Search - G. Mahler :: Sym 9

A natural, direct approach to the Mahler Ninth doesn't quite

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 09/01/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Rafael Kubelik became a champion Mahler conductor among those who felt that Mahler's music belonged more in the light than the dark, or even the shadows. His view of the symphonies is unclouded by emotional turmoil, although Kubelik isn't a literalist like Geroge Szell -- his style is flexible, light, sensitive. I'm not sure this live Mahler Ninth from Munich shows him off at his best, however, since this music requires as much weight and emotional depth as any conductor can provide. The score is crammed with hundreds of precise directions from the composer, who well knew how ambiguous and at times baffling the symphony is.



Kubelik tends to skate over this mass of detail, preferring a direct, natuural line. If that's the kind of Mahler you prefer, this Ninth will appeal to you. The first movement doesn't erupt volcanically or reach cathartic release. The Scherzo is almost jaunty, without bite or bitterness. The Rondo-Burlesque, music that can seem like a grinning death's head, here is defanged. the overwhelming Adagio finale retains its lyrical pathos but evinces no tragic struggle with mortality.



For me, there's no escaping the reality that the Mahler Ninth is one of the most profound documents in musical history, and although Kubelik renders a fine performance, he doesn't come close to suggesting that truth."