Conventional in format,
camera work and presentation this is
one of the latest in Euroarts’ burgeoning
DVD collection. It enshrines a performance
given in the Accademia Nazionale di
Santa Cecilia in Rome by Abbado and
the Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester of
the Ninth Symphony of Mahler. It’s good
to see the conductor looking almost
spry after his recent medical alarms;
instructive to see his constant encouragement
to the young musicians, his smiles and
grimaces; also the smiles on the faces
of the musicians as he catches an eye,
leads an entry point, or draws them
sweepingly on. The respect seems to
be mutual and total between orchestra
and conductor.
The camera angles are,
as I suggested, conventional. There
are shots of principals and orchestral
solos; of the winds of course, and of
the string choirs (generally sectional
in medium shot). There are also plenty
of panning angles and, sometimes less
helpfully, shots of instrumental strands
(such as the trumpet in the first movement)
that we can’t hear either because of
faulty internal balancing or because
of the skewed acoustic in the hall.
We can see Abbado, from left and right,
and watch the elegant lift, lightly
conducted, that he gives in the second
movement. Similarly if you want repeated
shots of harp glissandi you’ll have
them in profusion in the third movement
– that’s after the orchestral tuning
up after the end of the second, of course,
which has been preserved. As the final
movement progresses one becomes aware
that Abbado has been framed against
an increasingly dark auditorium until
by the mid point he is silhouetted against
a sepulchral but defined pitch. The
effect becomes one of intense concentration
and focus – but I’d be interested to
know how it was achieved. The vast auditorium
shot fuses both the public and the individual
in elemental conjunction.
The applause is long;
Abbado shakes hands from the stage and
is generous with members of the orchestra.
The performance is detailed and fluid,
architecturally cogent, but not perhaps
overwhelming. There are no extra features
on the DVD but there’s a fine booklet
note written by Donald Mitchell.
Jonathan Woolf
Gustav Mahler Jugendorchester/Claudio Abbado 
EUROARTS
DVD 2054009 [84:00] 
