Composer: Gustav Mahler
Performer: Gerhild Romberger, Augsburger Domsingknaben, Frauenchor des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Orchestra: Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks
Conductor: Bernard Haitink
Number of Discs: 2
Format: FLAC (tracks)
Label: BR Klassik
Catalogue: 900149
Release: 2017
Size: 966 MB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes
Symphony No. 3
CD 01
01. I. Kräftig – Entschieden
CD 02
01. II. Tempo di menuetto. Sehr mäßig
02. III. Comodo. Scherzando. Ohne Hast
03. IV. Sehr langsam. Misterioso
04. V. Lustig im Tempo und keck im Ausdruck
05. VI. Langsam. Ruhevoll. Empfunden
Gustav Mahler’s Third Symphony still ranks today as one of the greatest and most powerful creations of the Late Romantic period. The huge symphony, longer and more monumental than the others and containing texts from the collection of poems by Clemens Brentano and Achim von Arnim entitled “Des Knaben Wunderhorn”, was composed over a period of four years from 1892 to 1896, and especially during the summers of 1895 and 1896, which Mahler spent at the Attersee in Austria. Following performances of several individual movements of the symphony, the complete work was premiered on June 9, 1902, at the 38th “Tonkünstler Festival” in Krefeld. Mahler conducted the Städtische Kapelle Krefeld and Cologne’s Gürzenich Orchestra at this exciting event. It was one of his greatest successes, and his contemporaries were deeply impressed. Between 1902 and 1907, the composer conducted his Third Symphony a further 15 times.
Of the six powerful movements, the slow fourth one requires not only a large orchestra but also a mezzo-soprano solo for a setting of the “Midnight Song” (“O Man! Take heed!”) from Friedrich Nietzsche’s poetical-philosophical “Thus Spoke Zarathustra,” while in the cheerful fifth movement the mezzo-soprano soloist is joined by a children’s choir and a female chorus for the song Es sungen drei Engel from “Des Knaben Wunderhorn”. The symphony is a huge challenge for all its performers, and this concert recording of June 2016 has a prestigious line-up: guest conductor Bernard Haitink with the Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, the Augsburger Domsingknaben and the Frauenchor des Bayerischen Rundfunks; the solo parts are sung by Gerhild Romberger.
Bernard Haitink has had a long association with Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 3 in D minor, from his classic 1966 stereo recording with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra to his 2006 audiophile recording with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra. This 2016 release on BR Klassik finds Haitink leading the Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra in a stirring live performance that shows no diminishment of the conductor’s interpretive powers, and compares quite well with his previous renditions. Joined by mezzo-soprano Gerhild Romberger, the Augsburger Domsingknaben, and the women of the Bavarian Radio Women’s Choir, Haitink explores the symphony’s extraordinary mix of musical styles and genres, and ties them all together in an exuberant reading that is compelling from beginning to end. Even though this is Mahler’s longest symphony, at close to an hour and 40 minutes total, with a first movement that is more than a half-hour long, the performance is so engaging and joyful that time seems to fly by, especially as the mood brightens over the five remaining movements. The sound of this recording is first-rate for a standard CD and approaches the quality of multichannel with its precise details, clear separation of parts, and remarkable physical depth. Highly recommended.