Even more than in these same forces' account of the Mahler Fifth
(see review),
what we have here is an excellent interpretation undertaken by
a fair-to-middling orchestra.
Interpretively, Jonathan Nott's approach to Mahler recalls that of
Jascha Horenstein - the highest compliment I can pay. It's
not that Nott adheres to the Horenstein paradigm in every
detail, although he does so, intentionally or otherwise, on
a surprising number of points. But his way of playing the
music has a similar sort of integrity, in that word's root
sense of "wholeness": the conductor lays out each
passage with an eye, or ear, on movement-long coherence, rather
than playing up moment-by-moment effects. Paradoxically, the
clear structural framework allows Nott the scope to hone and
highlight a surprising amount of detail.
Nott's no-nonsense musicality particularly benefits the symphony's
latter two movements, which get pulled about mercilessly in
some other performances. Thus, the third movement's klezmer
episodes pick up speed, but the conductor treats the change
as an adjustment to the established pulse rather than a sudden,
unrelated forward "kick," so that the movement is
all of a piece. Similarly, the opening of the Finale,
which can suffer abrupt Punch-and-Judy shifts between the
ominous brass calls and the turbulent violin runs, emerges
the more powerfully for maintaining a steady forward impulse.
It's good, too, to hear the brasses' piano version
of the big motivic fanfare (8:08)
stepping strictly in tempo - played thus, it neither breaks
the momentum nor diminishes the power of the forte
statement shortly thereafter at 9:32.
In the opening movement, Nott doesn't go out of his way to disturb
the "standard" interpretation, but he finds room
for nice touches within it. The exposition's unfolding is
easy and relaxed, perhaps too laid-back for some. The initial
pianissimo statement sounds a bit withdrawn - I'll
discuss that further in a bit - but registers more strongly
and clearly on the exposition repeat. It's good actually to
hear the descending string figure at 5:36
as it moves from the violins down to the violas and cellos,
where it usually disappears. The flute soloist actually finds
expression in the little repeated motif at the start of the
development, and the timpani strokes shortly thereafter are
ominous. At 11:27, where usually either the oboe or the violins are subordinated, both
motifs register clearly.
Lean, rustic basses launch the Scherzo, playing off incisive
upper strings. The woodwinds are nicely poised and evenly balanced
in the opening theme; the control is good at the Vorwärts
marking. It's in the Trio that Nott diverges most conspicuously
from the Horenstein model, emulating Bernstein (Sony), Païta (Lodia),
and Segerstam (Chandos), among others, in inflecting and punctuating
the theme with a "Viennese," bar-by-bar rubato. He does
so without disturbing the ongoing line - the music still moves
forward with direction and purpose. The playing is shapely, though
the theme's dotted figure starts out double-dotted, and the oboe
keeps going that way for a while. The "seizing" of the
original tempo at 6:48
is effective, and the Vorwärts again launches with good
control, though the brasses sound a bit scrambled towards the
close.
As indicated in my review of Nott's Mahler Fifth, the Bamberg Symphony
has improved since their early-stereo outings for Vox, producing
a focused, powerful ensemble sound in tutti. But the
playing, while always capable, sometimes lacks presence and
character. The strings have trouble maintaining intensity
when playing quietly, a flaw underlined by Nott's otherwise
commendable attention to the softer dynamics. The Finale's
melting second theme, for example, is pale here - the tone
gradually fills out, but the demeanour remains reticent until
the final few bars. Even the brasses aren't immune: in the
first movement, the trumpet at 4:08 and 6:17 and the muted
horns at 9:56 are unduly bashful - as is, for that matter,
the third movement's famous bass solo - and the trombone at
2:13 of the Scherzo is clear, but hardly commanding.
Note that such passages are the exception, not the rule -
generally the playing is full of life and color - but they're
a let-down.
No complaints about the sound quality. Even in plain frontal stereo,
the sense of "presence" and attack is most convincing,
without the occasional harsh edge that bothered me in the
Fifth. The big brass chords reproduce with marvelous depth,
and there's a rousing impact in the big bass thwacks. Still,
with Horenstein's sonically refurbished mono recording (Vox)
theoretically still available - the Unicorn stereo remake
with the LSO may well be in permanent digital limbo, alas
- the general collector might as well go for the original.
Stephen
Francis Vasta
see
also Review
by Dan Morgan
[55:25]
