Composer: Gustav Mahler
Orchestra: Philadelphia Orchestra
Conductor: Eugene Ormandy
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: Sony
Catalogue: 82876787422
Release: 2006
Size: 328 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: cover
Symphony No. 10 in F-Sharp Minor (1976 Version)
01. I. Adagio
02. II. Scherzo – Finale
03. III. Purgatorio. Allegretto moderato
04. IV. Der Teufel tanzt es mit mir
05. V. Finale. Einleitung – Langsam, schwer
Although several completions of Gustav Mahler’s unfinished Symphony No. 10 (1911) exist, from the fanciful ground-breaker by Clinton Carpenter to later idiomatic reconstructions by Joe Wheeler and Remo Mazzetti, Jr., Deryck Cooke’s performing version of 1964 is the most famous of all, due not only to the controversies surrounding it, but also to the fact that it was the first to be commercially recorded. The 1965 Columbia Masterworks recording by the Philadelphia Orchestra under Eugene Ormandy appeared at the peak of the Mahler revival, and positive critical reception gave it a cachet that lasted for many years, long after the demise of vinyl.
Originally released as a double LP, Ormandy’s historic performance is at last reissued in Sony’s Great Performances series with direct stream digital remastering, original cover art, and full liner notes, so those who want to hear Cooke’s first full edition of the Tenth may now enjoy it with the convenience of having the whole work on one CD. Yet this refurbished analog recording will not satisfy everyone, since its sound is noticeably fuzzy in the leanest, most exposed passages, and fans of all-digital recordings will find the audio is not as polished as on Riccardo Chailly’s, Michael Gielen’s, or Simon Rattle’s recordings, notwithstanding Sony’s remastering.
Also, since this version of Mahler’s last symphony has its advocates and detractors, some may prefer to investigate the Wheeler reconstruction performed by Robert Olson and the Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra on Naxos, or the rendition by Mazzetti on RCA by Leonard Slatkin and the St. Louis Symphony Orchestra. Having these completions for the sake of comparison is the way to go for the most curious students of Mahler’s swan song, but for the average listener’s purposes, Ormandy’s premiere recording is a satisfactory choice.