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Folks who generally shy away from Boulez's Mahler ought to hear this performance. It's a whale of a good time, plain and simple. Far from being cold and analytical, the first movement positively glows with romantic warmth. Boulez is especially generous with the big retard leading to the first movement's climax, where the Chicago brass literally whoop it up, just as Mahler demands. The second movement is fast, but never lacking in charm, while the funeral march of the third movement has the right quality of cartoon ghoulishness. Good klezmer-like interludes, too, if not quite up to Kubelik's incomparable standard. Best of all, the finale positively blazes--no dragging, no underplayed climaxes--simply a blast from beginning to end. Indeed, it's hard to dismiss the notion that the usually cerebral Boulez is simply getting a naughty thrill letting his Chicagoans play the pants off of this most colorful of romantic symphonies. They've recorded it at least four times previously (for Giulini, Tennstedt, Solti, and Abbado), but this really is Chicago's best. Great sound, as well, with room-shaking bass. Take this to your local stereo store, play the last five minutes, and see if you can dim the lights in your neighborhood while you blow out some woofers. --David Hurwitz
Customer Reviews
On balance, the best Mahler First
It is often said, with justification, that Mahler's Seventh Symphony is the most difficult to perform properly. One must get behind the notes to enter fully the spirit of grotesquerie that Mahler wrote into them, and only a few conductors have been able to do so, among them Rafael Kubelik, Claudio Abbado, and - Pierre Boulez.
Boulez is an anomaly among Mahler conductors, just as he is an anomaly among French conductors. Most French conductors who preceded him did not like rehearsing, and in fact found it an impediment to the "sirit of improvisation" that they wished to arouse in performance. But when Boulez came to international prominence in the late 1960s, he brought with him a composer's mind and a fastidious approach to score preparation and rehearsal. His intent has always been to try to give exactly what the composer put on paper. Sometimes, most notable in his recordings of Webern's orchestral music and Berg's "Wozzeck," he surprisingly failed to do so, but in most other cases he has been successful.
The problem with Boulez has not generally been one of veering away from the score as it has been with expression. His orchestral sound is warm but not passionate. His strict attention to detail and structure sometimes leaves the listener wondering if Boulez EVER feels passion about any score he conducts. Most of his performances, live or on records, are emotionally cool to the point of complete emotional detachment.
Mahler's First Symphony, to judge by the large number of recordings available and the equally large number of failures, is almost as difficult to pull off as the Seventh. Of the many versions I've heard, only four - Sir Adrian Boult, Rafael Kubelik, Riccardo Muti and Boulez - have really penetrated the score in terms of both giving one what Mahler wrote and at least trying to impart the sense of "unbalance" and emotional angst which is that composer's hallmark. Boult did so by conducting the symphony much faster in every movement than the composer indicated, though his is still my favorite performance of the symphony in terms of giving us the Mahlerian spirit. Kubelik phrases it in a quirky style more suitable to Czech music than to Mahler, in my opinion, though his reading is equally intense.
Boulez takes a middle approach that, in this particular symphony, in this particular recording, works wonders. He follows the composer's instructions not only to the letter, but in the minutest detail. He phrases it romantically, using generous rubatos and portamenti. He walks a fine line between cleanliness of execution - often a sore point in this symphony, even with Boult and Kubelik - and passionate interpretation. Yes, there are places where he errs: certain phrases, here and there, seem a bit too clean, a little less gemüchtlich. But on the whole, the performance is remarkable. I hear details of orchestration in this recording that escape others, and this is achieved without exaggeration. I hear not only power but schmaltz. And I hear a reading that, in the end, is immensely satisfying as a cross-breed between structure and feeling.
Perhaps he was able to accomplish this because he used the Chicago Symphony, one of the great Mahler orchestras. Certainly, James Levine's Mahler Fourth works equally well for the same reason. The musicians may or may not have taken emotional control of the symphony away from Boulez, but in the end I think he approved its release because it satisfied him on so many levels. It satisfies me, as well.
The Boult recording will always remain a special favorite of mine for its unbridled passion, but I recognize that this is an individualistic reading that veers away from the composer's written tempi and instructions. The Boulez is "home ground." And for those who think that the second movement is "way too fast," take another look at the score. It's written that way. This is not a ländler like the one in the second symphony; it is a rustic dance. I well remember the late Klaus Tennstedt yelling at his orchestra to exude the exact same effect.
Highly recommended. This is now my number one choice for the Mahler First.
the scherzo is too fast!
The last two movements are outstanding - about as good as you'll ever hear them (I prefer a faster tempo for the "Frere Jacques" round in minor that begins the third movement - as executed by Jarvi and Norrington - but that's beside the point). But I'm dinging this down to four stars because of the scherzo. In short, it's too fast! Don't think so? Just click on the Windows Media excerpt above. These are country bumpkins ready for the disco floor - their big chance on the "Dirty Dancing" TV show. There's little if any rusticity or "swing" to their gait. Beyond that, this is very good. Even the sound is greatly improved over Boulez's Chicago Mahler 9th, recorded just a few years earlier.
Although it's not so sharply focused in the outer movements, for the Chicago Symphony, I prefer the older Giulini Mahler 1st on EMI. That just got reissued in a Giulini/CSO box set from EMI, that includes his hugely under-rated Chicago Bruckner 9, as well as his fine CSO Brahms 4th (Giulini's Vienna Phil. Brahms is depressingly slow). Giulini's M1 has just right amount of rusticity to the scherzo. Boulez is fast and slick, if also technically expert.
Youthful Mahler
Gustav Mahler is well known for his symphonies. Most know that they are usually lengthy, but there is more to it; each of his symphonies are an experience, rather than enjoying a simple artistic musical work. Mahler's sense of dramatic timing is evident in his liberal use of tempo, dynamic, and articulation directions. His music also contains inventive and memorable melodies, along with colorful and imaginative orchestrations. His first symphony, subtitled Titan, is a youthful and energetic first foray into the symphony genre, a work that easily stands shoulder to shoulder with his mature symphonies.
The first movement (of four) is marked: like a sound of Nature, and the movement is very pictorial in that regard. Chirpings and warblings can be heard on the clarinet and flute, while distant trumpet and horn calls give a forest-like locale. The searing high strings hovering over the various mutterings, evoke a calm morning. Nature, however, gives way to a rustic dance, one which is quaint and happy. All of the elements come together at the end for a brilliant close. The rustic dances with drones and horn calls are carried over into the second movement, but in a waltz time. The opening basses, unrelentless in their highly repeated rhythms, underplay the woodwinds charming and tuneful motif. The trio section, in opposition, is rather stately, but is taken over by a dashing restatement of the opening; another brash ending. The famous third movement is well-known for its use of "Frere Jacques" in a minor mode, set as a funeral march. In addition, there is a frightful, mocking clarinet counter-melody which squawks at the procession. Thrice the march is interrupted by a snappier dance-like section: first a "gypsy" sounding polka; another time a peaceful jaunt into major, and before the end of the movement, the "gypsy" idea returns; the movement fades into nothingness. The final movement, 19-minutes in and of itself, ties the whole work together by bringing previous ideas back. The movement begins forceful and menacing, but Mahler chooses to move towards the positive. Stunning melodies, lush harmonies, and brilliant brass work conclude the nearly 53-minute symphony.
Pierre Boulez and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra perform with gusto and panache; Boulez follows Mahler's voluminous directions admirably and the natural drama shines through, as well as giving a feeling of constantly moving forward. The world-class Chicago Symphony Orchestra is on top of the music from the start, although in places, becomes a little reckless; nonetheless, I personally cannot frown on their wanton approach. The DG 4D sonics bring the ensemble to the forefront and they sparkle. This symphony is the best introduction to Mahler's symphonies, and this recording is easily recommendable for its forward moving, dramatic interpretation and delightful ambience.
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