Live Recordings of Mahler's Eighth

G.Mahler, Sy.#8, S.Rattle / Birmingham SO EMI G.Mahler, Sy.#8, S.Rattle / Birmingham SO EMI Masters 2010 G.Mahler, Sy.#8, S.Rattle / Birmingham SO EMI Masters 2012 (now Warner) G.Mahler, Sy.#8, S.Rattle / Birmingham SO EMI DVD Audio/Video G.Mahler, Sy.#8, N.Järvi / Gothenburg Orchestras BIS

Kent Nagano's latest Mahler recording is now available in the U.S. and should bring the warm rain of Mahler-8 (re-)issues to a halt until Michael Tilson Thomas finishes his cycle with the garishly divine Symphony of a Thousand. Prior to Nagano, Sir Simon Rattle's recording with the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra was hailed to the high skies in The Gramophone by Edward Seckerson. I was going to review it, but in stark contrast to Mr. Seckerson, I found it relatively unspecial and, if anything, a bit rushed in the first movement as well as lacking heft and mysticism in the second. In the same review Seckerson also tore apart the Nagano recording in the same over-the-top way with which he praised the Rattle 8th, so that, even before hearing either account, I felt that the review was probably a tad lopsided. I put the Rattle review off until the Nagano recording came out in the U.S. and bought myself two other live recordings of Mahler's 8th to compare for myself, meanwhile. The two were Kubelik's re-released live recording on an Audite SACD and Neeme Järvi's 8th on BIS. The latter is not what might come to mind for great Mahler, but it was highly recommended.

G.Mahler, Sy.#8, K.Nagano / O.d.Dt.Opera Berlin Harmonia Mundi G.Mahler, Sy.#8, K.Nagano / O.d.Dt.Opera Berlin Harmonia Mundi SACD G.Mahler, Sy.#8, K.Nagano / O.d.Dt.Opera Berlin Harmonia Mundi Gold G.Mahler, Sy.#8, R.Kubelik / BRSO Audite G.Mahler, Sy.#8, R.Kubelik / BRSO Audite

To have thought Mr. Seckerson's review "a tad lopsided" was, as it turned out, a mild understatement. To be sure, the Rattle recording is very fine - and I'd compare it to the famous Solti recording. (That, for most, would be some of the highest praise available. Not so with me, as I don't particularly think that the "epic" Solti recording is "all that," either.) The contributions of vocalists Brewer, Isokoski, Banse, Remmert, (Jane) Henschel, Villars, Wilson-Johnson, and Relyea are certainly more than adequate, but not spine-tinglingly exceptional. The same can be said about Nagano's Greenberg, Dawson, Matthews, Koch, Manistina, Gambill, Rother, and Rootering - the latter a better Pater Profundis than Mr. Releya. But I find Nagano's recording not only not worse (forgive me for the triple negatives) but indeed better than Rattle's. Everyone knows that Gramophone has a pro-British and pro-Rattle bias... but, difference in taste acknowledging, this is silly. Did Nagano shoot the editor's dog?

For once, I could not agree more with David Hurwitz's review on Classics Today, being usually rather sceptical of their reviews. He, too, hears the heft, the mystery in this work that is so utterly lacking from other performances.

No other performance captures more of the music's mystery and sensuality, revels in the rich details of its orchestration to such a welcome degree, or offers such a clear and characterful distinction between the work's two parts. [...T]he atmosphere is palpable[...]

That is perhaps one step further than I would go (I still think that the Ozawa recording has the edge on mystery and unearthly shimmer - especially in the Chorus mysticus), but it's very close to how I feel. Nagano does offer that shimmer, that deeper, more mysterious feel, a sound from other spheres - whereas Rattle offers sound from Birmingham Symphony Hall. The prominent organ in Nagano - never overwhelming but far more present than in many other recordings - is a much appreciated touch, too. At 88 minutes (the time it takes him for the second movement is well spent!) it comes on two CDs and is - much to its detriment, I think - not priced at a single disc's cost but at over $30. A major mistake on the part of Harmonia Mundi - given that much of the competition comes at the full price for one disc or less.

Before the positive impression, the first listen on inferior headphones was a shock. The choir, further back than in most recordings, sounded muffled to the point of being inaudible. Set back it is, though fortunately not nearly as badly captured as the ten-dollar headphones suggested. On speakers and Sennheiser headphones alike, it was a very different story.

Speaking of sound: on that plane, the Neeme Järvi recording can compete with any, live or studio. It is clear, brilliant even, yet not too bright, and it lets in plenty of light. The dynamics, alas, seem limited. At just about 70 minutes it is the fastest performance I know of - and it is proof that speed has little to do with whether a performance is great or not. I don't hesitate including Järvi's 8th among the great performances on record. The singing is very capable, again, and the orchestral contribution outstanding. Crisp it might be, but it transmits a sense of greater meaning, of a truly special occasion. Actually, it was performed for a special occasion, namely in honor of the victims of the M/S Estonia tragedy. Perhaps that explains the flawless playing of the orchestra - more than astounding for a one-off performance.

Apropos such a performance, Rafael Kubelik's 8th on Audite was also captured on one night (June 24th, 1970, to be precise). There are truly glorious moments in it, especially among the chorus and the singers, which surge without bounds. Martina Arroyo, Erna Spoorenberg, Edith Mathis, Julia Hamari, Norma Procter, Donald Grobe, Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau, and Franz Crass certainly help. Vocally, this may be the most impressive 8th yet - unfortunately repeat listening is marred by some flat woodwinds and off brass. The first time it is hardly noticeable, but knowing the moments of slight failure has me cringe in anticipation. It's not a debilitating flaw, but a flaw nonetheless.

Among these four, although none are 'must-haves', Järvi comes out the unexpected 'victor' - but the more I listen to Nagano, the more I cherish his recording. Especially with Ozawa still out of print, this might be worth thinking about, despite its price. [Update: The Ozawa recording has been re-issued in Japan - on one disc and at budget price, making the import from Japan an affordable affair and reasonably priced copies on Amazon available. Update II: Nagano has been re-issued and, frankly, my keenness of Järvi is not that pronounced anymore.]

Dip Your Ears, No. 37 (Strauss Indulgence)

R.Strauss, Burleske, Rosenkavalier Waltzes, Capriccio Sextet, J-Y.Thibaudet / H.Blomstedt Decca

If Johann Strauss II is the musical equivalent of whipped cream, Richard Strauss’s waltzes from the Rosenkavalier are whipped cream with a pound of sugar and half a dozen egg yolks. Your doctor might not agree with it as part of your diet, but who is going to keep you from listening to it? Herbert Blomstedt and the Gewandhausorchester certainly invite you to indulge. For this lush music – pleasant as can be with a little tinge here and there – lusciously played and topped off with a rich, resonant, and full sound, it all comes together on this new Decca release.

Because two such servings in a row would be too much, the Sextet from Capriccio comes before the second Rosenkavalier Waltz Sequence. The Sextet is the ideal in-between. It is all of Strauss’s harmonically dense language, all his sophistication and unearthly beauty condensed into some hauntingly light twelve minutes of string sextet performance. (The work is the phenomenal, unexpected overture to Capriccio, one of the finest operas ever conceived.) Well played and in excellent sound, this sextet will make you want to get the entire opera!

Before all that, Jean-Yves Thibaudet joins Blomstedt for the Burleske, a one-movement concerto-fantasy for piano and orchestra that takes a Brahmsian language, adds Rachmaninoff-like pianistic challenges, and sprinkles it with touches of mid-Strauss’s sound world. It may not be an unalloyed masterpiece, but it is not heard often enough given that it offers considerable beauty. The sound here is naturally better than the 1976 Kempe/Frager recording (EMI – part of their landmark set of all of Strauss’s orchestral works) and Glenn Gould’s loving rendition for CBS/Sony.

Three wonderful and different angles of Strauss’s music brought together on one lovely disc with committed playing. Perfect as an introduction and a lovely, if hardly mandatory, indulgence for Strauss veterans.

Budget Picks, No. 1

J. S. Bach, Goldberg Variations, A. Schiff

The set of Goldberg Variations contains some of the most beautiful keyboard music J. S. Bach ever wrote. Supreme control of counterpoint and mellifluous melodies: it is all there. The music is so indestructible, so timelessly good that you could play it on the marimba and it would still sound fairly good. Most people prefer the piano, though – even over the harpsichord for which the works were written. Of course Glenn Gould’s recordings are still paramount here - love or hate them. But Schiff brings his felt, sensitive, and immaculate no-nonsense musicianship to the variations in his first recording, a “Penguin Classic.” (He may well have achieved a few more subtle shades and depth in his latest ECM outing, but this one is still very fine, indeed.) Lore has it that these pieces were commissioned as a cure for an insomniac. Well, you might find the music calming your spirits, but you won’t fall asleep.

Decca 02894761659

Summer Opera: Cherubini's Medea

One of the great things that Jean-Pierre Brossmann did, when he succeeded Stéphane Lissner as director of the Théâtre du Châtelet in Paris, was to create the Festival des Régions. Each summer, successful opera productions from provincial theaters would be brought to Paris for a special run. Since he himself had come to Paris from the Opéra de Lyon, some Parisians were suspicious about his motives, but after six good years, the idea has caught on. The latest of these productions, which I wrote about in my Opera in the Summer 2005 post, is Luigi Cherubini's Medea (1797), in the new production from the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse. (In 2000, Nicolas Joel's company brought excellent productions of Ambroise Thomas's Hamlet and Gustave Charpentier's Louise; for more on Nicolas Joel, see my post from Sunday.) Here's a partial translation of the review by Marie-Aude Roux (La Médée du Capitole de Toulouse déçoit un peu en arrivant à Paris, July 3) in Le Monde, who claims to be a little disappointed:

It was in Toulouse that the Italian Anna Caterina Antonacci, the incandescent Cassandre in the famous Berlioz Les Troyens at the Châtelet in 2003, had debuted in 1998, in The Barber of Seville. On Thursday, June 30, she performed the destructive role that propelled Maria Callas to fame (in 1953, in Florence and then at La Scala, under Leonard Bernstein), 16 years before Pasolini's Medea recorded the singer's tragic face so impressively on film. [...]

Produced at the Capitole in May, the production arrives in Paris to considerable anticipation: Anna Caterina Antonacci would supposedly make us forget Callas. But the singer seems out of her element here, and her beautiful caryatid's silhouette does not make up for singing that, while certainly noble and strong with a warm and heavenly timber, is tentative in the high register, thin of line and poorly projected, unable to fill up the hall except in the final act of vengeance. The disappointment is not lessened by Evolino Pido's animated but unimaginative conducting or Yannis Kokkos's tomblike staging, which relies on broad stereotypes instead of better direction of the actors. We are not rejuvenated by these caged animal turns to express wounded pain, these heads raised to the implored heavens, these stretched-out arms, these slow steps, these cowardly crimes committed in corridors.

Mme. Roux was also not impressed by the Italian version of the opera performed in Toulouse, with the sung recitatives made by Franz Lachner in 1855, to replace the original French alexandrin verse in the 1797 premiere. She does single out contralto Sara Mingardo for her "troubling and touching" performance as Neris. Another review, also generally negative, comes from Christian Merlin (Sans frisson, July 2) for Le Figaro (my translation):

If Cherubini's Medea is not often performed, it is because it is one of those works that stands up only by the presence of an exceptional performer, and those who can claim such a title and take advantage of all of a tragic actress's tricks are quite rare. With Maria Callas overshadowing the role like the Commendatore's statue, the infanticide sorceress was for a long time the property of temperamental singers, whose excesses for better or worse made us forget their lack of style. This is not at all the case with Anna Caterina Antonacci: while always remaining herself, this great artist constructs each role by understanding the color, rhetoric, and phrasing appropriate to each period. She alone, surely, today would be able to revive this neoclassical music, in which Gluck hands the baton to Beethoven, without descending into melodrama. The only problem is that, to sing this overstuffed score with enthusiasm, without giving oneself over to vulgar effects, you must be at your physical and emotional best. Antonacci, although she had blown away audiences and critics last month in Toulouse, did not have her best night during the Parisian premiere. Her voice dried up, and the high range was reached only by shredding force, so the Cassandre miracle of Les Troyens was not reproduced, at least not on Thursday night.

Merlin reminds us that Yannis Kokkos was responsible for the staging of that legendary Les Troyens, but he does not care for this staging either ("more like a statuary than a theater"). Just like Roux, Merlin singles out Sara Mingardo, "whose vibrant contralto voice brought some humanity, for the length of one aria, to a thrill-less evening." The remaining performances of Medea are scheduled in Paris for tonight and July 8.

Classical Week in Washington (7/4)

Classical Week in Washington is a weekly feature that appears on Mondays. If there are concerts that you would like to see included on our schedule, send your suggestions by e-mail (praecentor at yahoo dot com). Plan your concert schedule for the entire month of July with our Classical Month in Washington (July), or your summer opera listening with Opera in the Summer 2005.

Tuesday, July 5, through Sunday, July 10, various times
Kirov Ballet: Le Corsaire (music by Adolphe Adam, Cesare Pugni, Leo Delibes, Riccardo Drigo, and Pavel Oldenburgsky)
Kennedy Center Opera House
See the review by Sarah Kaufman (Washington Post, July 7)

Thursday, July 7, 8 pm
Meet the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra, Douglas Boyd, conductor (Elgar, Britten, Stravinsky)
Music Center at Strathmore (North Bethesda, Md.)
See the review by Daniel Ginsberg (Washington Post, July 9)

Thursday, July 7, 8:15 pm
National Symphony Orchestra, All-Tchaikovsky Concert, "Russian Bells and Cannons"
With Emil de Cou, guest conductor, and violinist Joshua Bell
Wolf Trap (Vienna, Va.)
See the review by Claire Marie Blaustein (Washington Post, July 9)

Saturday, July 9, 8:15 pm
National Symphony Orchestra: Verdi, Puccini, Bizet, and Wagner: "Murder and Other Operatic Mayhem"
Wolf Trap (Vienna, Va.)
See the review by Joseph McLellan (Washington Post, July 11)

Sunday, July 10, 2:30 pm; Wednesday, July 13, 7:30 pm; Friday, July 15, 7:30 pm; Sunday, July 17, 2:30 pm
Verdi, Rigoletto
Summer Opera Theatre Company
See the review by Joseph McLellan (Washington Post, July 12)

Sunday, July 10, 4 pm
Opera International, Opera Gala concert (with mezzo-soprano Guang Yang and many others)
Music Center at Strathmore (North Bethesda, Md.)

——» Go to last week's schedule, for the week of June 20.

Nicolas Joel Angling to Go to Paris?

Well, it's only been one season and some people are starting to wonder how long Gérard Mortier will last at the Opéra National de Paris. In an article (Nicolas Joel disponible pour l'Opéra de Paris, July 1) for Le Figaro, Christian Merlin interviews Nicolas Joel, director of the very successful opera company at the Théâtre du Capitole in Toulouse. They are currently presenting two operas at the Châtelet, Cherubini's Medea with Anna Caterina Antonacci and Puccini's La Rondine with Angela Gheorghiu. Here's a short translated excerpt:

How do you get casts like this?

It seems to me like the least thing an opera director should do is get the best singers of the day. First of all, it's a matter of planning. You have to think three or four years in advance (in fact, I have just received a contract from the Vienna Opera to do a Faust there in 2008). It also means having a close relationship with the artists: they come if they know that they will find optimal working conditions, in particular for the chance to discover new roles. When I direct abroad, I do a lot of listening. Also, you must have a network of people you trust. Finally, I read a lot of opera reviews in the national and international press: every day I read the German, Italian, English dailies.

How is the Festival des Régions organized?

In concert with Jean-Pierre Brossmann. The last time we came, it was with French repertory (Louise and Hamlet) and, at the time, I had said that if we came back, I wanted to do something else, because we are in no way a specialized company. It's a joint financial venture: the Châtelet pays for the moving expenses, the trip, housing the artists in Paris, and we come with our sets, our costumes, and productions already rehearsed and performed in Toulouse. For La Rondine, which is a coproduction with London, the Châtelet technicians had already gone to observe at Covent Garden to prepare. This Festival is a chance for the Parisian audience that cannot come to Toulouse to see our work. [...]

The question of a successor for Gérard Mortier at the Opéra de Paris will come up soon: do you see a Parisian future for yourself?

For a post like that one, you are not a candidate, you are called...

But you not deny that you will make yourself available?

I do not even deny that I am preparing myself for it: if the usual delays occur, I would have the time.

A diplomatic response to the question, but also a fairly clear one.

Dip Your Ears, No. 36

Stravinsky, Malipiero, Casella, Klassizistische Moderne, C. Hogwood

Arte Nova, the German budget label that brought us David Zinman’s Beethoven, is back in the United States, distributed by BMG-Sony-RCA-Masterworks, or whatever the new conglomerate is called. This is volume three in a very enterprising series of interesting discs that feature 20th-century works in classic form. Stravinsky is the common denominator of the three volumes, and here his Pulcinella Suite for chamber orchestra shares the space with Gian Francesco Malipiero’s Ricerari per undici Instrumenti and Alfredo Casella’s Scarlattiana: Divertimento after Domenico Scarlatti.

The three works are stunningly gorgeous! The Pulcinella Suite in its outing for violin and piano is stunning enough, but lushed up for chamber orchestra it’s a sometimes quirky marvel. Old wine in new bottles, some may say – but think of it as good old wine in excellent new decanters. Good ideas well developed are not worth any less for their kernel to have originated from others. Malipiero’s Ricerari are most enjoyable, too, but Scarlattiana was the impulse to buy the disc (at $6.99, I didn’t need much of an impulse). If you like Scarlatti and are not beset with an overly developed sense of musical ‘purity’, you must fall in love with the twenty-minute divertimento that takes its cue from over 80 different Scarlatti sonatas.

Excellent stuff then, as are most of Arte Nova’s new (re-)releases – and at a price that invites further exploration.