An extraordinary disc of this quite unique arrangement of Beethoven's masterpiece.

One might well wonder why Mahler felt the need to arrange this work; according to the notes, he became aware (as have many since the HIP movement gathered pace) that the orchestral forces were different than Beethoven would have anticipated, thus producing a different balance and sound than intended. As can be appreciated by those with even a modicum of knowledge of Mahler's own output, his solution was not to pare back the numbers of strings as is common today but to introduce a larger woodwind section (doubling the number of horns for instance), adding a tuba and at one stage in the gestation of this arrangement (withdrawn by Mahler himself), an offstage band for the "Turkish March" section of the finale! As facility and ranges of instruments had greatly expanded, lines that are clearly limited by earlier restrictions have been re-written to run smoothly and without jumping up/down the octave by Mahler. The only alteration that is made to the structure of the work is the excision of the da capo repeats in the Scherzo, all the other changes are concerned with textures, phrasing, instrumentation and dynamics.

The audiences reputedly loved this arrangement and it was conducted after Mahler's death by Zemlinsky and Schoenberg no less. Critical reaction was less favourable - the most charitable quote included in the notes is from Richard Strauss "The coarse changes made by Gustav Mahler are to be categorically rejected (despite the fact that they were done with good intentions!)". As an offering to the anniversary of Mahler's birth, this certainly has the benefit of being original (it is the first recording of the arrangement) and offers an intriguing insight into the thought processes of one of the most influential conductors and composers of C20.

Before going on to describe the actual performance, a short description of the effect that the changes is needed. The overall effect on the ear is that of smoothing over (intentionally) jarring accents and the like. This is achieved by a greater use of doubling (within and between sections), a greater use of legato markings and altering the dynamics so that changes occur more organically instead of the brutal interruptions that occur in places. Heard today, it illustrates vividly where the titanic accounts heard so often by audiences in the 1960's and 1970's started their conception and, HIP enthusiasts could argue with some justification, how far from Beethoven's ideal performance practice had strayed.

Like his brother Paavo, Kristjan shows great feeling for the pathos and structure of the music. In the first movement, towering climaxes are built and given a firm impression from the Tonkunstler-Orchester who are clearly on top form at the present time and respond vividly to every direction. Every swell in the phrasing has significance and is woven into the wider fabric of the tapestry of sound that is deployed by this fine orchestra. The scherzo is no less effective with bright trumpets relishing their expanded parts (one of the most obvious changes Mahler made) and smooth strings played at a conventional pace.

In the sublime adagio, Jarvi adopts a fast pace that at times feels unrelenting and is possibly the one interpretative decision that listeners might feel needing to question. Beyond those occasional moments, the feeling of calm envelopes the listener and (s)he is transported on a most beautiful journey. The rude awakening is perhaps less effective than in Beethoven's own scoring for the extra doubling of woodwind parts blunts the articulation, tempering the impact that the initial outburst has in the best accounts of the work but there are no orchestral or conducting quibbles to be had for the remainder of the movement. Less happily though is the contribution of both soloists and chorus - for these ears, they adopt far too much an operatic style of singing with copious amounts of vibrato. One could argue that the singers should use vibrato in this performance because the strings use a great deal as well. This argument would be valid if, like the strings, the singers vibrato managed to keep itself within the written note - they don't, so sadly it isn't.

The sound is a very realistic representation of the Musikverein in Vienna (as one might expect given that the engineers are from ORF) and far outshines the other recordings emanating from this marvellous hall on SACD. This is a live account constructed from 2 concerts and the audience is impressively quiet during the playing and allow the final notes to decay before supplying a very richly deserved ovation. The one blight on the technical aspects is the recording of the solo quartet - they sound as though a metalic grating has been added to the sound of their voices (strangely it doesn't affect the choir or the orchestra) which quickly becomes wearing on repetition.

In summary, this is an account that is fascinating listening and anyone with more than a passing interest in how Beethoven was performed in the 1900's would be highly recommended to seek out this disc. It is also the most beautifully recorded account (vocal soloists excepted) of a style of orchestral playing of Beethoven that has all but died out, which makes it an interesting document in its own right - I doubt that any similar playing styles of Beethoven will make it onto SACD again.

Copyright © 2010 John Broggio and HRAudio.net

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