Mahler - Symphony nr. 7

The past three days I have been listening to Mahler's Seventh (1904-05) in preparation of a concert tonight. I know this symphony well. "Lied der Nacht" ... It has always been one of my favorites. Particularly the first movement is one of the grandest that Mahler ever wrote. It's a giant flashback to the very best of the Wunderhorn years, the cosmic opening movement of the Third, and spiced with Mahler's evolving modernist idiom.

My reference recording is the Abbado with the Chicago SO, taped in 1984. Scherchen (1953, with the Vienna State Opera Orchestra) is another treasure. And I've always like Maazel's Seventh with the Wiener (also recorded in 1984). Recently I added some CDs to the collection which I hadn't yet heard: the analogue Solti, with the CSO, remastered as part of the Decca/DGG Originals series, the digital Levine on vinyl, also with the CSO, and the Kondrashin/Leningrad SO on Melodya. Interestingly, I find myself now with three versions of Mahler's Seventh with the Chicago SO: Solti, 1971, taped in Krannert Centre; Levine, 1980, from Medinah Hall, and Abbado, 1984, in Orchestra Hall.

I didn't have the time to listen to all these version from start to finish, so I sampled some movements. On Tuesday I listened to the first movement of the Solti, Levine, Kondrashin, Chailly (Concertgebouw) and Maazel. Solti has the reputation of being particularly fleet-footed but, in fact, it seems his timings are within the range of the normal. His first movement is a robust Allegro (it's marked risoluto after all), but he takes plenty of time to let the central 'moonlight' section flower. The virtue of this kind of tempo is clarity. It's very easy for the listener to grasp the symmetrical architecture of the movement. But it comes at the cost of an epic sense of mystery which is associated with the luxuriant, darker colours and the disorienting ebb and flow of more leisurely interpretations (such as the Chailly, for instance). Solti's version is recorded in a spectacular, spot-lit sound (Kenneth Wilkinson behind the console) which is, in a way a pleasure to listen to, but dispels with the last ounce of mystique there might have been (although I must say the transfers have not been entirely successful as the tutti exhibit an annoying glassy edge; I'm sure the LP will be even more enjoyable). But all in all Solti's seems a very lucid and legitimate take on the matter.  Certainly pleased to have it in my collection.

I still like the Maazel immensely. Sensible tempo, good grasp of the architecture, wonderful colours, spectacular playing of the Vienna SO, amazingly lifelike recording. The Chailly has a lot going for it, but I wouldn't recommend to listen to it after the Solti. After the CSO sonic spectacular the Concertgebouw sfumato doesn't really convince. Also Kondrashin offers a very convincing first movement, although it looks like it is not quite at the same level of inspiration as his visionary live recording with the Concertgebouw Orchestra from 1979. Finally, the Levine struck me as superbly accomplished too, but the orchestra is recorded much more distantly than with the Solti. I need to relisten to it.

Yesterday I focused on the Scherzo and the second Nachtmusik. Again the Solti and the Maazel which did not disappoint. I also put on the Abbado, whose Scherzo is truly, magisterially Schattenhaft.

The concert itself then. The orchestra on duty was the Orchestre Symphonique de Liège Wallonie Bruxelles led by their chief conductor Patrick Davin. We were sitting in the 'fauteuilles de loge/logezetels' on top of the orchestra. Acoustically not ideal perhaps, but this has never bothered me as it is such a feast to be able to follow all the orchestral proceedings in detail. I am still awed when I see a symphony orchestra at full strength on the podium. The performance was serviceable enough, at times even outright enjoyable. Davin opted for a brisk tempo for the opening allegro. A little too brisk because things started to sound a little breathless after a while (with some slips in the brass section). Luckily the 'moonlight' section, delightfully done, allowed the orchestra to recompose itself. The recapitulation of the opening material was superbly imposing. It's the passage I most love of the whole symphony. This is Pan awakes, once more. The rest of the movement was predictably hectic. Unfortunately the tempo was so fast that the final accelerando fell flat. The first Nachtmusik was fine if again a tad on the fast side. I started to be a little uncomfortable in the Scherzo which again came across as short-breathed. Shadowy it was not. Davin continued to jockey on fast speeds so that the second Nachtmusik failed to cast its magic spell. Although I enjoyed the contribution of the very committed wind section very much. The orchestra pulled off a dazzling Finale, brash and festive.

The overall impression was of a rather straightlaced, prozaic reading, trumping Solti in his own game. Unfortunately the Liège orchestra, capable as they are, is not the CSO. And Davin did not seem to have the vision to mould his tempos in a more sensitive manner. In fact, he played the whole symphony through in shades of basically the same tempo. This was not a nocturnal but a neon-lit Lied. Anyway, I found it certainly enjoyable. It was a pleasure to dip into the Mahler universe again. And I'm happy to have finally heard the Seventh live. I think it is the last one I hadn't heard in the concert hall yet (I once had a ticket for a Rattle performance in Brussel, but my plane came in late from Germany and missed it!).