Composer: Gustav Mahler
Performer: Jennifer Johnston, Minnesota Chorale, Minnesota Boychoir
Orchestra: Minnesota Orchestra
Conductor: Osmo Vänskä
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BIS
Catalogue: BIS2486
Release: 2024
Size: 266 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Symphony No. 3
01. I. Kräftig. Entschieden
02. II. Tempo di Menuetto (Sehr mäßig)
03. III. Comodo (Scherzando.)
04. IV. Sehr langsam (Misterioso)
05. V. Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck
06. VI. Langsam (Ruveholl)
The Minnesota Orchestra and Osmo Vänskä bring us Gustav Mahler’s Third Symphony, an extraordinary work by any standards. Scored for extended Wagnerian woodwind and brass sections, posthorn, a large array of percussion, women’s chorus, alto soloist and boys’ choir, the symphony has a duration of over 100 minutes and is filled with extreme emotion, revealing what the composer wanted to say about his own connection with nature and humanity’s place in it: ‘My symphony will be something the world has never heard before! The whole of nature will have a voice in it…’ he wrote about this mammoth work.
The recording was made following a concert performance in November 2022. In this musical communion with nature, we hear the beautiful voices of English mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston, the Minnesota Boychoir and women of the Minnesota Chorale. The symphony’s finale, a deeply absorbing adagio, might simply be some of the most beautiful music ever written. The last work recorded by the Minnesota Orchestra and its conductor laureate, Osmo Vänskä, Mahler’s Third Symphony is a fitting culmination to this complete cycle, which began in 2016.
With this reading of the Symphony No. 3 in D minor, conductor Osmo Vänskä and the Minnesota Orchestra conclude their cycle of Mahler’s symphonies. It may be taken as broadly exemplary of the whole set in its overall restraint and in the extraordinary engineering work brought to Orchestra Hall in Minneapolis by the BIS label. For those of a certain age whose conception of Mahler was shaped by Leonard Bernstein, Vänskä’s reined-in Mahler may be a trifle difficult to take. In the march-like passages, in the vast arcs of the music, one sometimes wants him to let his hair down. This said, there are many passages of great beauty here, and for the listener in tune with Vänskä’s general approach, the album may be just the ticket. The slow finale is beautifully played by the orchestra and unfolds in a single gesture. All the singing is good, and Vänskä deserves credit for this; mezzo-soprano Jennifer Johnston is gorgeous, and the Women of the Minnesota Chorale and the Minnesota Boychoir in the fourth movement are the equals of any choristers who have sung this music. Best of all may be the sound, although those listening on lesser equipment may find the quiet passages close to inaudible. Those whose stereos are up to the job will find extraordinary dynamic range, beautifully controlled across the board. Will this replace the other strong Mahler Thirds on the market? Maybe not, but for high-end audiophile buyers, it probably will. The album made classical best-seller lists in the spring of 2024.