Search - Gustav Mahler :: Mahler: Symphony No. 6 in A minor

Clear-headed, brisk Sixth; just fine.

Pater Ecstaticus | Norway | 12/17/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This Sixth fits on one disc with a few minutes to spare, even. Does this mean that this performance sounds rushed? To me it does. A little. But that is not necessarily a bad thing. This Mahler 6 is very well held together by maestro Ivan Fischer, with astute, nicely polished playing by the Budapest Festival Orchestra throughout.

Also, this (SA)CD could be seen as a showcase for the acoustics (adjustable!) of the brand new Palace of Arts in Budapest. So nothing of the detail of this intricate and complex work is really lost and - being as well held together as it is - one quickly gets comfortable with the often rather brisk pace of this performance.

But personally I generally prefer more relaxed tempi, like for example in Ricardo Chailly and Michael Tilson Thomas, and for example in the new and wonderful Mahler 6 by the (provincial Dutch) Arnhem Philharmonic Orchestra under Martin Sieghart on EXTON/Octavia Records. This performance clocks in at a total time of almost 90 minutes, wich is 12 minutes longer than Fischer, but (almost?) as beautifully played. Sieghart has some more gravitas and weight than this performance by Ivan Fischer and his orchestra, but Fischer has a soundpicture that is somewhat grander - but without losing any of the intricate orchestral details and sounds.

In the end it comes down to taste, and if you like Mahler's Sixth Symphony to sound more 'classical' and clear-headed - aside from being marvelously played, of course -, then maybe this recording will be to your liking. I do like it a lot, standing as it does as a somewhat more 'lighthearted' and 'clear-headed' alternative to for example the marvellous Chailly (Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra) and Tilson Thomas (San Francisco Symphony Orchestra), among others."