Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 9
Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 10 Adagio
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln
Conducted by Markus Stenz
Oehms Classics CD (OC 654)
Gustav Mahler, Symphony No. 9
Gewandhaus-Orchester
Conducted by Riccardo Chailly
Accentus Blu Ray (ACC 10299)
Here are two new recordings of Mahler’s Ninth, one on hybrid
SACD and one on Blu Ray (also available as a DVD). With this recording, Markus
Stenz brings his cycle of Mahler symphonies with the Gürzenich-Orcherster in
Cologne to a close – and also his career with the orchestra, as he moved this
summer to the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic. All of the recordings in Stenz’s
cycle are studio recordings, although based on concert hall performances. This
is the sixth Mahler symphony that Riccardo Chailly has conducted for Accentus
with the Leipzig Gewandhaus (already available are Nos. 2, 4, 5, 6, and 8). All
of these recordings come from live performances at the Gewandhaus zu Leipzig.
Stenz’s interpretation of the Ninth is towards the
restrained end of the spectrum, with a valedictory tone throughout. The
Gürzenich-Orchester is not one of Europe’s best-known orchestras, but it has a
fine Mahler pedigree (having given the world première of the Fifth on October
18, 1904, with Mahler himself at the podium). Under Stenz’s direction the
players find a fine singing line in the first movement, which is brought to a
haunting close with fine playing in the piccolo and strings. The second
movement Ländler does indeed dance – the grotesque and ironic dimension is
there, but not foregrounded. There is a similar restraint in the
Rondo-Burlesque, where the cantabile middle section effectively contrasts with
the two outer sections, particularly the brutal last few minutes. Stenz’s
understated approach to the first three movements throws the spotlight on the
final Adagio, one of Mahler’s
greatest movements, perhaps the greatest. Stenz and the Gürzenich-Orchester
deliver a very powerful rendition that is deeply elegiac.
Chailly’s approach to the Ninth is rather different. The
bonus item for the disc is a 15 minute conversation between the conductor and
the celebrated Mahler biographer and musicologist Henry-Louis de la Grange (now
90 years of age and still a very acute commentator). In the conversation
Chailly stresses how full of life and strength the Ninth is. Much of the music,
particularly in the finale, is music of farewell, but it is not the music of Mahler
himself bidding farewell. In line with this basic insight, Chailly brings out
the contrasts much more than Stenz. The first movement is significantly more
dramatic and the macabre side of the scherzo is more pronounced, becoming
ferocious towards the end. Chailly attackes the Rondo-Burlesque from the
opening, so much so that the contrast with the cantabile section is quite
jarring. All of this leads up to a truly magnificent finale, with drama and
depth culminating in an other-wordly ending. The hush in the Gewandhaus at the
movement’s close says it all.
The Stenz recording is good and certainly to be recommended.
It includes a fine performance of the Adagio
of the Tenth from 2011. But it suffers
by comparison with the Chailly performance, which is truly exceptional and one
of the finest issues so far in 2014, with fine cinematography and excellent
sound quality.
