Search - Gustav Mahler, Gianandrea Noseda, BBC Philharmonic Orchestra :: Mahler: Symphony No. 10

Best overall recording of Cooke III edition, so far

B. Guerrero | 02/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Every once in a while, an awesome recording of a difficult and complex Mahler symphony shows up right out of left field. This is one of them. Then again, after the excellent job that the team of Noseda/BBC Phil./Chandos did on Prokofiev's long "Stone Flower" ballet, should anybody be surprised at all? The real question that needs to be asked is this: did we need yet another fine recording of Cooke III, when the more developed Samale/Mazzuca version - premiered in Perugia, Italy by Martin Sieghart/Vienna Symphony - has yet to be recorded? Probably not. But when the results are this good, there's always room for another one at the top; especially given the equally excellent program notes included, authored by David Matthews - the best I've read anywhere on the whole Mahler 10 topic (even if I don't agree with all of his points).



Some may disagree, but I think that this is a much better overall recording of Cooke's third and final edition of M10 than the recent Michael Gielen one on Haenssler. Predictably, Gielen is always excellent with any passage - in any work - that sounds the slightest bit like the so-called Viennese second school composers: Berg, Schoenberg, and Webern. Hence, his second scherzo was outstanding, as was most of the quicker development passage in the fifth movement (capped by a spectacular smash on the big tam-tam). But Noseda is better at holding the tension from start to finish. His first scherzo is excellent, and nearly makes one forget just how awkwardly orchestrated, and un-Mahlerian sounding, much of the second movement really is. Thankfully, the optional but badly needed cymbal crash is included near the end of it.



Not only was Gielen rather prosaic with his first scherzo; he was also too quick and hasty with the short but pivitol "Purgatorio" movement as well. Like Ormandy, Noseda takes this haunting mini-movement quite seriously. In fact, if you're one of those folks who has pined for the old Wyn Morris M10 recording for decades (Philips), you're ship may have arrived - Noseda is deliberate, intense, and highly rhythmic in both scherzos. No detail is simply skated over. But even more important, Noseda doesn't let the back half of the fifth and final movement sound limp, prostrate, or passionless (and I hate using the word, "passion").



Surprisingly, both Rattle and Gielen allow the last 10 minutes of the fifth movement to just lay there; floating around in a sort of gossamer way. I think it's a mistake to treat those last 10 minutes as though they were a repeat of what happens in the Mahler 9th. Like Ormandy, Noseda coaxes his strings to pour it on thick and heavy, but keeps the tempo going at the same time. In other words, Mahler still has some blood flowing through his veins. I like it. And you should like it too; because ultimately, Mahler 10 is not about Alma (or a portrait of Alma). Instead, it's about Mahler's feeling for - and perceptions of - his lovely young wife, Alma.



OK, I've babbled on and on, so here's the short version: excellent conducting, excellent playing, excellent sound, and excellent program notes. Did I forget anything?



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