Prom 57 - 29.08.14: Mahler 2, Swedish RSO, Royal / Stotijn / Harding

[Petrushka]

Tell me this will all be ok for the Rattle/RFH concert, Pet?!

I'm not sure but have noted PG's reply. I'm certainly hanging on to my ticket anyway. To hear the overwhelming effect that the organ can have, take a listen to the 1989 live Tennstedt recording where KT asked for the RFH organ to be played as loud as possible. I was present that night and can report that I was pinned to the back of my seat by the sheer force of the organ entry. The recording conveys it surprisingly well but the reality was something again.

[pastoralguy]

I'm not sure but have noted PG's reply. I'm certainly hanging on to my ticket anyway. To hear the overwhelming effect that the organ can have, take a listen to the 1989 live Tennstedt recording where KT asked for the RFH organ to be played as loud as possible. I was present that night and can report that I was pinned to the back of my seat by the sheer force of the organ entry. The recording conveys it surprisingly well but the reality was something again.

I was lucky enough to be sitting about 8 feet away from the Tackas quartet on Monday and it made me realise that, no matter how good a recording is (as well as the playback equipment), it's a poor substitute for the real thing.

[Richard J.]

Strangely detached and lacking magic. Band pretty good, but pacing....?

I was in the Hall, and found it tremendous. I can only assume that the BBC engineers managed to filter out the magic.

I thought the first movement in particular was handled briliantly by Daniel Harding, with incisive orchestral playing within a clear structure and tempi that sounded natural and 'right'. Overall, the magic was there for me, with a tingly spine on several occasions during the work.

Hitherto I've had some doubts about Harding, who I felt pushed the music too hard in some previous concerts. Not tonight though.

Regarding the 'interval' after the first movement, Harding stepped down from the podium, sat on a spare chair and chatted to the 2nd violins for about 5 minutes.

[Petrushka]

I was in the Hall, and found it tremendous. I can only assume that the BBC engineers managed to filter out the magic.

I thought the first movement in particular was handled briliantly by Daniel Harding, with incisive orchestral playing within a clear structure and tempi that sounded natural and 'right'.

I was listening on Radio 3 via Freeview and found the sound perfectly ok apart from the off-stage brass and timps which weren't distant enough. Indeed, the off-stage timps sounded louder than those in the main orchestra! Perhaps this is what DracoM means by 'lacking magic'. I also found the harp too closely miked.

I'd agree with RichardJ that Harding's pacing sounded 'natural and right'. I do, however, side with DracoM regarding the soloists but the choral contribution was excellent, the very quiet first entry, in particular, was hushed but audible.

All in all, I found much to enjoy here.

[jayne lee wilson]

PROM 57. MAHLER SYMPHONY NO.2 "RESURRECTION". SWEDISH RSO/HARDING.

HDS Ratings (320 kbps. aac): Sound 10/10, Performance 10/10. (Add an emphatic !! to that).

With the clear phrasing and sharp articulation of the doublebasses (placed centre-left), the character of this outstanding Mahler 2 was immediately apparent. Crisp, light and agile rhythms, transparent orchestral textures, sharply responsive dynamics. The SRSO evidently at one with their director. Perfectly judged tempi and relaxation of phrase for the 1st movement 2nd group, with lovely delicate phrasing. The cataclysmic climax of (i) was almost "a tempo", direct and dramatic with terrific impact, symphonically placed with no exaggeration (either a la Rattle or Bernstein). A truly superb totenfeier!

Into the andante, Harding was - suave and swinging, playful but tender, the Viennese ethos lightly colourwashed into the music. As throughout, Harding found the tempo giusto into the scherzo which maintained a notably lighter, divertimento character to pair naturally with the 2nd movement. VERY effective and musically meaningful, and the orchestral explosion near the scherzo's end had a stunning impact in my room!

Minor intonation problems with the soprano and mezzo soloists who were just a touch closely balanced (and didn't blend terribly well into the finale), but the vast, loose-limbed structure of the finale was sharply and swiftly focussed by Harding without any loss of characterisation. He had no need of Romantically indulgent accretions, either of exaggerated tempi & dynamics, or a ladling-on of indulgently personalised involvement through a stretched or agogically underlined phrase. His climaxes were exceptional in their power and focus, and the final chorus was simply overwhelming - again so impressive for maintaining control of balance and tone as the level rose. And - yes, I DID end up on my knees before the speakers, arms raised in appraisal and ... supplication. Sheer gratitude too!

The production heard via the HDs webstream was outstanding in its realism and dynamic range set in a vividly present acoustic. Power, splendour and clarity.

OVERALL: A reading of Mahler's 2nd that met its own aims superbly: swift, direct and dramatic, using unmannered, unexaggerated phrasing; subtle and controlled dynamics (graded to achieve maximum impact only in the final pages); quicksilver ensemble response and transparency of texture to achieve a direct communication of the music itself.
One of the most impressively engineered concerts of the 2014 season too.

[antongould]

..............

All in all, I found much to enjoy here.

As did I.

[Petrushka]

JLW: What a great review and written so much better than anything I could do! I agree with your conclusions in all essentials (my own slight caveats apart) and you make me want to play it again immediately.

I tend to ration my Mahler much more these days than of old and with the loss of my beloved mother earlier this week so much in my mind, I was fully in tune with the work and this performance. I would ordinarily have gone but was unsure of Harding of whom I've seen conflicting reviews and so cried off.

One to enjoy again.

[Bax-of-Delights]

This is the one I was present at - 51 years ago (tempus fugit indeed!).

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gv1HMlTU0R0

To me - and it was my first Mahler 2 - it has never been surpassed.

[Lento]

Had forgotten how much sheer beauty there is in the 1st mvt. I made the gap after it about 2 mins, with a short radio announcement to reiterate what was happening. 2nd mvt seemed really dreamlike, as it should be. A little disappointed with the "Urlicht" soloist, but it must be a tough gig, slow, exposed, crucial, plus having to wait to sing. Finale not always Mahler at his most subtle, but splendid nevertheless (?was the performance a little drawn-out in places, here). Missed the organ, I think, pitch would explain.

[gedsmk]

... Missed the organ, I think, pitch would explain.

Quite. Considering the importance Tennstedt gave to the RFH organ's role in the famous recording, why not make it a requirement that orchestras play to the organ's pitch, even if it means that it can only be British orchestras, plus those others who use A=440, such as the Simon Bolivars. And why not limit the number of performances per decade? - we are already at 3 in the 2010s, including the most recent two without the RAH organ, and so deprived of that extraordinary emotional rush. It is in danger of becoming "routine", which would be a mistake. For Stokowski, Tennstedt, Bernstein, and (I would argue) Dudamel, there is a "life at stake" element to the production of the overall sound, particularly in the closing pages. I missed that from Harding, from Jansons last year, from Haitink with the BBCSO a few years ago (because the orchestra's brass section didn't take the piece seriously enough).

[Flosshilde]

And why not limit the number of performances per decade?

Because it would be impossible to do so? Who would be 'allowed' to perform? & where? Would they all be in London, or would it be one per decade by each of the orchestras in the UK?

Nobody's forcing you to listen to more performances than you want to.

[DoctorT]

Minor intonation problems with the soprano and mezzo.[/I]

Minor intonation problems? To my ears the mezzo was painfully flat. Up to her entry I was enjoying the performance

[amateur51]

Because it would be impossible to do so? Who would be 'allowed' to perform? & where? Would they all be in London, or would it be one per decade by each of the orchestras in the UK?

Nobody's forcing you to listen to more performances than you want to.

I've deliberately not listened to it on disc or 'live' for many years - which is why I'm so looking forward to Rattle/BPO at the Royal Festival Hall, London in February 2015

[pastoralguy]

from Haitink with the BBCSO a few years ago (because the orchestra's brass section didn't take the piece seriously enough).

Brass players being serious!? You'll be wanting them to stay out the pub before the concert then?

[Nick Armstrong]

Minor intonation problems? To my ears the mezzo was painfully flat. Up to her entry I was enjoying the performance

Yes - not nice. I found it difficult to hear what notes she was aiming at due to the vibrato, but I agree that taking a general average they tended to veer south of what everyone else was playing. I heard her live in 'Das Lied' a year or two ago and it wasn't great.

I came in just before and I'm afraid that plus some indifferent brass playing didn't persuade me to stick with it. From others' reports, it seemed I was the loser since there were other strengths to the performance. Hey ho.