Track Listings (4) - Disc #1| All Artists: Gustav Mahler, Jascha Horenstein, London Philharmonic Orchestra, Margaret Price Title: Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Members Wishing: 0 Total Copies: 0 Label: Class. for Pleas. Us Release Date: 5/7/2002 Album Type: Import Genre: Classical Style: Symphonies Number of Discs: 1 SwapaCD Credits: 1 UPC: 724357488228 |
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Search - Gustav Mahler, Jascha Horenstein, London Philharmonic Orchestra :: Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G
 | Gustav Mahler, Jascha Horenstein, London Philharmonic Orchestra Mahler: Symphony No. 4 in G Genre: Classical
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CD ReviewsHEAVEN IS WHAT YOU EAT DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 03/17/2005 (4 out of 5 stars) "Anyone looking for a complete set from one conductor of the Mahler symphonies needs three things in my view - the money, the inclination and the endurance to obtain several such sets. Far more than Shostakovich, and even more than Beethoven, Brahms, Bruckner or Sibelius, Mahler does not suit any one interpreter ideally across the board. I'm not aware whether Horenstein has recorded them all, but I suspect he probably leads the field in the fourth and in no other. The fourth is the smallest of the Mahler series, and except for the eighth which is about as different as could be in most other respects, it has the lowest Angst-quotient of them. There is a rustic feel to three of the four movements, together with a long, serene and sublime slow movement. The orchestral touch he uses is comparatively light (except in that slow movement), and the garlicky quality about it that one senses occasionally elsewhere is especially marked here. The finale is a setting of a truly grotesque poem from Des Knaben Wunderhorn purporting to depict heaven in terms of the quality and quantity of food available to all. Understandably, Mahler issues a caution that there should be no sense of parody in the performance. Obviously, the right kind of vocal tone is key to the right kind of rendering, and on my own understanding of how it should be done Margaret Price hits the right note in the fullest sense. For me, a childlike tone achieves exactly what Mahler tells us not to allow to happen - a sense of guying the text. This song needs to be sung by an unashamed adult with a straight face. For me, it is not what I see it called, namely a child's vision of heaven. A child would want cakes and sweets not free wine, and a child would presumably lay less stress on the professional activities of the butcher. The song is sung by a woman, but the persona of the narrator on my interpretation is a hefty Tyrolean gastronome dressed in Lederhosen and with simple and hearty tastes. This is not an attempt at describing any biblical paradise, but an enthusiastic ode to a rural food-festival, the narrator's idea of `heaven' in a metaphorical sense. The other movements seem just right to me as Horenstein goes about them. The first two movements have the right sweet/sour quality, and the slow movement is a fine piece of Mahlerian rapture. Horenstein has rather dropped out of sight in recent years, so far as I can see, so it gives me all the greater pleasure to recommend this disc sincerely if you can get it at the right price. It leaves a lot of unused space on a cd, but over and above the qualities (as I see them) of the performance, the recording is in many respects very good, which does not surprise me when I see that Mr Bear had a hand in the remastering at one stage. In every respect but quantity this is a 5-star effort." Jascha's best Mahler recording L. Johan Modée | Earth | 06/11/2003 (4 out of 5 stars) "Horenstein's interpretation of Mahler's fourth symphony, with M. Price and LPO in top form, is the best Mahler recording we have from this famous conductor. Most details of the score are carfully observed, including the many rubatos. The pps and ffs are at the right places, with no attempt of changing the orchestral balance Mahler asks for. Everything is beautifully played, and even if Price doesn't have the same child-like voice as, say, Battle for Maazel, she brings the symphony to a convincing climax with excellent support from the orchestra. Unlike the Horenstein live Mahler recordings, which often are distorted by playing flaws and a coughing audience, this disc can thus satisfy even those audiophiles that are not fans of Horenstein. I do not think that it presents the final view of this work, however. Sound quality is satisfying, even if not in DDD digital standard. A must for every collector, of course." A BARGAIN AT ANY PRICE Klingsor Tristan | Suffolk | 04/12/2006 (5 out of 5 stars) "This disc would be a bargain at any price. At less than $7 it represents incredible value for money. For this is a wonderful performance of Mahler 4.
I must confess to a certain prejudice towards Horenstein's Mahler. In the early days of the Mahler Renaissance, when performances and recordings of Mahler were in seriously short supply, I was introduced to most of the symphonies by Horenstein and Barbirolli (with a little help from Norman del Mar - No.3 - and Bernstein - Nos. 7 & 8). At the time Horenstein seemed the most echt Mahlerian of them all, most alive to the Bohemian/Austrian traditions in the music, most susceptible to its eccentricities and quirkiness, most ready to indulge the abrupt juxtapositions of the banal with the sublime without losing sight of the classical Austro-German symphonic history from which it grew. Take the Scherzo in this Fourth Symphony as a case in point. It is not so much the weird effects of the scordatura tuning of Death's fiddle that really sticks in the memory: it is the wonderfully authentic sound of the Carinthian town band (alive and well to this day) that keeps interrupting on the clarinet. And this is backed up by some gorgeously brash horn solos that break out of the orchestral texture all over the place. The great Adagio, on the other hand, is a finely sustained piece of symphonic argument. The main tempo has just the right flow to keep the movement moving. The string textures are always ideally balanced to allow melodic line and supporting harmony their proper voices. The many harmonic suspensions that act as waymarkers through this long movement - whether in the high sustained violin lines or in the heavy pizzicato tread of the basses - all screw up the tension to a remarkably high degree. Margaret Price proves herself an excellent choice for the finale; simple without being gauche, moving without descending to sentimentality. The voice itself is in prime nick - it reminds me a lot of Gundula Janowitz in its creamy purity, but it also has just a touch of steely brilliance to it which gives an extra glitter to this child's vision of heaven. Horenstein provides perfect support, by turns suitably na?ve, bucolic, gemutlich and finally rocking the symphony to a dreamy close. To return to the first movement, this is more dramatic than most - the climax of the development section and its descent to the trumpet fanfare that will open the Fifth Symphony is bold and harsh, almost foreshadowing the equivalent point in the Ninth's opening movement. Here and indeed throughout the symphony, Horenstein gives the timps a prominent role, frequently insisting on harder sticks than we usually get. And the engineers succeed in conveying this distinctive sound as well as all the many other colours produced by this (for Mahler) relatively small orchestra. A highly recommendable recording, then, and at this price - a knockout. " |