Search - Gustav Mahler, Bernard Haitink, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra :: Mahler: Symphony No. 4 In G Major

Cool perfection the only flaw

Jonathan Stern | New York, New York USA | 06/15/2000

(4 out of 5 stars)

"If anyone can be said to own this symphony, it should be Haitink (my apologies to Szell and Previn, to mention two of the best interpreters of this work other than Haitink). The Dutchman has, after all, recorded the Fourth three times! This is the third Haitink recording. The previous two had been with the Concertgebouw, possibly the world's greatest Mahler orchestra. This Berlin account features technically flawless playing, a beautiful if somewhat cerebral rendition by McNair, and clear though rather cool sonics. Haitink's intrepretation is beyond reproach. It sounds like he conceived with it little effort, although that does not mean that that his conducting lacks warmth, tension, or drama. In short, almost nothing goes wrong here. Everyone involved blows the work away. Missing, though, is spontaneity. This is a great rendering of a warhorse, rather than a Mahler's Fourth for the ages. And Berlin, though aces, does not play with a particularly Mahlerian sound. Remember, they did little or no Mahler before Barbirolli led them in the Ninth, so they cannot claim a particularly strong Mahler tradition. This performance is fine, but if I had to choose any of the Haitinks, I would go with the earliest one, with Ameling. This is Mahler at the height of the Mahler revolution, with textbook, idiomatic playing (and several gaffes which can be ignored), suberb singing, and a sublimely serene slow movement. The second Haitink is great, too, although Haitink smooths over some of the rough edges. On the whole, the first Haitink is the winner. If you don't cotton to his particular stylistic approach, try Szell or Previn (though Ameling is not as good here as she was ten years earlier for Haitink)."