Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 4 [Hybrid SACD]

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

 

 

For the record, I am commenting on this recording's musical performance, not the "super audio CD" aspects of the disc.

That said the recorded sound on this disc does sound very very beautiful. There is great balance, and much breathing room in the piece. David Zinman's triumph here is allowing the score to be the star on this recording, not as it would seem his own person ambitions as are apparent on other recordings by other conductors. (This is not always a bad thing, simply a different approach.) Zinman's restraint is breathtaking, the brass playing is articulate and absolutely pitch perfect. And as with the previous Zinman recordings of Mahler symphonies I was delightedly impressed with the playing of the woodwinds and how they came alive in the recorded sound. The percussion is clear and delicate, an important point as light percussion is very prominent in this symphony. The playing by the principal soloists is brilliant and makes repeated listenings worthwhile; note the violin solo playing in the second movement. Luba Orgonasova's performance should be viewed in light of the rest of this performance; detailed, articulate, powerful, as another beautiful instrument in the orchestra and score. What the result of all this is, is an extremely musical and lyrical performance of the Mahler 4th Symphony; not a interpretation, but rather a translation of the score that jumps off the page. One can listen to the disc again and again and mentally focus on any part of the score and appreciate all of the details, something to be savoured in the Mahler 4th.

David Zinman is now in the midst of a great musical journey and this disc is only the latest step. The Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra is now its seems at the height of it's musical powers and this is exciting to see. This is no entry level performance, this is mature and disciplined music making at its finest. If you haven't purchased or heard any of the Zinman Mahler symphonies, this is a great first disc. This is not a Mahler cycle for the sake of a Mahler cycle. Zinman is taking great care with each symphony.

While the contributions of Leonard Bernstein to the Mahler legacy are immeasurable, I think that it is entirely unfair to make comparisons between Zinman in 2008 to Bernstein in 1960. Both are great recordings, for radically different reasons. I give the edge to Zinman, who has a better orchestra and vastly different technology at his disposal. The only modern version that comes to this one is Christoph von Dohnanyi's now out of print version (1994) with the Cleveland Orchestra and Dawn Upshaw.

I enjoyed my first hearing of this new release in Zinman's ongoing Mahler cycle with the Tonhalle Orchestra. Everything is nicely judged, well played, and clearly recorded. The SACD layer gives a nice sense of the hall. The second movement solo violin employs appropriate portamento, giving the music an appropriate macabre, or gypsy, bent (depending on how you view the character of the movement). The third movement contrasts the placid and the agitated very nicely.

The finale doesn't hold up the promise of the first three movements. Orgonasova gives us a rather bland vision of the heavenly hosts at the dinner table. The singing, as such, is very nice and her diction is quite good. There just doesn't seem to be much interest in the proceedings. Contrast her work to that of Della Casa, Margaret Price, Reri Grist, and Camilla Tilling to see that there can be a personal imprint while avoiding "any hint of parody" as specified in Mahler's score.

Overall, this is a very good rendering of the symphony. The SACD format gives a very lifelike sonic picture of some very good playing. It doesn't, however, dethrone older favorites like Bernstein (I), Horenstein, Reiner, and Benjamin Zander.

The Mahler Fourth has recently faired quite well on disc. There was Michael Tilson Thomas's stunning, is somewhat manicured, performance, the highlight of his San Francisco Cycle. Ivan Fischer's Fourth was also thrilling, featuring spectacular attention to detail. And now Zinman offers a wonderful Fourth which may fail to reach the vertiginous heights of these other installments in the vocal department but in all other instances is certainly their equal.

Zinman is true to the idea that this is a child's symphony and keeps the orchestra in check in most of the tutti passages in the first movement. While this could potentially rob the music of tension, Zinman's detailed account of the development is just fabulous, all the various timbral nuisances of this music ringing through. He walks the tightrope between gentle grace and mysterious wonder better than many others. Predictably, the scherzo is less sleazy sounding than conductors who really relish in the solo violin writing, but Zinman does highlight the duplicitous quality of this movement and transitions into the trios well. The adagio, on the other hand, is ideal. There are literally too many wonderful moments throughout to highlight here, but the E-major heaven burst is one of the best on disc period. The various tempo shifts are handled brilliantly and the strings really sing their part as beautifully as any. A real joy too because Zinman's architectural understanding of this movement never lets tension snag do to tasteless rubatto or by wallowing in unnecessary sentiment. Zinman's contribution in the finale is equally fine, sensitively highlighting Mahler's beautiful accompaniment. However, Luba Orgonasova's contribution is off-putting at best. Her voice is both too mature and too heavy for the part and, although she tries very hard to sound child-like, she makes some truly ugly sounds throughout the finale. She has had wonderful success in opera and as a vocal soloist, most recently in Chung's magnificent Stabat Mater (Rossini), but even a cursory examination of her discography reveals she is in no way the right instrument for the part. True, her performance is nowhere near as awful as Rene Flemming's atrocious Fourth with Abaddo, but she is nowhere close to sounding right for the part. She does not ruin the performance, per se, but it certainly downgrades this installment from a reference position to one of qualified recommendation. Still, those familiar with this symphony will certainly love what Zinman brings to the table, and Orgonasova is not so terrible as to make the finale unlistenable.

Wow, what a gorgeous sounding recording! The unaffected naturalness of the old Abravanel recording is everywhere evident here; only this Zinman Mahler 4th has a far bigger dynamic range, and even more "air" around the instruments. Unfortunately, I'm dinging this down to four stars because of the less than comfortable sounding contribution from soprano Luna Orgonasova.

Certainly, Orgonasova doesn't come anywhere close to completely spoiling this, the way that Renee Fleming nearly did for Abbado's Berlin remake of Mahler 4 (go figure! - especially since she sounded so great in the Berg songs). But what's truly frustrating, is that Orgonasova sounds perfectly relaxed and sweet-toned during the soft singing that makes up the bulk of Mahler's final stanza. She executes that descending portamento on "Sanct Ursula dazu lacht" just beautifully, for example; but then, awkwardly ratchets the tension back up for "Cecilia mit ihren Verwandten sind treffliche Hoffmusikanten". What's also fortunate, though, is that she's not recorded real upfront. That helps!

I don't mean to dwell too much on this point; Orgonasova would do perfectly fine on one of the three soprano parts from Mahler's 8th symphony (and maybe she'll show up on Zinman's 8th). But for the 4th, a far less operatic sounding singer is required - someone who can come closer to a youngish boy, such as Camilla Tilling (Ben. Zander on Telarc) or Barbara Bonney (Chailly on Decca). But for the rest of the symphony, hardly a complaint should be mustered by anyone.

I would have preferred that the climax to the development passage of the first movement be more menacing sounding, as it is on Chailly's very fine recording of the 4th (it sounds more like the start of the 5th symphony!). But that incredible climax to the slow movement - the one that was used so effectively in the movie "El Norte" - may be the best that it's ever sounded on any recording, ever! - that's truly saying something. The scherzo possess the requisite tension and "air of menace" that should be there too. In total, for the first three movements, one could hardly do better. The orchestral accompaniment in the fourth movement is perfectly fine as well.

So,if you already own a Mahler 4th with a soprano that you really like, I don't see any need to add this one to your arsenal. But for anyone who wants to keep collecting the so-far/so-good Zinman cycle - perhaps the modern day equivalent of the old Kubelik cycle - there's no reason not to add this one along. I certainly have no regrets about picking it up: I love the sound and the orchestral execution, especially at the slow movement's climax.

This Mahler IV bears all the hallmarks that made other instalments in Zinman's cycle that I've heard so worthy of consideration, in particular the absence of interpretative idiosyncracies that get in the way of Mahler's writing, and a meticulous attention to detail, the latter also helped by a beautifully transparent recording. One feature that I also like about this cycle is the left/right placement of first and second violins (as was usual in Mahler's time and seems to be coming into vogue again); in the Fourth you will hear themes darting across the stage at many points, a delightful effect.

Zinman has no trouble keeping together the potentially disjointed first movement, with its wealth of themes. This does mean that he does not contrast tempos quite as much as you may like (the 'Plötzlich langsam und bedächtig' tune at rehearsal #4 I would have preferred a little slower), but the little that is lost in contrast is amply compensated by a gain in natural flow and coherence. Exposition and reprise have a relaxed feel to them, whereas the development section is full of excitement, with quite powerful sound from the orchestra. There are several moments of striking bass detail, as in bars 186/187 (though the bass drum at #17 is decidedly understated). It all leads to a festive but unexaggerated conclusion.

The Scherzo is well done too, if just a bit too well behaved. Like in many other recordings, the solo violin doesn't make enough of the p<f dynamics under the long notes in its tune, resulting in a kind of jeering, whining sound when done properly. The trumpet at #9 is similarly polite, not at all 'schmetternd' (blaring) like Mahler asks. On the other hand there is some terrific brass detail after #14, and a spectacularly present tam tam just before that.

The magnificent Adagio theme is presented in a calm and dignified way rather than bursting with emotion, which suits its 'Ruhevoll' ('Restful') character just fine and makes it fit in with the other movements better than it sometimes does. Don't be fooled, however; there is plenty emotion when the mood darkens, and the passages at bars 89 en 210, where the orchestra plunges into gloomy despair are very powerful indeed, with impressive timpani. The horns, I should add, are glorious throughout this movement. The final outburst, when the doors of heaven briefly sway open, leaves little to be desired except a somewhat more present bass drum; we do get to hear the rippling harp, though.

Luba Organosova is a fine singer, if not ideal for the final movement's song, which demands a lighter, less 'creamy' voice. Nonetheless, she deals with her solo in a sensitive manner and unlike some colleagues is able to hold back and maintain a quiet pianissimo where needed. Zinman's take on this peculiar finale is very relaxed and alive with lovely detail - note the cello glissandi right at the outset.

With fine orchestral playing and state of the art recorded sound, this is a Mahler IV worth considering.

Zinman is one of the finest conductors out there. Mahler's 4th is one of the most beautiful symphonies out there. I'm not a musicologist - I don't know the fine points of how this performance compares with Bernstein's (whose name is linked with Mahler). I have both recordings - and others, but I put Zinman up there with the best. I have a number of his recordings - complete Beethoven and Schumann symphonies, among others and have never been disappointed. I was surprised that the (then, at least) inexpensive CD from an American conducting a Swiss orchester could be so good.


Each year Zinman has come out with another of Mahler's symphonies - he is up to 8 so, unless he does number 10, I guess he only has one to go.

This Mahler Fourth is in the same vein as the preceding symphonies in Zinman's ongoing Mahler cycle for Sony/BMG. Purely as an engineering feat it's quite attractive -- even in two-channel stereo the sonics are clear, open, and detailed. One couldn't ask for better, really.

As for the performance, Zinman's style is the blandest I've ever heard in this work. He essentially sets a tempo, then stands back and directs traffic. The result is impersonal and sorely lacking in intensity -- no more than a good run-through. Luba Orgonosova, the soprano in the finale, is lovely in tone, if a bit faceless in her faux-naive child's solo. Zinman's caution holds her back, and she's a touch too mature. The Zurich Tonhalle orchestra is middling good, not remotely competitive with the great ensembles that have recorded the Fourth dozens of times.

All that said, I get the feeling that Zinman's new recordings are selling well; I even read critical approval of them, sometimes quite enthusiastic approval (other reviews have been withering, however). If all you care about is updated SACD sound, there's a justification for getting this entry-level reading. But if you want to hear the richness of this magical score, turn to the great Mahler conductors like Bernstein and Bruno Walter, or even the adept ones like Esa-Pekka Salonen and Simon Rattle.