I popped this disk
into my player for a listen without
first looking at the liner notes and
was surprised to find that it was a
live recording. Mahler Symphony No.
5, live? Why would there be a need for
a live recording of a Mahler Symphony
by an orchestra in Italy that includes
in its title "Arturo Toscanini"?
It was recorded in 1986, along with
a work by Giacomo Manzoni, and therein
may lie the answer. It appears to be
a package deal for distribution. Both
works were recorded at the same time,
on the same program.
We don’t necessarily
need more recordings of Mahler Symphonies
unless there’s a specific hook, such
as an A-class orchestra, a celebrity
conductor, or an urtext-faithful rendering.
There’s nothing like that here. And,
unfortunately, the program notes lend
no clue as to the reason for this recording’s
release, nor why it is being released
eighteen years after its live performance
recording. One must conclude then that
the Manzoni is what Warner, the releasing
label, was after.
Having said that, the
Mahler, is presented in an honest, sincere,
and straightforward way, neither riveting
nor indifferent. Recorded in Parma’s
Teatro Regio, one would have hoped for
a more up-front sound. However, this
was 1986. Although many listeners may
argue they still prefer an LP to a CD,
the ability to record live concerts
well and to overcome obstacles inherent
in live performances has improved greatly
in the last few years. And perhaps the
reason this Mahler recording wasn’t
released in 1986 was that there was
too much competition from first-rate
orchestra recordings of Mahler everywhere
one looked. Mahler was still hot and
new to many listeners back then. What
does come across in this recording is
the earnestness of the players, and
of the conductor, to do a good job.
There is something to be said for live
performance recordings over studio recordings.
The less cutting and pasting, the more
alive and spontaneous a performer, or
performers, has the potential of sounding.
One only has one or two chances to get
it right. It is a pity that there is
no information included about the orchestra,
or the conductor, Günter Neuhold.
Dedica, by Giacomo
Manzoni, is a work with instrumentation
similar to the Mahler, with the addition
of solo singers and a chorus. A one-movement
work, this was presented at the time
of recording as a world premiere. The
program notes are by Luigi Pestalozza
in Italian, and although there is a
translation in English it is an awkward
one and so is distracting when attempting
to read for content. The piece is a
dedication to the late conductor Bruno
Maderna with, according to the notes,
a concerted effort at playing on the
letters of Maderna’s name in composing
the music. The sung text is taken from
Maderna’s own words on the day of his
death in Darmstadt in 1973 plus those
of Tao-Te-Ching.
The music at best sounds
like Respighi run amok. It is clear
from the idiom of this work that Manzoni
is akin to Berio and Dallapiccola. Mostly,
though, Dedica sounds dated.
And without a more global presentation
via the CD notes, which are a bit dry
and lacking in information about the
composer’s life, who he studied with,
or what, if any, his relationship to
Maderna was, it is difficult to understand
the reason we are only now seeing this
recording on the market. With nearly
three and-a-half pages devoted to Dedica
and Manzoni, and a mere two given
over to Mahler, there’s a less-than-subtle
push towards favoring Manzoni. But whatever
the reason for the pairing of these
two composers, I’m afraid Mahler is
still the winner.
Chase Pamela
Morrison
Orchestra Sinfonica dell’Emilia-Romagna "Arturo
Toscanini"/Günter Neuhold 
