Gustav MAHLER (1860-1911)
Symphony No. 6 (1903-5)
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks/Daniel Harding
rec. live, Philharmonie im Gasteig, Munich, 2014
BR KLASSIK 900132 [82:28]
Daniel Harding hasn’t done much Mahler on disc so
far, though what he has recorded has been significant, most notably his Tenth
with the Vienna Philharmonic. This is his first recorded Sixth, and
it’s very good. He is partnered brilliantly by the Bavarian RSO, who
do a great job of bringing the composer’s and the conductor’s
vision to life. The recording engineers play their part, too, with brilliantly
inclusive recorded sound that manages to take in the whole scope of the score
as well as illuminating its details. That’s at its finest in the introduction
to the finale, where the swirling strings are utterly clear from top to bottom,
with the celesta and trumpets sitting perfectly naturally in the soundscape.
As for the interpretation, it’s exciting from the off. The string march
that opens the first movement has proper bite to it, and sounds fantastically
incisive in its intonation. The drum roll and A major/minor chord is clear
as a bell, and Alma’s theme has a wonderful sweep to it. There is then
brilliant energy to the start of the development, with the brass bright and
clear. The pastoral interlude has a lovely air of mystery, and I especially
love the way the winds played their second theme with such a suggestion of
unknown potential. Harding directs the whole thing convincingly, with the
sense of a whole rather than fracturing it into episodes.
The slow movement — which comes second — opens with a beautifully
innocent, almost naïve string theme, and it’s those strings that carry
the weight of the whole movement though, cleverly, behind the scenes there
is always a gently suggested sense that all is not well. The horn solo, by
the way, is an absolute knockout. The great climax that occurs around the
12-minute mark is marvellous: the cowbells may be slightly occluded but that's
all that's wrong with it, and the ending is beautiful, with just the
right mix of pathos and resignation. The Scherzo, like the first movement,
has great energy – almost demonic at times – and the horns whoop
brilliantly at the theme’s first reappearance. However the pastoral
sections are really quite beautiful – not just Altvaterisch
– and lollop along convincingly without being ungainly.
The finale begins with that impressive clarity of sound, and the solo tuba
feels as though it is sounding within a void. There is a great feeling of
scale right from the off, and it spurs Harding on to his finest, too: the
section with low brass and winds, for example, builds brilliantly before
exploding into the drum-beat rhythm, exhibiting masterly directorial control.
There is an edge of malevolence to the violins as they give the first theme
of the Allegro, and from that point on it’s one convincing effect after
another. I was pretty disappointed with the first hammer-blow, which passes
to little effect, but the second unleashed mayhem, with screaming violins
and gong really raising the tension. Then at the 27-minute mark, during the
last and most promising stretch of major key music, all seems to be building
to a positive triumph. When this fails to materialises the mood is as though
something had been cruelly snatched away, and everything that follows feels
pale and underdone, especially the doleful brass chorale that ushers in the
final A minor chord, which is utterly unanswerable.
There is definitely a lot to enjoy, therefore, and while it might not stand
long-term competition with the likes of Abbado or Rattle, it's a disc
that makes you glad that orchestra — or, in this case, radio —
own labels exist because otherwise this performance would have disappeared
and it's well worth repeated hearings. The recording is live, but there
is no applause and the audience are very well behaved.
Incidentally, the graphic on the cover is a measure of the conductor’s
and four of the musicians’ heartbeats around the time of the second
hammer-blow: many of them (including Harding) were wearing ECG devices to
monitor their heartbeats during the concert. The booklet tells us that “Daniel
Harding, in particular, performed at peak capacity. One conclusion can already
be drawn: the stress situation of a musician is comparable to that of a professional
athlete or a Formula One driver.” Sadly, no more insightful analysis
is provided.
Simon Thompson
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