Whilst I would disagree
with the view later espoused that the
Fourth is Mahler’s most approachable
symphony, it is still a work of great
beauty and power, and Levine does his
best to convey this. The first movement
is taken at a beautifully steady pace,
getting the disc off to a good start.
The strings are fairly vibrant and the
playing from the Chicago Symphony Orchestra
is exemplary. However, I felt that the
sound comes over as slightly too harsh
and strident, almost sparse, lacking
warmth and not particularly full, lush
or rich. This harsh and rough tone –
almost coarse in places - runs though
the entire symphony (and seems to increase
through the first movement). It is exaggerated
further by the slightly cold recorded
sound. This effect may be what some
listeners want – a less smooth and luscious
Mahler, with more grit and severity,
but it is not a style that particularly
appeals to me. I must admit to having
been slightly put off by this. There
is also an amount of background notice
(chairs creaking and so on) that was
rather intrusive and detracted from
the pleasure of listening. I found the
disc a bit of a mixture in general.
Levine captures a wonderful
sense of jubilation in places. He creates
a good sense of space and his steady
and unrushed tempi are perfect. On the
other hand, the solo violin at the start
of the second movement (tuned higher
than normal to represent the instrument
of death) was too strident and grating,
bordering on being overly brutal. I
felt that the symphony, as a whole,
lacked tenderness. The third movement
opens with gorgeously dark, dreamy tones
but then this charming reverie, so delightfully
created, is rudely shattered two minutes
in by the high sustained violins violently
threatening to slip rather garishly
out of tune. Judith Blegen is the soloist
in the fourth movement, and whilst her
voice suits this type of music extremely
well, I felt that her rendition of Das
Himmlische Leben is too worldly-wise
and lacking in wide-eyed innocence.
This vision of heaven is, after all,
being seen through the eyes of a child.
Although better, for example, than Amanda
Roocroft (on the Rattle/CBSO recording),
who comes across as slightly starched,
Blegen cannot rival Kathleen Battle
on Maazel’s Sony Classics recording.
A slightly hard-headed
rendition of the Fourth, then – not
particularly slushy, romantic or lyrical;
this is a good solid all-rounder. Levine
does not over-indulge in sentimentality
or emotion, but I would personally go
for a version with more poetry and passion.
This is one for those who like their
Mahler crisp, slightly bleak, and austere.
If you prefer a more luxuriant and richer
performance, try a boisterous Britten
and the LSO with Anna Reynolds, recorded
in 1961 (on the BBC label), a flawless
Karajan with the Berlin Phil on Deutsche
Grammophon, or a leisurely Klemperer
(with Schwarzkopf) on Columbia/EMI Classics.
An excellent budget price recording
that I would also recommend is Walter
conducting the Vienna Philharmonic and
the New York Philharmonic-Symphony Orchestras
on Naxos.
Em Marshall
Judith Blegen (soprano) 