the LPO), all
versions that I admire enormously. However, I can more than
live with Walter’s approach. In fact I like the way he keeps
the music on the move. In this performance it is indeed a march
that you could step to.
The
second movement snarls and bites under Walter. The tempo he
adopts for the main material is ferociously fast. The New Yorkers
hang on for all they’re worth but the struggle to stay with
Walter’s white-hot conception is audible at times. It’s not
all hell-for-leather though. When Mahler relaxes for the second
group (track 10, 1’17”) Walter relaxes with him but the swift
overall tempo means that, even at the relaxed pace, the music
flows attractively. For the most part I like very much what
he does with the music. However, when the great brass chorale
is heard towards the end of the movement (10’06”) I wish he
had broadened the tempo just a bit more. This moment should
be like the clouds parting to bathe the landscape in brilliant
sunlight. That doesn’t quite happen here. In fact the treatment
sounds a bit peremptory.
The
huge Scherzo that forms Part II of the symphony is, for the
most part, challenging and successful. Again the basic pulse
is swift and the music is pungent and bracing. There were times,
however, when I could have wished for a bit more “give” in the
music. The important horn solo is well played.
The
celebrated Adagietto opens Part III. This movement has,
I feel, suffered through its over-exposure as a result of the
film Death In Venice. Too many conductors nowadays seem
to want to wring out every last bit of emotion in the music
and often they put onto the music more than it can bear.(A glance
at the table above may give a clue to the identities of one
or two that I have in mind!) Mahler added the important diminutive
suffix “etto” to the title of the movement and I don’t think
he was simply referring to the fact that the movement is quite
short (if interpreters will allow it to be so!) I strongly suspect
that he was also alluding to the emotional scope of the music.
If a conductor will dare to let the music flow and speak for
itself the overall structural and emotional balance of the whole
work is much more satisfactory. In this Walter succeeds admirably
and he makes the movement a little oasis of tranquillity (albeit
one not devoid of passion where appropriate) after the catharsis
of Part I, the huge canvass of Part II and before the large-scale
display piece that is the finale.
The
finale is tremendously exciting. It’s a real display piece and
Walter achieves brilliance without ever a hint of showmanship.
It’s an exhilarating end to a highly stimulating performance.
As Ian Julier comments in his interesting note: “In the work
as a whole a lean directness and lack of indulgence allow the
symphonic structure to register with tautness, logic and considerable
power. Purpose and direction never flounder and are substantially
enhanced by an orchestra audibly exulting at the top of its
form.” I’d take issue only with that last phrase. The players
do sound to me to be under some pressure at times. They play
with enormous commitment but there are quite a few cracked notes
and fluffs in the brass in particular. Listeners should be warned
also that in the first movement when the timpanist plays as
a solo the fanfare we heard on the trumpet at the opening his
drums sound horribly out of tune (track 9, 8’47”)
Thanks
to Walter’s swift pacing of the symphony this is the only single
CD version I know that has a fill up. Soprano Desi Halban essays
eight Mahler songs accompanied by Walter himself at the piano.
The same soloist featured in Walter’s 1945 recording of the
Fourth symphony (Naxos 8.110876) and neither Paul Serotsky (www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/Dec03/Mahler_kinder_Ferrier.htm)
nor I (www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2003/Oct03/Mahler_4halban.htm)
were terribly impressed with her singing. I concur with Paul’s
verdict, confirmed here, that hers is not a pretty voice and
the “certain shrillness” that he noted is evident once more.
She’s not especially characterful, though there are some nice
touches, such as the opening to Ich ging mit Lust durch einen
grünen Wald (track 4). However, Ablösung im Sommer (track
5) sounds rushed and her articulation is sorely taxed. One has
only to listen to Dame Janet Baker’s 1983 Hyperion recording
(CDA68100) at a virtually identical tempo, to hear how the song
can and should be delivered. Geoffrey Parsons, for Baker, is
also a better accompanist than Walter. Actually, the singer
is placed so far forward in the aural perspective that all too
often Walter’s contribution is relegated to the background so
it’s a little unfair to judge his qualities as an accompanist
from these recordings.
But
purchasers will acquire this CD for Walter’s reading of the
symphony. It isn’t a first choice, of course, but it’s a tremendously
worthwhile and stimulating listen. Anyone who takes Mahler seriously
should hear this and Naxos deserve our thanks for making this vivid performance available at
a bargain price.
Recommended.
John Quinn
