Mahler Symphony No 3
View record and artist detailsRecord and Artist Details
Composer or Director: Gustav Mahler
Label: Classical
Magazine Review Date: 7/1998
Media Format: CD or Download
Media Runtime: 94
Mastering:
DDD
Catalogue Number: S2K60250
Tracks:
| Composition | Artist Credit |
|---|---|
| Symphony No. 3 |
Gustav Mahler, Composer
Anna Larsson, Contralto (Female alto) California Paulist Choristers Esa-Pekka Salonen, Conductor Gustav Mahler, Composer Los Angeles Master Chorale Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra |
Author:
If I am not mistaken it was with Mahler’s Third Symphony that Esa-Pekka Salonen arrived on the London concert scene. And yet, in a Gramophone interview of August 1992, Salonen expressed reservations about the work, admitting that he found the first movement’s structure “difficult to accept” and contrasting the piece unfavourably with the “remarkably concentrated” Fourth. The success of this new account suggests either that Salonen has rethought his attitude, or that he is remarkably adept at covering up any misgivings he may still have. Moreover, audiophiles will find it one of the best recorded of Mahler Thirds. In 1998, one ought to be able to take for granted an ability to accommodate extremes of frequency and dynamic, but to blend that absolute clarity with depth of perspective and sonic ‘bloom’ is still difficult. Of course, having a great orchestra to record is always an asset, and the orchestral playing here is virtually beyond criticism.
It is the coolness of the interpretation that some will not like. Is the first movement’s solo trombone too restrained (track 2, 0'09''ff.) or does the judicious use of vibrato convey sentiment without sentimentality, avoiding anonymity on the one hand and banality on the other? Should we object that the keening of oboe and cor anglais in the fourth movement is actually too refined? Isn’t something a little less comfortable implied? As throughout, the ravishing sonorities are difficult to resist, although Anna Larsson, singing beautifully, sounds a little pressed by one of Salonen’s few contentious choices of tempo.
The rare instances of less than perfect orchestral response are only noticeable because the overall standard is so high: the double-basses’ semi- and demisemiquaver runs near the beginning (track 1, 1'44'', 2'04''ff.) are not forceful enough. The marking is triple forte and “Wild” – no surprise that Bernstein’s DG account is unsurpassed here. And there is a suspicion that the trumpets are not absolutely in tune on the symphony’s final page where Salonen reinforces the timpani’s last few strokes with an intrusive bass drum. It is kinder to dwell on the immaculate intonation between woodwind and horn towards the end of the second movement, or the beauty and restraint of the string playing at the start of the finale (violins divided left and right).
To commend a performance of Mahler’s Third for its subtlety may seem like damning it with faint praise; certainly, Salonen eschews the Ivesian tumult and protean exuberance of a Bernstein. Yet, if not an overwhelming reading, this is a package that impresses by other means, chief among them Salonen’s scrupulous ear, his control of an orchestra on top form, and the clarity and coherence he brings to a score that can seem so much empty gesture.'
It is the coolness of the interpretation that some will not like. Is the first movement’s solo trombone too restrained (track 2, 0'09''ff.) or does the judicious use of vibrato convey sentiment without sentimentality, avoiding anonymity on the one hand and banality on the other? Should we object that the keening of oboe and cor anglais in the fourth movement is actually too refined? Isn’t something a little less comfortable implied? As throughout, the ravishing sonorities are difficult to resist, although Anna Larsson, singing beautifully, sounds a little pressed by one of Salonen’s few contentious choices of tempo.
The rare instances of less than perfect orchestral response are only noticeable because the overall standard is so high: the double-basses’ semi- and demisemiquaver runs near the beginning (track 1, 1'44'', 2'04''ff.) are not forceful enough. The marking is triple forte and “Wild” – no surprise that Bernstein’s DG account is unsurpassed here. And there is a suspicion that the trumpets are not absolutely in tune on the symphony’s final page where Salonen reinforces the timpani’s last few strokes with an intrusive bass drum. It is kinder to dwell on the immaculate intonation between woodwind and horn towards the end of the second movement, or the beauty and restraint of the string playing at the start of the finale (violins divided left and right).
To commend a performance of Mahler’s Third for its subtlety may seem like damning it with faint praise; certainly, Salonen eschews the Ivesian tumult and protean exuberance of a Bernstein. Yet, if not an overwhelming reading, this is a package that impresses by other means, chief among them Salonen’s scrupulous ear, his control of an orchestra on top form, and the clarity and coherence he brings to a score that can seem so much empty gesture.'
Mahler Symphony No 3
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