Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No .5

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(0)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(0)
1 star:		(0)

 

 

Of the seven recordings I own of this work, Inbal's version is the best, surpassing even Bernstein and Karajan in my opinion. Inbal and his performers pay attention to the details and play with a ferver and intensity usually only found in live performance. It also has been recorded superbly, better than any recent releases I can think of. This should be an Amazon.com essential recording, not the Bernstien. By all means, go right ahead and buy this terrific rendition of Mahler's 5th. You will be very pleased indeed.

The trumpet fanfare immediately sets the stage of this magnificent 'Mahler Five'. It is powerful but somewhat relaxed, with a nice raspiness and bright, steely edge to its timbre. This is also true for all of the brass in this recording. This may be the efect of the recording quality - which is quite direct and very detailed - but anyhow, I really love it.

When I say that the playing is relaxed doesn't mean there is no 'digging into' the music. On the contrary, but Inbal has a way with Mahler which is very 'natural', taking the music 'at face value'. But at the same time, the playing is both powerful and energetic, with a lot of 'oomph' when necessary, but never ever becoming slack. For example, the Scherzo middle-movement sounds really 'Kräftig' (Powerful) indeed. The ensuing Adagietto is truly wonderfully sweet and flowing, but at the same time filled with a great sense of wonder, awe and anticipation; played as a true love song here. The Rondo-Finale is good-humoured and relaxed, slowly but surely guiding us towards the enormous final climactic chorale, which here is truly glaring with optimism and (ironic) good-humouredness.

The overall sound of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra is, to my ears, warm, full-bodied and clear, with a 'no-nonsense-attitude', but also powerful. And the excellent crisp, natural-sounding Denon-recording (with only two microphones) makes us hear every little nuance in timbres of the different instruments (again: wonderfully exciting and powerful brass!), so that, for example, the woodwinds do stand out in the picture, when they need to.

This Mahler Five for me can hold pride of place beside such recordings as those by Haitink, Bernstein, Chailly and Zander, and should IMHO be listened to at least a few times by anyone who loves Mahler's Fifth Symphony.

Sure this isn't the Grammophone Bernstein (Overrated? Maybe) or Solti, but this recording definitely can't be ignored!

Very fine trumpet solo in the beginning of the piece, very nice (and as Mahler liked, very free) tempi on both slow (the funeral march), and fast (the trumpet - the protagonist - desparately fighting against the storm of collapse and failure). The third movement is a bit slow and heavy compared to most recordings I've heard, but it's still very nice. The soothing fourth movement was excellent, and the remaining two sounded great as well.

Like I said before, this recording can't be ignored. Period. Don't hesitante to buy the CD.

Contrary to the loopy Amazon review, Inbal's Mahler cycle is far from "one of the best," but since this Mahler fifth is selling for so little on the used market, it's worth checking out. The big plus for Inbal has always been Denon's excellent, clear, natural sound. The Frankfurt orchestra can handle the score with considerable assurance, and even though they aren't the Vienna Phil., the deciding factor is interpretation. I recently read a professional critic who declared that the Fifth was Mahler's sunniest symphony, a bizarre contention on the face of it, yet the faster tempos taken by a much earlier generation would incline toward a less intense, doleful reading. Then there's the question of how intensely we are meant to feel Mahler's emotional swings and turmoil.

I'd say that Inbal falls about midway between the cool customers (Zinman, Chailly, Tilson Thomas) and the emotionally fiery (Bernstein, Shipway, Schwarz -- the latter two being obscure but riveting). The funeral march that begins the symphony isn't desolate in his hands, yet when he gets to the contrasting, turbulent section, there's a sense of grief released into semi-hysteria. None of this is optimistic music, and INbal's deliberate pacing keeps us in a sad world where the clouds break only occasionally to reveal the sun.

I think it takes a great orchestra led by an excitable conductor to bring out the volcanic turmoil of the second movement, and here Inbal and the Frankfurt musicians fall short. They don't give the feeling that they can walk in a giant's boots. They bring this music down to earth and at times all but amble along. Mahler saw the Scherzo as an outburst of joy. Inbal doesn't catch on and tries to turn it into an updated minuet. His efforts to tame this movement are misguided. The famous Adagietto has varied so much in tempo and mood that one hardly knows if it is meant as a mournful elegy or a sweet paean to love. Inbal is slow and tender, capturing a bit of both approaches, his mood too relaxed for mourning. I find it an appealing reading, if quite low key. the finale is the puzzle piece of the whole symphony; one rarely hears a completely convincing account -- most make the music sound too negligible or bumptious. Inbal is simply neutral, as if no problem exists.

In the end, this Fifth is representative of a skilled conductor who operates from real feeling but errs on the side of caution.

When it comes to Mahler interpretation, there seems to be two camps. One likes the music played to the hilt and others like it played straight. I belong to the second camp. Mahler 5 timings range anywhere from about 65 minutes to well over 70. This version clocks in about 72 minutes. I find these slow tempos to be quite ponderous. By the end of the second movement, I am worn out. The great scherzo and finale are fine but the other movements just to seem to drag endlessly. My favorite Mahler 5th of all time was a little known recording by the Stockholm Philharmonic conducted by Antal Dorati. I never owned it but I heard it on the radio several times and it was just so perfect. Unfortunately, it never made its way to CD. A real trajedy.

I've never heard something so beautiful and yet so conscious, so musically crafted, aware, open and colorful as Inbal's Frankfurt Radio Symphony rendition of Mahler's "Adagietto". Taken completely, this recording should not be overlooked -- its ugliness and immense beauty will touch the endeared heart of any Mahlerphile.