http://mahlerfest.com Life and works of Gustav Mahler Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:18:44 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 http://mahlerfest.com/mahler-symphony-no-9-dvd-2011.php/comment-page-1#comment-555 Bruno Walter Wed, 24 Aug 2011 00:18:44 +0000 http://mahlerfest.com/mahler-symphony-no-9-dvd-2011.php#comment-555 Daniel Barenboim has matured immensely. If I had to capture this Ninth in a nutshell, I would call it human, deeply felt in every bar, highly dramatic, valedictory, but at the same time utterly life-affirming. Many readings err in not keeping the proper balance of the two latter aspects: they either underplay the death-oriented side of the work to the point of superficiality, or they gloss over the intense, almost boundless joie de vivre as it speaks from the score. Barenboim finds the ideal balance. His tempi are fairly conventional (close to Abbado's 2004 reading) and never appear rushed, overwrought or dragging. In fact, upon repeated hearing, I find myself spellbound again by the searing final movement which feels "right" in every respect. The first movement Andante comodo is played with as much feeling as it can bear, the two middle movements with incredible, often ferocious vigor - looking forward to future developments rather than back on the romantic era - and dangerously probing the abyss of desperation and chaos. At the end of the symphony, the Berlin audience breaks out in endless applause, instead of allowing a minute of silence, as would have been appropriate. Should you (in case you don't have either yet) buy Abbado or Barenboim? By all means, get them both. In their different ways, they both reveal the core of Mahler's greatest symphony. Daniel Barenboim has matured immensely. If I had to capture this Ninth in a nutshell, I would call it human, deeply felt in every bar, highly dramatic, valedictory, but at the same time utterly life-affirming. Many readings err in not keeping the proper balance of the two latter aspects: they either underplay the death-oriented side of the work to the point of superficiality, or they gloss over the intense, almost boundless joie de vivre as it speaks from the score. Barenboim finds the ideal balance. His tempi are fairly conventional (close to Abbado’s 2004 reading) and never appear rushed, overwrought or dragging. In fact, upon repeated hearing, I find myself spellbound again by the searing final movement which feels “right” in every respect. The first movement Andante comodo is played with as much feeling as it can bear, the two middle movements with incredible, often ferocious vigor – looking forward to future developments rather than back on the romantic era – and dangerously probing the abyss of desperation and chaos. At the end of the symphony, the Berlin audience breaks out in endless applause, instead of allowing a minute of silence, as would have been appropriate. Should you (in case you don’t have either yet) buy Abbado or Barenboim? By all means, get them both. In their different ways, they both reveal the core of Mahler’s greatest symphony.

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