Search - Hans Werner Henze, Gustav Mahler, Mariss Jansons :: Mahler: Symphony No. 6 [Hybrid SACD]

Certainly to be considered

B. Guerrero | 01/01/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I wasn't going to review Janson's Concertgebouw Mahler 6, but then I felt that I needed to as a rebuttal to the other review given.



I'm not going to start off by telling you that this the greatest Mahler 6 ever, or that this is THE one that you should buy. Frankly, when one already owns so many really good ones, it becomes more and more difficult to single out one particular recording. But I think that the dismissal above (or below) is too hasty. Honestly, name one other Mahler recording - of any of his symphonies - where the conductor somewhere along the way doesn't, quote, "wallows while Mahler asks for a no-nonsense adherence to the main tempo" (Michael Tilson-Thomas has become the biggest recent offender of this paticular no-no). I also don't agree with his or her contention that this is inferior to Janson's earlier effort with the LSO. First off, I think that the sound quality is far better here, as I've never been a fan of James Mallinson produced recordings ever (talk about having little or no impact!). This does happen to be a low level recording, and it needs to be turned up for things to come into focus - such as the woodwinds that he/she describes as missing - and for the big moments to have their proper wallop too. Play it too low and, indeed, things will sound too mushy and out of focus. Turn it way up, and the performance comes to life without any distortion. I also think that Jansons conducts slightly better here than he did with the LSO previously.



While his timings are near identical to his earlier effort, Jansons makes a far greater speed-up (accelerando) going into the slow movement's climactic passage. A sufficient amount of the onstage cowbells can be heard here as well (they have to cut through unison, fortissimo horns). As a result, I find the slow movement to be more *moving* on this Concertgebouw one. I also think that the scherzo is more sharply focused on this newer effort - much more so, in fact. I also like the finale on this one, where the two hammerstrokes are huge sounding, and without any additional reinforcement from the tam-tam or cymbals on the second stroke (optional in the revised version - the one that's ALWAYS used, regardless of how many hammer strokes employed). Yes, I feel that Jansons could have stood to make more of Mahler's hairpin dynamics that show up throughout the work (sudden crescendos followed by sudden descrescendos). But the same minor shortcoming is true for his earlier LSO one, as well as a great number of other Mahler 6 recordings. Funny enough, it WAS the Concertgebouw woodwinds that made a strong impression with me, even on the first listening.



I noticed bassoon parts that I could never hear before (always great bassoons with the Concertgebouw). Granted, the high clarinets could stand to "screech" a tad more, in an effort to not let Mahler's ouevre sound too comfortable. And the oboes - well, they always manage to cut through pretty much any texture. That leaves the flutes, and I certainly didn't notice any particular shortcomings with them. In fact, I find it far easier to follow the separate strands of the woodwinds here, than on the recent Abbado/Berlin M6, where the overall timbre of the orchestra is rather dark and monochromatic.



No, I feel that the greatest competition to Janson's Concertgebouw version is not from his earlier LSO effort, but from the Concertgebouw's other great recording of the sixth Mahler: Chailly on Decca. Unfortunately, The Chailly is difficult and expensive to come by individually, unless you get lucky on the used market. Chailly's is a studio recording. And, typical of his very fine complete cycle, woodwinds and percussion are far more forward in the recording's overall perspective. As a result, the Chailly has the best recorded cowbells of any M6, but the whole performance can sometimes sound like a percussion concerto with good orchestral accompaniment. I like the more natural perspecive of this one, which very much reminds me of the older Philips recordings made in the Concertgebouw, but with more bass (some of those were very dry sounding in the low end). Again, I think it helps to turn this one waaaay up. Recommendations?



For a single disc, I'm very satisfied with Boulez/Vienna Phil. (DG), although Abbado/Berlin (also DG) is in the now sanctified andante/scherzo order - like this one. Among two-disc SACD/CD hybrid versions, I prefer both this one, and the recent Eschenbach/Philadelphia one (Ondine), to the hybrid pressing of Abbado/BPO (expanded to two discs). Frankly, I could comfortably live with any of these!! Eschenbach/Philly gets my nod for the added coupling, which is a very fine performance of Mahler's early Piano Quartet Movement - with Eschenbach on the piano, and three other members of the Philadelphia Orchestra. But if hearing the Concertgebouw whip the daylights out of some modern horror-show by Henze somehow tickles you fancy, don't hesitate with this one."

Curate's egg

MartinP | Nijmegen, The Netherlands | 07/30/2006

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Apparently, Jansons doesn't fear any competition, not even that of himself. Only fairly recently an LSO Live disc appeared documenting his reading of this same symphony in London. Comparison of the two turns out in favour of that recording rather then the new one, in my opinion. Overall timings are just slightly slower for the Amsterdam version, and Jansons sticks to his preference to play the Andante before the Scherzo. It is easy to be lured in by the more sumptuous sound of the KCO reading, and to be sure this recording has some interesting insights to offer. But on the whole I found Jansons handling of dynamics and tempo fussy and mannered in a way not encountered in the London version. I noticed passages where pp was written and ff sounded, and other passages where the reverse was true. There are some overly deliberare slow-downs, and passages where Jansons wallows while Mahler asks for a no-nonsense adherence to the main tempo. The first movement comes with repeat (though at the entry of the Alma theme we hear an intake of breath from the conductor both times, and both so similar as to make you wonder whether this repeat was indeed played in concert, or was achieved electronically). The pastoral interlude in this movement, and similar passages in subsequent movements, fail to extract the last ounce of mystery and magic from the notes; they are just a tad too literal. The Andante is the best feature, sonorous and poetic. The Scherzo however seems almost too wild and aggressive, and the eerie waltzing episode at its center remains solidly earthbound. The finale has its moments, but lacks a strong sense of overall purpose and direction.



The sound, too, is not quite as great as it may seem on first acquaintance, though it is hard to pigeonhole. The strings are balanced far too forwardly, and at times all but drown out the winds. Now, there are worse punishments than hearing the KCO strings, and there are moments when their weighty presence works to great effect, say, in the Andante, or in the hysteria following the hammerblows. But at other times it draws undue attention to mere accompaniment. Nonetheless, very little detail in the score is inaudible. The horns seem to move in and out of focus throughout, at times spectacularly present, yet infuriatingly flaccid a moment later. The trombones are much too reticent all the time. The overall impression is of a somewhat woolly sound that lacks bite. Climaxes do not open out quite as spinechillingly as they do in some other recordings, yet the hammer blows are spectacularly realistic.



For reasons inconceivable to me the applause from this live recording has not been edited out, and there is only a very brief silence after the desperate final pizzicato before the bravo's take center stage. Clearly, the audience wasn't very emotionally affected by the performance either (or maybe they had taken refuge in the kind of pharmacological solution to Mahlerian depression that seems to be suggested by the peculiar cover art of this disc). All in all, somewhat of a curate's egg, that is less recommendable than the LSO recording. Neither of these recordings, however, challenges Bernstein's DG reading as the definitive Mahler 6. And I doubt many buyers will want to get the KCO disc for Henze's brief "Sebastian im Traum" alone, though it is nice to have a fill-up. It is an excellent, brooding, indeed dreamlike piece, in an accessible, hyperromantic/expressionist idiom. Very much worth hearing, but buying two discs for these 13 minutes alone is probably something reserved for die-hard Henze fans.



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Struggle for Life and Death

Mr John Haueisen | WORTHINGTON, OHIO United States | 05/22/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I found Mariss Janson's performance of Mahler's Sixth, to be extremely crisp and precise--more transparent than many. By that I mean that I could hear many passages that I had not noticed in many other recordings.



For readers familiar with Mahler, but perhaps not with his Sixth Symphony, it is a struggle for life--a clinging to the beauty of Life and Nature, represented by the sound of cowbells--the last sound that mountain-climbers hear as they ascend the mountain. This reverie, and love of life is interrupted by the famous hammerblows. The hammerblows have been said to represent the three catastophic blows in Mahler's life: the death of his daughter, his forced departure from the Vienna Opera, and the diagnosis of his fatal heart condition.



Despite these three crushing blows, Mahler clings to his love for life. Yet even this strong love and desire to continue enjoying life cannot countervail the inexorable demands of death. The music revels in the joy of life....but is forced to acknowledge the inevitability and invincibility of death.



I should mention that this is a live performance, and the second disc includes the world premiere of Hans Werner Henze's Sebastian im Traum. For my tastes, Henze's work sounds more a nightmare than a dream, but as Mahler used to say, those with younger ears may appreciate it more than I can.



If you're new to Mahler, especially to his Sixth, prepare to take on the challenge of looking at life and death--prepare to face your own mortality as Mahler does here.



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