A total re-examination of a masterpiece
March 2019
A muscular performance free from all flab. Jarvi takes full advantage of NHKSO’s “functionality” as an ensemble to create a tightly shaped, minutely articulated sound instead of seeking lushness and flamboyance.
Yet the element of song is unmistakably there where it’s required, with well placed rubati and just the right amount of emotional pronouncements, especially in the slow movement. Jarvi shows, through his highly condensed sound, that passion in this symphony should be expressed not through lush deviance but through inward concentration. The careful listener will recognize a great variety of tempi, but the music is so well constructed that it flows with constant sense of drive without losing tension.
In the final movement, there is a sense of immensity of scale at the beginning and later, despite the mesmerizing changes in melodic ideas written into this movement, the tightly controlled ensemble relentlessly maintains a dramatic drive towards the ultimate “catastrophe”.
Jarvi seeks, and succeeds, to stay true to the characteristic Mahlerian style while achieving a simple yet solid music making. We’ve recently seen many outstanding recordings of this symphony but this is without doubt an excellent addition that should not be missed.
A muscular performance free from all flab. Jarvi takes full advantage of NHKSO’s “functionality” as an ensemble to create a tightly shaped, minutely articulated sound instead of seeking lushness and flamboyance.
Yet the element of song is unmistakably there where it’s required, with well placed rubati and just the right amount of emotional pronouncements, especially in the slow movement. Jarvi shows, through his highly condensed sound, that passion in this symphony should be expressed not through lush deviance but through inward concentration. The careful listener will recognize a great variety of tempi, but the music is so well constructed that it flows with constant sense of drive without losing tension.
In the final movement, there is a sense of immensity of scale at the beginning and later, despite the mesmerizing changes in melodic ideas written into this movement, the tightly controlled ensemble relentlessly maintains a dramatic drive towards the ultimate “catastrophe”.
Jarvi seeks, and succeeds, to stay true to the characteristic Mahlerian style while achieving a simple yet solid music making. We’ve recently seen many outstanding recordings of this symphony but this is without doubt an excellent addition that should not be missed.
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