Michael Gielen’s Mahler - as recorded for
Hänssler - is always compelling. It’s also clear-eyed and
purposeful, qualities that might not appeal to those who seek more volatility
in these scores. That said, others - like me - will find his readings
are a welcome antidote to the unmissable but overheated accounts of
Leonard Bernstein and his excitable ilk. As Bruno Walter’s intuitive,
resolutely unspectacular Mahler confirms, such a thoughtful approach
doesn’t in any way diminish the impact of these complex and demanding
scores. Indeed, starting with his unshowy Eighth (Sony) Gielen’s
Mahler has become a valuable corrective for me - a palate cleanser if
you will - and that’s precisely what I expected from this new
Testament release.
In this live concert Gielen was standing in for an ailing Klaus Tennstedt,
whose readings of this symphony - on EMI and BBC Legends - are among
the finest in the catalogue. As for the Berliner Philharmoniker their
Mahler recordings for Karajan - the pell-mellish Fifth has just been
reissued on Blu-Ray Audio - are a mixed bag, although their performances
for Abbado are more consistent in terms of execution and insight. If
anything the latter’s Lucerne cycle takes these symphonies to
another level, thanks to the almost superhuman playing of his hand-picked
ensemble. Sonics aside that’s certainly true of their Blu-Ray
of the Seventh (
review).
As preparation for this review I listened again to Gielen’s Hänssler
recording with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg -
recorded just 18 months before - and was struck anew by the extraordinary
passion and polish of this provincial band (
review).
The BP’s Tenorhorn at the start of the first movement is a trifle
unsteady, but even more surprisingly the Berliners’ performance
lacks the convulsive shake and shudder of the SWR account. It’s
just too polite, and even allowing for the exigencies of a live performance
the playing is far from secure.
Well, that
is disconcerting, although in mitigation there are
some wonderfully
innig moments in this opener, which Gielen builds
to a darkly emphatic close. The Testament sonics are very good, but
Hänssler’s weighty sound, albeit brighter and quite forwardly
balanced, is much more bracing; I find that extra zing - which is not
at all fatiguing - brings out the acerbic elements of this score. That
said, the Berliners play with impressive breadth, a trademark of Tennstedt’s
Mahler both live and on record.
After that shaky start the first
Nachtmusik is altogether more
pleasing. The antiphonal horn-calls are nicely executed and the Berliners
articulate this oddly jovial, wall-eyed music very well indeed. For
sheer beauty of sound they surpass their country cousins, but not when
it comes to the music’s compelling strangeness. Curiously, the
risk-taking and the edge-of-the-seat playing heard on the Hänssler
disc comes much closer to the arc and crackle of the live event than
the Testament one. Yes, it really is that arresting.
The shadowy
Scherzo is somewhat disappointing. I sense that the
Berliners just aren’t as committed as they should be; moreover,
as a reading Gielen Mk II doesn’t have the shape, heft and structural
coherence of Gielen Mk I. Timings are pretty much the same, but the
divergent results confirm that such comparisons are misleading at best
and useless at worst. The Berliners give an uncharacteristically soupy
rendition of the second
Nachtmusik that glosses over its essential
peculiarities. Despite some lovely wind and string playing it’s
another victory for Baden-Baden und Freiburg.
It doesn’t stop there, for Gielen is simply breathtaking in his
earlier account of the
Rondo-Finale. It’s a well-judged
and thrillingly apt end to this quirk-shot symphony, which demands to
be despatched with maximum thrust and certainty. In fairness the BP
do deliver at this point - the stentorian timps are magnificent - but
hearing Gielen Mark I immediately afterwards is nothing short of a revelation.
Intoxicating, turbulent and taken to the very edge Gielen’s SWR
players deliver a finale that eclipses all others. Yes, the metropolitans
bring more grace to Mahler’s dancerly tunes, but for a truly complete
performance the rustics have it.
I trust that the Baden-Baden und Freiburg players - who are scheduled
to merge with their Stuttgart counterparts in a controversial cost-cutting
exercise - won’t take offence at being characterised as country
bumpkins; it’s just a comparative device, for in effect they are
the undisputed winners of this outwardly unequal contest. If anything,
this Testament release has renewed my affection and respect for Gielen’s
Hänssler cycle, which really should be on every Mahlerian’s
already groaning shelves.
A good but rather uneven Seventh; no match for Gielen’s Hänssler
version.
Dan Morgan
http://twitter.com/mahlerei
Masterwork Index:
Mahler
7
Tony
Duggan's survey of recordings
