Symphony no. 6, "Tragic." Claudio Abbado, Lucern Festival Orchestra (Blu-ray)
The last of the Mahler for the day; I think I'll just provide a brief review of the Blu-ray.
The performance is absolutely top-notch. This is a group of musicians hand-picked by Abbado the core of which is essentially a youth orchestra. I like this because it imbues the music with a sense of discovery and the sort of intensity that Mahler himself favored, but rarely got out of well-heeled professionals.
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| Mahler 1910 |
The music of the 6th is indeed intense. There is a feeling that I can only describe as "mechanized doom" that pervades this work. (WW I just around the corner: Mahler as prophet) I'd have to check to be sure, but I can't help but think Shostakovich must have been greatly influenced by this symphony, in particular the way Mahler uses percussion (xylophone especially). Shostakovich, in the Fourth symphony (the one he withdrew for fear of ending up in the meat grinder of Stalin's purges), seems to borrow the doom, but takes the noble sound of Mahler and puts it in quotes.
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| Mahler in New York |
Anyway, the Blu-ray sounds great--even really loud, it does not distort. The filming has a light touch and the direction never seems intrusive. It's fun to watch Abbado look so joyful at the sounds he's hearing even in this "tragic" symphony.
For more on the Symphony, click here
For a seriously gung-ho Mahler site click here!
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