The Berliner Philharmoniker in Singapore
Sergei RACHMANINOV (1873-1943)
Symphonic Dances, Op. 45 (1940) [38:07]
Gustav MAHLER (1860-1911)
Symphony No. 1 in D major (1887-88) [62:13]
Berliner Philharmoniker/Sir Simon Rattle
rec. live, Esplanade - Theatres on the Bay, Singapore, 22-23
November 2010
EUROARTS DVD 2058908 [120:00]
Having watched this DVD through twice on my high-definition TV with good,
but
not great, external speakers and subwoofer, I only came really to appreciate
these
performances when I played the DVD back through my audio-only stereo system
with
big tower speakers. Not that there is anything wrong with the video and
there
is much that is clearly right about it. For anyone familiar with the Berlin
Philharmonic’s
Digital Concert Hall on the orchestra’s website, you will know what to
expect.
The video aspect is done very well with many close-up shots of individual
players
during their solo passages and of the orchestra sections as appropriate.
There’s
also plenty of Sir Simon Rattle, who conducts as much with his face as with
his
hands. His facial expressions tell a lot and some may find them even
distracting,
though not this reviewer. My only criticism is that there could be more
views
of the orchestra as a whole. The cameras also pan the audience which seems
to
be made up mostly of young Singaporeans. The picture quality of the DVD is
very
good, nice and clear, but I imagine the Blu-ray is even better. That one is
advertised
as 3D, something I would think totally unnecessary for a concert such as
this.
I cannot see how the sound could be improved, though, from what I hear on
the
DVD.
I imagine this recording would be a must for anyone lucky enough to have
attended
the concert, but the performances are such that they can be generally
recommended
as well. Rattle takes spacious tempos in both the Rachmaninov and Mahler,
more
so than some other recordings with which I am familiar, yet nothing ever
drags.
He characterizes each piece well and his ear for balance and dynamics is
impeccable.
The Rachmaninov is very dark, capturing the Russianness of the music. The
first
movement is marked non allegro and that’s what we get, but
without
a lack of romantic ardor. The saxophone solo, however, is played very
straight
with minimal vibrato and as one of primus inter pares with the other
woodwinds,
rather than being obviously soloistic. The second movement waltz is dark and
mysterious
with rubato employed effectively. The English horn and oboe solos are
particularly
beautiful. When the waltz theme returns later in the movement very softly
and
hesitantly, with woodwind obbligato coming through, it is quite moving: one
of
those “goose bumps” moments. Rattle whips up the finale
excitingly
and in the last fast section has the horns play with their bells raised-as
they
would also do in the Mahler. He has the tam-tam hold on for a long time at
the
close, resounding tremendously, something that is ambiguous in the score but
is
done more often than not. The audience, which has been silent until now,
bursts
into applause. Listening to the audio only, one is not aware of any audience
present
until the applause.
The Mahler First is equally spacious, with judicious rubato, but
seems rather straightforward compared to Leonard Bernstein’s Vienna
Philharmonic account on a Deutsche Grammophon DVD. One might criticize
Rattle for holding back in the first three movements, for his aim is clearly
on the finale that bursts in immediately after the last pizzicato is sounded
at the end of the third movement. Yet I have no problem with it, as it is
not only convincing, but is ravishingly played. Comparison with Bernstein in
this case does Rattle’s illustrious predecessor no favors. The Berlin
Philharmonic simply outplays the Vienna throughout the symphony. One of the
advantages of video over audio here is that you can observe some
peculiarities of the performers. Rattle has the oboes raise their
instruments and then the horns in the second movement after the first
repeat, something I had never seen before. In the finale, he has the horns
and trombones stand during the last big brass part at the end, whereas
normally they only raise their bells. For the record, the third movement is
begun by a single double bass, and not the whole section. This, which can no
longer be taken for granted, is as it should be. The Frère
Jacques funeral march is so much more effective if played by the solo
instrument and was for most of the work’s performance history. Also
the last notes of the symphony are performed without any gratuitous drum
added.
The DVD extras are four trailers of other Berlin Philharmonic
concerts, but there is no commentary on or rehearsal segments of the works
presented on the DVD. The booklet contains a more than adequate note on the
two works. The trailers serve their purpose well to whet the appetite. They
include Daniel Barenboim playing and conducting Mozart piano concertos; an
outdoor concert of light music, entitled “Jazz & Co.”, with
Riccardo Chailly obviously having fun conducting Shostakovich and Respighi;
Yutaka Sado conducting Takemitsu’s percussion concerto, “From
me flows what you call Time”and Shostakovich’s Fifth
Symphony; and Ion Marin with Renée Fleming in a program of arias and
short orchestral works.
Although this DVD may not make my list of all-time favorites, it is
one that I am sure to return to when I want to hear and see the two works
performed as well as they are here.
Leslie Wright
Masterwork Index: Mahler 1
Worthy performances of Rachmaninov and Mahler in excellent sound and video.
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