Customer Reviews

Mahler: Symphony No. 6 ~ Kubelik

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

 

 

Although I find this live performance to be an intense and compelling one, the tempos are noticably fast throughout, most markedly so in the first and last movements, more so than even the Bernstein-NYP account on Sony. This speed, I feel, detracts somewhat from the tragic weight and gravitas that this music should convey. For this reason, I cannot recommend this recording as generally and unqualifiedly as I have his live accounts of the composers 5th and 9th symphonies, also on Audite.

Kubelik's Live recording of Mahler 6th is relentlessly brutal & magnificent, with much emphasis on anguish & inner turmoil of the composer. For those who are used to the traditional slower performances on 2disc, the 1st movement is too fast. But this interpretation is possible.

It is in the sublime & intesely beautiful slow movement and the magnificent & poignant last movement that Kubelik surpasses any 1disc rivals; Szell, Abbado, Mackerras & Bernstein (earlier one).

This may be not the first choice, but certainly one of the most violent versions. Well recorded with good acoustics & much presence.

Rafael Kubelik's Mahler sixth, both the one on DG (Collector's Edition box) and the present live, has often been considered as "too fast" by reviewers. In particular, the first movement is said to be so.

I disagree. Kubelik's Mahler interpretations are like fresh water from a well when other conductors serve syrup blended with perfume.

In particular, this concerns the sixth which usually is emotionally overloaded by most conductors. This may distort its inner balance. For example, listen to Simon Rattle's horrible and sentimental interpretation (EMI). By contrast, Kubelik emphasizes, as always, the classicist character of Mahler's music and its lyrical qualities. This is also the case here. The urgency Kubelik gets from the first movement is an excellent preparation for what will come, balancing the tragedy in the finale. Second and third movements are also excellent, with great energy in the scherzo and wonderful balanced lyricism in the andante. The introduction to the finale is truly terrifying, and Kubelik takes the movement in one breath. A slight drawback, however, is that the two hammerblows are underpowered.

Sound quality is slightly better here than on the DG studio counterpart. The drive and balance are also better, perhaps due to the extra frisson we get from the live occasion.

In sum, this recording must be recommended to all serious Mahlerite collectors, if perhaps not as the first choice - in my view, the first choices are Barbirolli (EMI), Mitropoulos (BMG), and Horenstein (Unicorn/BBC Legends). But it is far better than many other recordings, and it's the most classical Mahler sixth on record.

I beieve in the maxim that the metronome is a bad critic. We aren't entitled to say that a performance is "too fast" or "too slow" without offering a more important judgment: Has the conductor found a way to make his tempo choices convincing? Much as I admire Kubelik's Mahler, I don't find his rushed, hectic account of the Sixth Sym. -- either his stuido version on DG or this very similar concert version on Audite -- at all convincing. This is music of sturm und drang. Mahler offers extreme emotional struggle and wild flights of fancy that take time to absorb. By glossing over the struggle, Kubelik misses the heart of the matter.

His musicians play well, much better than those under Mitropoulos in his acclaimed Mahler Sixth in EMI's Great Conductors of the Century series. Audite's sonics are satisfactory, and there is an edge of excitement in the concert setting. All that said, for me Kubelik fails to express the essence of what Mahler is trying to say.