This disc from the independent German label MDG features
two highly popular works performed by string orchestra. With
Ukrainian born, Roman Kofman at the baton, the Kiev Chamber
Orchestra pays tribute to Gustav Mahler’s secret passion
for the arranging of legendary compositions for chamber orchestra.
Schubert’s Death and the Maiden is heard in Mahler’s
magnificent re-write for string orchestra. The companion
work is the famous Adagietto from Mahler’s own Fifth
Symphony, music which captivated hearts of a wider audience
of filmgoers thirty years ago in director Luchino Visconti’s
adaptation of Thomas Mann’s novella Death in Venice.
It was common practice around the turn of the twentieth
century for conductors to make arrangements of established
chamber works. No doubt it was felt that this would better
suit the disposition of the audience. Mahler was in the habit
of altering the texts of well known published scores and
would frequently make considerable changes to scores he was
conducting. Mahler’s friend Natalie Bauer-Lechner wrote that
he had remarked to her that, “One could take Schubert’s
themes and start off developing them. In fact that would
do them no harm at all, so utterly unelaborated are they”.
Mahler obtained a score of Schubert’s eminent Death
and the Maiden and made detailed notes indicating how
the music could be arranged for string orchestra and given
an opportunity to make its way in larger concert halls.
What has come down to us is Mahler’s incomplete arrangement
marked with copious and detailed notes on instrumentation,
dynamics and articulation. He abandoned plans for a complete
performance. Long after his death, Mahler’s daughter Anna
discovered the unfinished arrangement and brought it to
the attention of the Mahler scholars; David Matthews and
Donald Mitchell. They extracted the orchestral parts according
to Mahler’s annotations and the score was published in
1984.
The
celebrated quartet is a fiercely intense work with
the theme of death at its heart. Dating from 1824 it was
published posthumously. The title Death and the Maiden stems
from the reuse in the andante of Schubert’s
song setting a poem of that title by Matthias Claudius.
The Kiev
Chamber Orchestra perform with vitality and the utmost conviction. They
are especially effective in the episodes of fiery agitation
that pervade the opening movement allegro. They
are just as comfortable with the attractive melodies and
beautiful harmonies found in the andante con moto and
the contrasting vigour and tragic overtones of the scherzo. I love
the way the strings provide
a real intensity of emotion in the action-packed turbulence
of the closing presto.
Mahler’s
arrangement is
superbly performed here but I still would not wish to be
without my favourite recordings of the original. My
premier recommendation is the 1965
Switzerland account from
the Italian Quartet on Philips 446 163-2; an
interpretation remarkable for its sheer technical excellence
and impressive imagination. I also admire the exciting 1988
Sheffield account from the Lindsay Quartet on Sanctuary Classics
Resonance RSB 403.
Before the immense finale of Mahler’s Symphony
No. 5, the famous adagietto provides a brief respite
for the listener to reflect and unwind after the emotional
upheaval of the first three movements. Surely this is the
most beautiful music that the composer ever set to paper,
the adagietto serves as a supreme example of Mahler’s
mastery of orchestration. Most of the orchestra lies idle,
but rather than choosing a conventional string ensemble,
the composer adds a single harp to provide an underpinning
of motion to the languidly soaring melody. This simple change
in instrumentation is pure genius, producing a sonority that
I believe has never been matched before or since. One can
easily imagine a peaceful sunset amid the composer’s beloved
Austrian mountains and lakes. Others have described the adagietto as
representing a musical love-letter, of the most intimate
kind, to his wife Alma.
The Kofman and his orchestra prove ideal exponents in
this acclaimed movement. Resisting the temptation to drag
the score unnecessarily incandescent playing is drawn from
the Kiev players. This is music-making that is not merely
highly polished and crammed with fine detail, but thrilling
in its intensity and character. There is a curious glissando at
point 06.47 (track 5), an effect that I have not previously
encountered in this score.
The
booklet notes are reasonably interesting and informative,
contributing to the admirable presentation by Musikproduktion
Dabringhaus and Grimm. I always love the label’s artwork
on the front cover. Their choice of Egon Schiele’s ‘Der
Tod und das Mädchen’ from the Österreichische Galerie
Belvedere, in Vienna, is splendid and especially appropriate.
At only 56 minutes the total playing time of the disc
is far from generous. I
played this SACD using my standard CD players and was baffled by not being able to visualise the positioning
of the players in the recording studio from the recording
balance. Strangely I felt rather more comfortable with my
headphones turned around. Puzzling perhaps but not a problem
as the crystal clear sound quality is quite outstanding.
A
superb release and a certainty to be one of my ‘Records of
the Year’.
Michael
Cookson
SACD
MDG 901 1315-6 [55.47] 
