Gramophone – September 2019

gramophone.co.uk GRAMOPHONE SEPTEMBER 2019 57

asuddenfleeting(andglorious)vision,

withoutpomposityorunearned

grandiosity.Everythinginproportion,

incontext.

Heavenlylifefindsapprovalinthebright

andvibrantsoundofsopranoSofiaFomina,

whoserapidvibratoandlivelyawareness

ofthetext’shigh-jinksallringtrue.

Ipersonallycravemore‘spin’andfloatation

intherepeatedrefrain–buthercharacter

certainlychimeswithJurowski’svery

‘immediate’viewofthepiece,wherethe

close-upsareplentifulandrevealing.

EdwardSeckerson

Mahler

SymphonyNo 9

BambergSymphonyOrchestra/

HerbertBlomstedt

AccentusFbACC30477(83’• DDD)

RecordedliveattheJoseph-Keilberth-Saal,

Bamberg,June 2018

SchoolofBarbirolli.

Thatwasmyfirst

thoughtasthe

falteringpulseof

theopeningbarsusheredinthewarmand

consolingfirsttheme,firstheardinthe

second,notfirst,violins.Nohintsofar

thatadarknightofthesoulmightbe

imminent.Thereisfireinthebellyofthe

beastasthefirstgreatclimaxwashesover

usandBlomstedtissuretoemphasisethe

cynicalsneerofMahler’sstoppedhorns.

Buttheimpendingnightmareisasyetat

armslength.

SothisisareadingofMahler’slast

completedsymphony(though,ofcourse,

itisactuallyhisTenthsinceDasLiedvon

derErdewasdeliberately,superstitiously,

givennoordinalnumber)whichforallits

defianceandresiliencetakesamellower

viewofitslongday’sjourneyintonight.

Itislessfebrile,lessneuroticthanthose

readingsfromBernsteinorTennstedtor

evenAbbado.Theincrementalbuilding

ofthefirstmovementisintenserather

thanunhinged,thougheachsuccessive

‘collapse’certainlydelivers,withthe

roaroftrombonesatthebiggestofthem

(theclimaxofthedevelopment)quite

tremendous.ButBlomstedtismore

abouttheshadowyrecessesofthisfirst

movementandthetendernessheultimately

coaxesfromtheresourcefulBamberg

SymphonyOrchestra.

Theinnermovementssuggestthatthe

heroofthepiece(thatis,Mahlerhimself)

maygorathermorequietlyintothedark

night.Thesecond-movementLändler

favoursgood-naturedebullienceoverany

suggestion that it might indeed be a

dance of death. It’s a gentler, less punchy

country dance. Charm rather than menace

exudes. Even the contrabassoon at the

close sounds cuddly. And then comes the

Rondo-Burleske, which has rigour but no

real teeth. Again, even the uncouth ‘off-

key’ E flat clarinet has no malice and barely

a hint of derision when he mocks the

Trio’s attempt to dig deeper. Those

pages – with their poetic premonition of

the finale – are indeed heartfelt, the dying

glissando in flute and oboe not ugly but

entirely serene.

The Bamberg strings are a warm

embrace in the finale and the generous

saturation of sound towards the far-

reaching horizon reminds us just how

extraordinary this movement is. But

ultimately Blomstedt offers a more

intimate, less ‘cosmic’ letting-go; and

his refusal to hint at the infinite by taking

all the remaining time in the world over

those last pages, as Abbado and certainly

Bernstein do (Abbado prefers to invoke his

eternal silence after the music stops) means

that one comes away from this performance

with less of a sense of finality. It wasn’t

Mahler’s last word, of course, but it was

still a hard-fought-for peace, and Mahler

without the neurosis just isn’t the full story.

Edward Seckerson

ORCHESTRAL REVIEWS

Intense rather than unhinged: Herbert Blomstedt brings tenderness and intimacy to Mahler’s Ninth Symphony

PHOTOGRAPHY:

ANDREAS HERZAU