Jansons: Mahler – Symphony no.1 (SACD)

All thanks fly to Anonymous

Composer: Gustav Mahler
Orchestra: Amsterdam Concertgebouw Orchestra
Conductor: Mariss Jansons
Audio CD
Number of Discs: 1 SACD
Format: ISO
Label: RCO Live
Size: 2.53 GB
Recovery: +3%
Scan: yes

01. I. Langsam, schleppend
02. II. Kraftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell
03. III. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen
04. IV. Sturmisch bewegt

fine, straight forward performance caputured in excellent sound

Fast on the heels of Zinman’s equally fine Mahler first symphony (RCA), we get another top notch SACD/CD hybrid version of it; this time from the Concertgebouw’s in-house label. I don’t own an SACD player, but I’m guessing that the SACD surround sound layer may sound better on this one, than on Zinman’s RCA release. In plain, old two-channel stereo, this Jansons one sounds terrific! This is a bigger boned performance than the Zinman, with Zinman being just slightly better at smelling the flowers along the way (especially during the first movement’s “wayfahring” develpment passage). Both are really good. Both conductors begin the scherzo just slow enough to allow a real lilt or “swing” feel to settle in. I like that Zinman plays down some of the bombast and bluster at the start out of the finale, but without also shortchanging the trombones or percussion. However, Jansons is slightly bigger sounding at the symphony’s closing coda passage. My one and only complaint – a very minor one – is that I would have liked for Jansons to have pushed the tempo, just a tad more, at that slightly bigger sounding coda just mentioned. Also, unlike Zinman, Jansons does not include “Blumine” as an appendage.

Once again, the Concertgebouw prove that one a day to day basis, they’re probably still the best overall Mahler orchestra on the planet. They play fabulously, and all four major sections of the orchestra receive equal weight: strings, woodwinds, brass, and percussion. Just to help lend some credibility to my argument, the Amsterdam audience goes nuts immediately afterwards (and they’ve heard more than their fair share of ALL the Mahler symphonies).

An elegant but literal reading of the Mahler First

I agree with everything said in the review above except for the final conclusion. To me, “straighforward” isn’t a term of praise, particularly in Mahler. Jansons is quite poker-faced here, not giving an inch to fantasy or abandon. You’d never guess that the funeral music in the third movement is meant to be a parody. Janson’s Mahler, like that of his predecessors at the Concertgebouw, Haitink and Chailly, emphasizes elegance of execution over emotion, structure over excitement. There were many moments when I felt like prodding the music along. In his lifetime Mahler was known as a highly expressive conductor, and so were acolytes like Mengelberg and Bruno Walter, not to mention latter-day champions like Bernstein and Tennstedt. (Happily, Bernstein made a glorious Mahler First with the same Concertgebouw for DG.)

It’s rather late in the day for literalism, but there’s no denying how well the orchestra plays here and how goregous the hybrid SACD sound is (I played the recording on two-channel stereo). If it weren’t for the sonics, which bring so much detail to light, this CD would only have rated three stars for interpretation. The new Zinman Mahler First on RCA is leaner and faster, but not as well played and just as literal. It does, however, include the discarded Blumine movement as a bonus track.