BaL 6.04.19 - Mahler: Symphony no. 4 in G

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

09.30
Building a Library: Nicholas Baragwanath listens to and compares some of the available recordings of Mahler’s 4th Symphony.
Mahler wrote his 4th Symphony on the very cusp of the Twentieth Century and it was premiered in Munich on 25th November 1901. Since Mahler’s death, his 4th Symphony has come to be recognised as one of his most ‘classical’ and approachable of his symphonic works, although it was considered to be a sacrilegious modernist work at the time of its premiere. It completes the tetralogy of his first four symphonies, his ‘Wunderhorn’ symphonies, so called because they each incorporated music from his orchestral Wunderhorn songs. In the case of the Fourth Symphony, it is the disquieting song ‘Das himmlische leben’ that permeates the entire work and then comes to the fore when solo soprano joins forces with the orchestra for the final movement.
Mahler’s 4th Symphony is not scored for a very large orchestra and includes neither trombones nor tuba. In it, Mahler also makes wonderful use of ‘Klangfarben’, voices emerging from one another within the orchestra.

Available versions:-

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Renée Fleming, Claudio Abbado
Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, Juliane Banse, Claudio Abbado (DVD/Blu-ray)
Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Magdalena Kofiená, Claudio Abbado (DVD/Blu-ray)
Wiener Philharmoniker,Frederica von Stade, Claudio Abbado
Utah Symphony Orchestra, Netania Davrath, Maurice Abravanel
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Elizabeth Watts, Marc Albrecht (SACD)
Sydney Symphony, Emma Matthews, Vladimir Ashkenazy *
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Helmut Wittek, Leonard Bernstein
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Reri Grist, Leonard Bernstein (DVD)
Wiener Philharmoniker, Edith Mathis, Leonard Bernstein
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Margaret Ritchie, Eduard van Beinum
NHK Symphony Orchestra, Akiko Nakajima, Herbert Blomstedt
Cleveland Orchestra, Juliane Banse, Pierre Boulez
Manchester Camerata, Kate Royal, Douglas Boyd *
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Barbara Bonney, Riccardo Chailly
Gewandhaus Orchestra Leipzig, Christina Landshamer, Riccardo Chailly(DVD/Blu-ray)
Orchestre Regional de Basse-Normandie, Zoe Nicolaidou, Jean Deroyer *
Cleveland Orchestra, Dawn Upshaw, Christoph von Dohnanyi *
London Symphony Orchestra, Harold Farberman
Stuttgart Philharmonic Orchestra, Jeannette Wernecke, Gabriel Feltz
Düsseldorfer Symphoniker, Hanna-Elisabeth Müller, Adam Fischer
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Miah Persson, Iván Fischer (SACD)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Miah Persson, Iván Fischer (DVD/Blu-ray)
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Julia Kleiter, Daniele Gatti (SACD)
London Symphony Orchestra, Laura Claycomb Valery Gergiev (SACD)
Münchner Philharmoniker, Genia Kühmeier, Valery Gergiev
World Orchestra for Peace, Camilla Tilling, Valery Gergiev (DVD/Blu-ray)
SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Christine Whittlesey, Michael Gielen *
Orchestre Philharmonique du Luxembourg, Miah Persson, Gustavo Gimeno (SACD)
Gruppo Montebello, Lies Vandewege, Henk Guittart
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Alexandra Coku Hartmut Haenchen
Berliner Philharmoniker, Sylvia McNair, Bernard Haitink
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Maria Ewing, Bernard Haitink (DVD/Blu-ray))
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Roberta Alexander, Bernard Haitink
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Elly Ameling, Bernard Haitink
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Christine Schäfer, Bernard Haitink (SACD)
Mahler Chamber Orchestra, Dorothea Röshchmann, Daniel Harding *
Kalamazoo Symphony Orchestra, Andriana Chuchman, Raymond Harvey *
Mythen Ensemble, Graziella Contratto, Rachel Harnisch,
Pittsburgh Symphony Orchestra, Sunhae Im, Manfred Honeck
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Dame Margaret Price, Jascha Horenstein
Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra, Miwako Handa, Eliahu Inbal *
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Dorothea Röschmann, Mariss Jansons (SACD)
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Paavo Jarvi
Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, Genia Kühmeier, Paavo Järvi (DVD/Blu-ray)
Berliner Philharmoniker, Edith Mathis, Herbert von Karajan
Joan Alexander, BBC Symphony Orchestra, Rudolf Kempe
Hilversum Radio Orchestra, Corry Bijster, Paul van Kempen *
Orchestre des Champs-Elysées, Rosemary Joshua, Philippe Herreweghe
Cologne Radio Symphony Orchestra, Elfride Trötschel, Otto Klemperer
Philharmonia Orchestra, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Otto Klemperer
Wiener Symphoniker, Teresa Stich-Randall, Otto Klemperer
Philharmonia Orchestra, Emmy Loose, Paul Kletzki *
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Galina Pisarenko, Kirill Kondrashin
Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Elsie Morison, Rafael Kubelik
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Frederica von Stade, Yoel Levi
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Judith Blegen, James Levine (SACD)
Dallas Symphony Orchestra, Heidi Grant Murphy Andrew Litton
Royal Philharmonic Orchestra, Ann Murray, Andrew Litton *
MDR Symphony Orchestra, Sandra Trattnigg, Fabio Luisi
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Heidi Grant Murphy, Lorin Maazel *
Philharmonia Orchestra, Sarah Fox, Lorin Maazel
Wiener Philharmoniker,Kathleen Battle, Lorin Maazel
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Michaela Kaune, Zdenek Macal (SACD)
Philharmonia Orchestra, Sarah Fox, Sir Charles Mackerras
Het Gelders Orkest, Lisa Larsson, Antonello Manacorda (SACD)
RCS Chamber Ensemble, Heather Jamieson, Peter Manning
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Stuttgart des SWR, Mitsuko Shirai, Sir Neville Marriner
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra,Barbara Hendricks, Zubin Mehta
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Jo Vincent, Willem Mengelberg *
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Vaclav Neumann
Orchestre Métropolitain du Grand Montréal (OM), Karina Gauvin, Yannick Nézet-Séguin
Stuttgart Radio Symphony Orchestra, Roger Norrington
Bamberg Symphony Orchestra, Mojca Erdmann,Jonathan Nott (SACD)
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Galina Vishnevskaya, David Oistrakh
The Hague Philharmonic Orchestra, Teresa Stich-Randall, Willem van Otterloo *
Boston Symphony Orchestra, Kiri Te Kanawa, Seiji Ozawa
Royal Academy of Music Ensemble, Sonia Grane, Trevor Pinnock (SACD)
Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Sena Jurinac, Karl Rankl
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Amanda Roocroft, Sir Simon Rattle
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Lisa Della Casa, Fritz Reiner
Südwestfunk SinfonieOrchester, Eva Maria Rogner, Hans Rosbaud
Los Angeles Philharmonic Orchestra, Barbara Hendriks, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Maria Tauberova, Karel Sejna
USSR TV and Radio Orchestra, T. Sterling, Yuri Simonov
Philharmonia Orchestra, Edita Gruberova, Giuseppe Sinopoli
Smithsonian Chamber Players, Santa Fe Pro Musica, Christine Brandes , Kenneth Slowik *
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Kiri Te Kanawa, Sir Georg Solti
Gürzenich-Orchester Köln, Christiane Oelze, Markus Stenz (SACD)
Cleveland Orchestra, Judith Raskin, George Szell
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Lyudmila Hadzhieva, Emil Tabakov
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Lucia Popp, Klaus Tennstedt
South West German Radio Symphony Orchestra, Eva Csapo, Klaus Tennstedt
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Laura Claycomb, Michael Tilson Thomas (SACD)
Thomas Christian Ensemble, Christiane Oelze (soprano)
Czech Radio Symphony Orchestra, Karolina Berkova, Vladimir Valek
Saint Louis Symphony Orchestra, Esther Heideman, Hans Vonk
San Francisco Symphony, Margaret Price, Edo de Waart *
New York Philharmonic, Desi Halban, Bruno Walter *
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Elisabeth Schwarzkopf, Bruno Walter
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Irmgard Seefried, Bruno Walter
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Lynda Russell, Antoni Wit
Japan Philharmonic Orchestra, Sara Kobayashi, Kazuki Yamada
Philharmonia Orchestra, Camilla Tilling, Benjamin Zander
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, Luba Orgonáková, David Zinman


* download only

[Pulcinella]

Tremendous work, as usual, Alpie.

But....
(not your fault): reversion? As a verb?

And the Cleveland/Raskin/Szell is now again available in CD format (so not download only), albeit as part of the jumbo Columbia Szell box (CD75):

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8463377--george-szell-the-complete-columbia-album-collection

[LeMartinPecheur]

Alpie: the Utah Symphony Orchestra/ Maurice Abravanel version does have a soprano, Netania Davrath.

[Richard Barrett]

But....
(not your fault): reversion? As a verb?

Who writes this rubbish?

Like many of you no doubt, I've heard quite a few of these recordings and I would never want to nominate one above all the other, but I will say (a) that recently Gielen is the one that made me sit up and take notice because he obviously sees the piece as part of a continuity rather than as the end of a creative period in Mahler's work, and (b) that the Boulez is ruled out because (as I've mentioned before) of a glaringly missing clarinet entry in the second movement.

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

But....
(not your fault): reversion? As a verb?

I didn’t see that one. Must amend, even though, as you said, it wasn’t my fault.

(Edit - is that better?)

[pastoralguy]

For me, Ivan Fischer with the Budapest Festival Orchestra with the incandescent Miah Persson...

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Maazel’s Vienna recording is very fine indeed and probably the best in his cycle.

[pastoralguy]

And not forgetting that scordatura violin in the second movement which involves two instruments, hoping desperately that an over tightened string doesn't break...

[visualnickmos]

Maazel’s Vienna recording is very fine indeed and probably the best in his cycle.

Yes. It is excellent - in fact, I think Maazel's Mahler set is impressive throughout.

A slight confession; much to my own surprise, I really warm to Bernstein's DG recording of this, (Concertgebouw) with the 'boy soprano' It actually works very well.

[Alison]

I always think this symphony cries out for the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Ditto the Seventh.

[jayne lee wilson]

I always think this symphony cries out for the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Ditto the Seventh.

Absolutely... and if its Amsterdam it must be.....Mengelberg 09/11/1939...

Come on now, how do you get past that one?
By, yet again, having 2 or 3 or 4 different categories. But after I knew this one....I didn't look much further.

https://www.pristineclassical.com/collections/artist-willem-mengelberg/products/pasc055

2nd Choice: Szell.
3rd Choice: According to taste..very good live ones from Mackerras, Köln/Stenz.....Too many!

Pet Sounds Dark Horse which won't even make the shortlist: Kondrashin.

It all comes down to whether the reviewer has.... The Knowledge...

[DublinJimbo]

Szell / Cleveland / Raskin is still hard to beat after all these years. It was my introduction to the 4th and was played again and again and … (especially the glorious slow movement with the sun braking throughb the clouds at the divine climax).

Of more recent recordings I'm especially fond of Adam Fischer's contribution to his ongoing Düsseldorf live cycle, with Hanna-Elisabeth Müller the ideally-cast soloist.

[gurnemanz]

I always think this symphony cries out for the Concertgebouw Orchestra. Ditto the Seventh.

After buying my first ever CD player in a local hifi shop, I realised with a blinding insight that I also needed something to play on it. Luckily, the shop also sold CDs and my first purchase was Mahler 4th, Haitink/Concertgebouw with Elly Ameling. It might not be a BaL winner but has a special place in my collection for that reason.

[verismissimo]

My particular favourites include:

Von Stade/VPO/Abbado, Morison/BRSO/Kubelik, M Price/LPO/Horenstein and (with many others here) Raskin/Cleveland/Szell (the one I grew up with).

Raskin still seems the most child-like - partly because of her fast, narrow vibrato.

[richardfinegold]

Szell / Cleveland / Raskin is still hard to beat after all these years. It was my introduction to the 4th and was played again and again and … (especially the glorious slow movement with the sun braking throughb the clouds at the divine climax).

Of more recent recordings I'm especially fond of Adam Fischer's contribution to his ongoing Düsseldorf live cycle, with Hanna-Elisabeth Müller the ideally-cast soloist.

Don’t know about Düsseldorf, but I fully concur with your first paragraph. It was my only recording of the piece for a few decades, although I did enjoy hearing Barbara Hendricks in the Solti. I recently played the Abbado/Lucerne with Mrs. Rattle and found her a bit to matronly for my taste.