Composer: Gustav Mahler
Orchestra: Czech Philharmonic Orchestra
Conductor: Semyon Bychkov
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Pentatone
Catalogue: PTC5187043
Release: 2023
Size: 931 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Symphony No. 1 in D major ‘Titan’
01. I. Langsam, schleppend – Immer sehr gemächlich
02. II. Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell
03. III. Feierlich Und Gemessen, Ohne Zu Schleppen
04. IV. Stürmisch Bewegt
The Czech Philharmonic and Music Director, Semyon Bychkov, continue their acclaimed Mahler cycle with the composer’s First Symphony, one of the most evocative and colourful symphonic debuts in the history of the genre. Mahler once famously said that “a symphony should be like the world, it should encompass everything.” In his First Symphony, he creates just such a world, filled with animal sounds, hunting horns, rural dances, klezmer bands and allusions to his own songs and folk song melodies such as Frere Jacques. These elements all function within a highly subjective, immersive symphonic drama, providing a blueprint for most of his symphonies to come. Semyon Bychkov and the Czech Philharmonic approach the composer’s firstling with their esteemed eye for detail and pacing, matched by their unmistakably Bohemian sound.
The Czech Philharmonic is one of the world’s orchestral gems, recognised for its rich tradition with the Czech masters as well as European repertoire. Semyon Bychkov who is internationally renowned for his interpretations of the core repertoire, began his tenure with the Orchestra at the start of the 2018/19 season. Their recording of Mahler’s First Symphony follows Mahler’s Fourth and Fifth Symphonies (both 2022) and the Second Symphony (2023), part of the complete Mahler cycle to be released by Pentatone.
Semyon Bychkov’s series of Mahler symphonies with the Czech Philharmonic Orchestra seems to be getting better and better as it proceeds, and this absolutely superb 2023 release landed on classical best-seller lists in the late summer of 2023. There are other great recordings of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 in D major (“Titan”), going all the way back to Leonard Bernstein, but Bychkov’s concept is unique. The general approach to Mahler, including by Bernstein, emphasizes the garish Viennese decadence. Bychkov is different; he holds the scene in perfect control, allowing chaotic intensity to flower only at carefully chosen moments (the end of the first movement and certainly the finale). In Bychkov’s hands, all the Viennese songs, the bird calls, the marches, and fanfares appear as natural parts of a giant tableau of Central European life. The use of the folk song known as Bruder Martin (or Jakob) in German and Frère Jacques in French, in the minor key, is not belabored with a ghostly mood (and apparently in minor is how the Viennese normally sang it). Instead, it is a bit of dark shade to balance the sunny first movement. The level of detail in the orchestra is absolutely unparalleled; clearly, Bychkov has done nothing to damage the bred-in-the-bone familiarity the Czech Philharmonic has when it comes to Mahler. However, that would be nothing without an overall plan, and Bychkov has that. He shifts the emphasis overall to the finale, which here has a truly shattering effect. One can now understand the shock with which audiences initially greeted the symphony, even though it is not particularly atonal. There is much more to discover, and PentaTone’s strikingly clear engineering treatment of the Rudolfinium in Prague has it all on crystalline display. One of the best recordings of 2023.