Off the shelf

David Zinman, Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra; Gustav Mahler Symphony No. 5 (RCA) ***The current release in the Tonhalle’s Mahler cycle is curious.  On the one hand, it is a no-nonsense performance of perhaps Mahler’s most popular symphony.  There is tension and drama but its not overdone.  The SACD recording quality is splendid.  But, on the other hand, the disc lacks the punch of other recordings of this symphony.  When I first heard this disc, I didn’t like it at all.  Then again, I was comparing it to my preferred recording by John Barbirolli who takes an expansive, romantic approach to the piece.  After repeated hearings, the transparency, and fluid sound of the orchestra grew on me.  This recording is easily better than the recent release of the same symphony by Michael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony and it is a recording Mahler fans will want to hear even if it ultimately won’t rank as one of the best.

Terry Riley “In C” (Sony) ****This release marks the 40th anniversary of the original recording of Terry Riley’s masterpiece “In C.”  It isn’t hyperbole to say that this piece of music and this performance, when it happened, revolutionized classical music.  This release by Sony is valuable as a historic document but also as a definitive recording of this important piece of music.  The performance retains a gritty luster that sounds great in remastered sound and alludes to the specialness of the occasion.  A clear recommendation for fans of Terry Riley and minimalism.

Jonathan Nott, Bamberg Symphony; Gustav Mahler Symphony No.1 (Tudor) ***Jonathan Nott, Bamberg Symphony; Gustav Mahler Symphony No.4 (Tudor) **Tudor has hitched itself to Jonathan Nott and the Bamberg Symphony.  Under his guidance the orchestra has improved and gained a place as a consequential German orchestra.  Maybe Tudor sees a little Sir Simon in Nott’s career trajectory?  Recent Schubert discs have been well received.  However, with these two releases, the results were mixed for me.

Nott gives Mahler’s First Symphony ample room to breath and unfold naturally.  Nott’s deliberate guidance  is reminiscent of Bernard Haitink’s approach to the same symphony.  Lusty vulgarity is left behind in exchange for a thoughtful performance that at times seems ordinary – but energetic where it needs to be – when compared to the full-throttle cycle being undertaken by the London Symphony and Valery Gergiev.  If you ask me, what a relief.  Mahler’s First deserves a normal performance (and recording) every now and then.

By contrast, the Fourth Symphony is too normal.  The recorded sound seems recessed to me and soprano Mojca Erdmann makes a forgettable appearance in the fourth movement.  For me, Nott and the Bamberg players are too careful.  Some think of Mahler’s fourth as the “light” symphony.  It doesn’t have to be; just give Ivan Fischer’s recent recording a listen for a counter argument. For a similar approach, better realized, and  with a better soprano, one need only check out Bernard Haitink’s recent recording of the fourth with the Royal Concertgebouw.  Christine Shafer is the soprano for that recording.

Jonathan Nott, Bamberg Symphony; Igor Stravinsky Le Sacre Du Printemps, Symphony in 3 Movements (Tudor) 

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****I like this recording.  Not since Valery Gergiev’s earth-shaking performance with the Kirov Orchestra has Stravinsky’s masterpiece sounded so visceral and so alive.  The recording is undoubtedly helped by the SACD format which vividly identifies normally obscure details.  Like “Rite” the Symphony in 3 Movements has plenty of forward push.  Nott seems to relish the idea of this piece being Stravinsky’s “war symphony.”  The Bamberg Symphony will keep listeners off balance and alert – exactly what a good performance of these two pieces should do.

Peter Breiner, New Zealand Symphony Orchestra; Janacek: Orchestral Suites from the Operas Nr. 2 (Naxos)****  The first opera I ever heard all the way through was a radio broadcast of Leos Janacek’s “Kata Kabanova.”  Other people might have been inducted into the world of opera through Mozart or Puccini.  Not me.  It was Kata, Tichon, her cranky mother in-law, and a suicidal plunge into the Volga that first filled my ears.  This second release in Naxos’s cycle of Peter Breiner arranged suites from Janacek’s operas is a winner.  Two operas are represented on this disc – “Kata Kabanova and “The Makropulos Affair.”  Even in a compressed form like a suite, Breiner conveys the essentials of these operas – sadness, passion, torment, and fate.  Janacek’s appealing musical fragments and harmonies are retained too.   Naxos’s recording is clear and the New Zealand Symphony is responsive under Breiner’s baton.  What a great, new way to experience these two operas.  Fans of Janacek shouldn’t hesitate – get this disc.