The real Mahler Titan : François-Xavier Roth, Les Siècles

Not the familiar version of Mahler's Symphony no 1,  but the real" Mahler Titan at last, as it might have sounded in Mahler's time ! François-Xavier Roth and Les Siècles present the symphony in its second version, based on the Hamburg/Weimar performances of 1893-94.  This score is edited by Reinhold Kubik and Stephen E.Hefling for Universal Edition AG. Wien. This allows us, as Anna Stoll Knecht and Benjamin Garzia of the Médiathèque Musicale Mahler note, “to follow the genesis of this first large-scale work, (which) opens the doors of Mahler’s artistic workshop at a crucial moment in the creative process". Mahler extensively revised his very first version, premiered in Budapest in 1889. For the Hamburg performance, in October 1893, he described it as "The Titan, A Tone Poem in the form of a symphony" in five  parts, each with programmatic titles.  In Weimar, in June 1894, he adapted it further, so it was no longer a symphonic poem but a ‘symphony’. While the text accompanying the Weimar performance retained the programmatic titles from Hamburg, the score was now devoid of them, heralding the transition from symphonic poem to the Symphony in D major, as the Berlin version from 1896 was to be called. Donald Mitchell has compared this working process to building with scaffolding, which is later removed to reveal the finished structure. Even after publication, Mahler reserved the right to make further revisions, continuing to do so until the last performance he conducted, in New York in 1909.

While the edition of the score is of great interest, the performance itself is superb, definitely worth hearing on its own merits. Roth has conducted the standard version many times, but here he conducts  Les Siècles "sur instruments d’époque", using instruments of Mahler's time.  They use instruments which would have been used in  the pit of the Vienna Court Opera and the Musikverein, and selected Viennese oboes, German flutes, clarinets and bassoons, German and Viennese horns and trumpets, and German trombones and tubas. "These instruments are built quite differently from their French contemporaries" writes Roth. "The fingerings, the bores and even the mouthpieces of the clarinets were completely new to our musicians.  The wind instruments have a singular quality that exactly matches the rhetoric of the Austro-German music of that time, with a darker colour than that of the instruments then used in France. Perhaps they are also more powerful, and their articulation is a little slower. In the case of the string section, each instrument is set up with bare gut for the higher strings and spun gut for the lower ones. Gut strings give you a sound material totally different from metal strings, more highly developed harmonics, and incisiveness in the attack and articulation." Each instrument is individually identified, as are the players.

This approach to instrumentation infuses the performance, giving it an invigorating sense of vitality.  Given that Mahler was embarking on new adventures,  Roth and Les Siècles capture the spirit of the piece with extraordinary expressiveness.  The first movement of the first part, 'Frühling und kein Ende' comes alive from the start.  Period horns emerge from the rustling strings to create an earthiness entirely in keeping with the idea of Spring and burgeoning new growth.  The woodwinds call the "kuck-kuck" motif with such purity that they sound like birds.  The movement builds up to a crescendo so joyous that it seems to explode with energy and freedom.  In the song "Ging heut’ Morgen über’s Feld" the protagonist hears the birds sing "Ist’s nicht eine schöne Welt? Ei, du! Gelt? Schöne Welt!". Though the song ends on a minor key,  Mahler ends the movement with a punch of an exuberant timpani.

In the past, the 'Blumine' movement has been attached to what is now known as Mahler's Symphony no 1, even though the composer himself pointedly removed it.  The result is neither sympohony nor "symphonic poem" but a hybrid.  Mahler dropped the piece, finding it too "sentimental", a "youthful folly" ((Jugend-Eselei), and it does inhibit the flow of the symphony. 'Blumine' includes passages from "Der Trompeter von Säckingen", incidental music to a play he'd written in 1884. Hence the prominent trumpet part, which here is particularly beautifully played : almost as evocative as the post horn in Mahler's third symphony, though 'Blumine' is a much slighter piece.  The mellowness of the instruments Les Siècles employ enhances the section's function as a throwback to past times. There's not much point in including it as an add-on these days when the full symphony is is so well known, so it's better to hear it in proper context, as this new edition offers. It operates as an andante to the much more sophisticated scherzo of the (third) movement here. Originally titled "Mit vollen Segeln", it's played here with ebullient verve : the trio part earthy Ländler, part cheeky waltz.

 Part Two of the Titan was titled Commedia humana (Human Comedy). It begins with "Gestrandet", a Totenmarsch inspired by an illustration of hunted animals following the cortege of a dead huntsman : the worldly order of power in reverse. Again, the usee of instruments Mahler himself would have known adds colour to this performance. The rhythms reference the folk tune Bruder Jakob: hence Mahler's comment that it should sound quaint "as if  slaughtered by a bad orchestra". Ländler values again, with echoes of the motif 'Auf der Straße steht ein Lindenbaum' from the song "Die zwei blauen Augen von meinem Schatz" with which Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen ends.  The dark humour of this Dantesque "human comedy" comes to the fore in the last movement, an allegro furioso originally titled "Dall'Inferno". Such energy in this performance - proof that instruments of the right period can sound powerfully animated.  Roth and Les Siècles perform with intense conviction. Each section of the orchestra sounds alert, aware of what's evolving in the music : the triumph of some heroic force of life, blasting away death and venality. Hence the term "Titan", refering to Jean Paul's Bildungsroman, where wisdom is won through fire, in search of higher purpose. 

Jurowski Rundfunk-sinfonieorchester Berlin Brahms Mahler

Another chance to hear Vladimir Jurowski with the Rundfunk-sinfonieorchester Berlin, where he is now into his second year as Chief Conductor.  It's good to hear him with them, since we're so used to hearing him with the London Philharmonic Orchestra, where he's been Chief since  2007, and with the Orchestra of the Age of Enlightenment.  Here's a link to Sunday's concert featuring Brahms Concerto for Piano and Orchestra no. 2 B-Dur op. 83 (with Nicholas Angelich) and Mahler Symphony no 1.  Different dynamic, different sounds : the sign of fruitful partnerships. Jurowski's conducted Mahler 1 several times at the Royal Festival Hall but I definitely like this latest performance. Nothing like a change ! We will miss Jurowski if and when he leaves the LPO in 2021.   

Loving Life ! Mahler 5 Petrenko RLPO, Orchestral Wolf

 

Vasily Petrenko and the Royal Liverpool Philharmonic Orchestra are a great combination, truly major league. More's the pity we don't get to hear them  more often down south.  So hearing them on BBC Radio 3 was a treat, especially with a strong programme of Hugo Wolf orchestral music and Mahler Symphony no 5.  Full marks to Petrenko and his players but nul points to whoever wrote the script for the BBC presenter. "Mahler's Fifth is almost as popular as Beethoven's Fifth"?  Wolf was told shouldn't be doing music. And who cares whether Mahler 5 is a TV theme tune?  Even local radio would be shamed.  "Reaching out" is all very well, but top-notch musicians like this attract audiences who know what they're doing. Quality sells itself.  Liverpudlians are not oafs!   Thank goodness for Petrenko himself,  a good communicator who makes sense without dumbing down. 

Hugo Wolf wrote quite a bit of orchestral and chamber music, like the Italian Serenade, and his songs are among the finest ever written.  Aged only 17, he completed what would have been his first Symphony but lost the manuscript, though he rewrote the Scherzo and Finale.  Frank Walker, Wolf's biographer, described the Scherzo as "novel and arresting". "Over an ostinato figure on the drums a tiny germ motive enters canonically nine times, or, if we include the further shortened entries, twelve time  on flutes, oboes, bassoons and strings - all within the first four bars". This is augmented by "rising pizzicati strings" and "downward leaping staccato figures" on woodwind, developed over eighty six bars the germ motive recurring almost as many times.  A sturdy rustic trio and a "sudden rapid downward rush" of the violins introduces a triple canon.  Mercurial high jinks with a plaintive kick -  Wolf's voice is already distinctive. The Finale is a Rondo Capriccio, inventive but feels incomplete, as if Wolf's ever-impatient mind was eager for new adventures.

Wolf was an able orchestrator,  but here we heard Mahler's arrangement of the Vorspiel to Wolf's opera Der Corregidor.  The Prelude is brief, only 5 minutes, but includes an expansive figure that "lifts the curtain" to the drama. Mahler didn't change much.

The trumpet solo that marks the start of Mahler's Fifth gleamed brightly. Although the Trauermarch is a mourning procession, its steady pace is broken by sudden flarings-up and gentler passages, which often, in Mahler, signify pastoral images.  Yet the trumpet continues calling: the Stürmisch bewegt section here alert and lucid, the mysterious slow passage in this instance very well defined. Though the orchestra is huge, what Mahler had in mind was "Kammermusikton", not chaos, observant listening, as if in a chamber ensemble. We hear, for example, the quiet plucking of a single violin.  . Well defined contrasts,  keeping up the momentum. Petrenko's approach also highlighted the chorale-like patterns and contrasts of tempo and mood.  Yet sensitivity is of the essence, which the RLPO do with great finesse : how well those violins shimmered, tenderly surrounding the harp.  The Rondo Finale felt richer and more fulsome after that Adagietto.  Often I think this is where the "love agenda" really lies in this symphony, for the music surges invigorated For what is love if it doesn't enhance life  Mahler very nearly died of a rupture while the symphony was in gestation.  Perhaps the warmth in this movement represents the vital life force which animates so much of Mahler's entire output.  The coda was triumphant, but cheerful, the RLPO rushing exuberantly to the brisk conclusion. 

Invigorating, perceptive Mahler 1, François-Xavier Roth LSO Barbican

François-Xavier Roth -photo Marco Borrgreve

(For my review of Bernard H|aitink Mahler 9 with the LSO click here)  At the Barbican, London, François-Xavier Roth conducted the London Symphony Orchestra in Mahler Symphony no 1 with Debussy Jeux, and  Bartók Piano Concerto no 3 with Simon Trpčeski. The latter pieces preceded the first, and deserve great praise but Mahler is my thing... and this was an exceptionally interesting performance of a piece that is heard so often that it can sometimes be a cliché. Never so with F X Roth, the LSO's Principal Guest Conductor !

Mahler's Symphony no 1 is Mahler's "calling card" announcing his arrival as symphonist. It is idiosyncratic, supporting such a wide range of responses that it's a good test of a conductor.  With the London Symphony Orchestra, François-Xavier Roth revealed its exuberant inventiveness: a "calling card" presented with exuberant audacity, its inventiveness built on strong foundations.  A lot lies in Roth himself.  One of the clichés often repeated about Roth is that he's a baroque specialist but that in itself means nothing.  Historically informed performance has nothing to do with instruments per se. What it really means is connecting to whatever makes any composer unique. Styles differ, but all forms stem from a basic source of creativity that springs from the human soul. Roth, who for many years led SWRO Baden Baden, with its Rosbaud, Gielen and Boulez connections, is also one of the finest conductors of modern music. 

Although Mahler 1 is heard so often that it, too, can become cliché in the wrong hands, his performance made it feel fresh and invigorating, perhaps even as Mahler might have hoped.  The woodwind chords in the introduction always draw attention, and rightly so, but this time I was drawn to the low rumble around them, and the multiple rustlings, for this is the rich source from which the symphony will flow.  Thus the trumpets are heard from a distance: their time will come.  The exuberant theme (Ging heut's Morgen übers Feld) filled out with expansive verve, as if the orchestra were opening its lungs and taking in the clean air of a morning hike. As the theme repeats it developed into full stride, so confident that it almost resembled dance. For what is dance but the expression of physical movement in sound?  Dancers move in ensemble, interacting with each other, supporting one another: a metaphor for the way a good orchestra operates.  Here, Roth's background with baroque paid dividends.  Please read my article on French style and modern music here.  The more intricate the steps, the greater the need to observe clear lines, or the kinetic energy is lost.  Thus the confidence of this performance, where the Ging Heut exuberance was balanced by the mysterious, "grounded" interlude and exuberant climax.

Roth's sense of physicality animated the second movement particularly well, so the Ländler character was defined and strongly rhythmic. Earthy, rich basses and celli, horns and strings dancing along en fête. Just as in the first movement, the pattern of exuberance-mystery- climax repeats, like the figures in  well choreographed dance.  I loved the sassy, wayward brass!  A march is also a form of movement to sound.  Thus the "Huntsman's Funeral" proceeds at a solemn pace. But might Mahler just be suggesting that something is awry? Would the animals mourn the man who kills them? Or are they acting out a macabre joke?  The winds leapt capriciously, and the bassoons piped, perhaps a hint that, in life,  all might not be what it seems.  Through this performance, Roth and the LSO drew tantalizing links between Mahler's First and Seventh Symphonies, where meaning is deliberately occluded by "nightmare waltzes"of the Nachtmusiks.  Again, an insight on Roth's part, for Mahler's work is so cohesive that the performance of any single symphony is enhanced by awareness of other parts of the whole.  

Thus, too, the sudden, shattering climax, and its similarity to the Rondo-Finale of the Seventh. In the First, though, Mahler has more to say, reflecting on gentler, lyrical passage. But notice - the sharp woodwind calls and the rumbling undergrowth at the beginning of the symphony emerge again, and echoes of the Ging Heut' theme,  before the even more explosive "second coming" with its triumphant brass chorale " And he shall reign, for ever and evermore".  Years ago when I mentioned this quotation, I got knocked down for blasphemy but it does fit the concept of continual renewal - resurrection - that runs through Mahler's whole output.  It is egotistic but not delusional.  There's too much warmth in Mahler for that.  For similar reasons, I don't think we should dismiss the title "Titan" altogether though it's not echt Mahler. The composer and his audiences knew Greek mythology so well that they knew who the Titans were - weird inbred prototypes who killled their fathers (Oedipus avant la lettre) but were too stupid to consolidate  Eventually, they were wiped out by proper Gods. Thinking of Mahler's First in those terms might be wry observation.

Some conductors take the marking Stürmisch bewegt, mit größter Vehemenz marking so literally that the symphony becomes a Triumph of the Will tantrum, which may be exciting, but almost certainly doesn't fit what we now know of Mahler, the man and his other music.  The LSO horns stood upright along the back of the Barbican Hall platform, a nice theatrical touch which enhanced impact. It also works musically, since the sound carries over the orchestra, upwards towards the roof of the auditorium.   Heavenwards, towards distant horizons, nine more symphonies to come.   

Please also read numerous other posts on Roth, the LSO, Mahler etc on this site

Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla : Mahler CBSO Birmingham

Mirga Gražinyte-Tyla conducted the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra in Mahler Symphony no 1, Haydn Symphony no 6 and the premiere of Raminta Šerkšnyte's Fire.  Mahler's First is often a measure of a conductor, lending itself to many very different approaches.  Gražinyte-Tyla's Mahler 1 was striking. The first chords rang out confidently : nothing tentative here. Although the "growing shoots" in this symphony are fresh and new,  they spring from a life-force so powerful that they cannot be curbed.   While not rushing, the orchestra soon gets into its stride. By the time the pounding figures come we're definitely "on our way". When the flute called out, it seemed to glisten, shining as if moist with dew.  The phrasing in the next section was delicately defined, so lucid that a very minor fluff in the playing stood out more than it might otherwise, but no matter.  In Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, a finch calls out "Ei du, Gelt!". (Isn't it a lovely morning).  So the young man's been jilted, but he gets over it by going on a morning hike, engaging with nature.  In this performance, I was surprised how beautifully the idea of "bells" infused the notes - the bluebells in the text singing invisibly, like their scent in the sunshine. Thus,the first of many crescendi in the symphony, flowing naturally, and with joy.  "Ei du, Gelt!". The timpani danced merrily, a subtle suggestion of Ländler physicality.

The Second Movement began gently, respecting the quotation "Auf der Straße steht ein Lindenbaum" from the last song of Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen.  Reputedly, the scent of a linden tree is narcotic. The protagonist no longer worries, for all will be well. The music softens. "Alles, Alles ! Lieb und Leid, und Welt, und Traum".  But reverie is torn apart by sudden outburst.  Gražinyte-Tyla pushed the orchestra on, wildly wayward figures sweeping forth., giving way to more complexity.  Instead of Ländler, a much more sophisticated, mysterious waltz.  Again, the resolution is crescendo, horns and  trumpets leading the march forwards  The flickering, probing figures in the first movement resurface. The overall mood became darker, angular whips of sound suggesting tension. Gražinyte-Tyla carefully  shaped the run up to the final explosion, so it emerged gloriously, growing as a natural outcome from what had been building up before. A refreshing, invigorating performance,  clean without exaggeration, extremely well thought through.  

The City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra are superlative musicians, but what makes them distinctive as an orchestra is their sense of individuality.  They instinctively manage to choose Music Directors who have similar flair. This orchestra doesn't get "directed" so much as it grows, symbiotically,  with the conductors it likes best. Thus the inspired choice of Haydn's Symphony no 6 (Le Matin) with which Haydn established his rapport with the orchestra of the court of

Esterházy.  This performance gave the CBSO players chances to sparkle, as individuals, cohesion coming, I think, from mutual communication. Plus, the concepts of dawn and light connected beautifully to Mahler 1 and the symbols of Spring and renewal therein. Perhaps that's why I was so drawn to the flutes and flying strings.

The programme began with a new work, Fire by Raminta Šerkšnyte, and ended with an encore from Jonas Švedas (1908-71), both Lithuanians, like  Gražinyte-Tyla herself. 

Blazingly relevant Mahler 1 - Salonen, Schoenberg Dutilleux

Prom 32, Best Prom of the Year so far, Esa- Pekka Salonen conducting Mahler,  Schoenberg and Dutilleux  with the Philharmonia Orchestra.  An exceptionally good performance, even by the high standards we've come to expect from this orchestra with a conductor who has stretched and developed them over the years. Superb playing, but also superb programming, typical of Salonen's intellect.   Everyone does Mahler  Symphony no 1 these days but how many conductors would dare  present it in the context of Schoenberg A Survivor from Warsaw and Dutilleux The Shadows of Time ?

Of all Mahler's symphonies, the first allows for the greatest range of interpretation. The way a conductor approaches it can reveal as much about himself as it might about the composer.  Salonen's Mahler 1 dazzled with blinding brightness, but with purpose. In Beethoven Fidelio, the prisoners are suddenly let out from the dungeon into the sunlight, and sing the glorious chorus O welche Lust, in freier Luft den Atem leicht zu heben ! It's glorious, but also tinged with defiance. The prisoners know, and we know, they aren't going to escape, but for one wonderful moment they defy the darkness and raise their voices.  Florestan is  "Der Edle, der für Wahrheit stritt" (the noble spirit that strives for Truth), but the prisoners are, too, in their own way.

In this sense, Mahler's first symphony is an exuberant break for freedom,  a statement of intent. The very first motif shone, and the trumpets rousing the orchestra to life.  Nothing somnolent in this awakening : alert, tight focus.  Ging heut’ Morgen übers Feld : Mahler is striding, confidently out into the world.  The tiniest details were marked with clarity : an important observation since in the grand scheme of creation, all forms have their place. Consider that if you're a prisoner about to be extinguished.  You're not overlooked.  Confidence, but not brashness :  "Nicht zu schnell"  but striding forth with firm footsteps.  The Ländler section danced gracefully, a lovely contrast to the invigoirating brass figures that cut off with the haunting "funeral march"  apparently suggested by Moritz von Schwind's How the Animals buried the Hunter  Death fells the hunter, and power structures are reversed.  The theme Auf der Straße steht ein Lindenbaum. These quotations from Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen are important and Salonen knows why they count. The image of a linden tree might seem sweet, but its perfume reputedly had supernatural powers. Fall asleep under a Lindenbaum and you may never wake up. Salonen created sensuous textures, but kept the pace flowing. What a mix, sorrowful drones, graceful waltz figures and the tread of footsteps, fading away, tumultuous crescendi and  reflective themes. Mahler is looking backwards and looking forwards, in a sophisticated way.  Sometimes this complexity can be muddied, but the Philharmonia are such good players that they can define the different textures with absolute clarity.  How that final fanfare blazed, glowing all the more forcefully because it connected so well to what had gone before. Strengthened by the spirit of Wunderhorn, Mahler can set off on his mission, whatever obstacles he might face.

"I remember only the grandiose moment when they all started to sing, as if prearranged, the old prayer they had neglected for so many years – the forgotten creed! ! David Wilson-Johnson, the narrator, spoke in Schoenberg's A Survivor from Warsaw, with which the Prom began.  As the prisoners are facing death, they spontaneously remember what the prayer stands for.  They may be killed but their spirit will not be extinguished. Like the prisoners in Fidelio but in much worse circumstances. Gas chambers and in freier Luft den Atem leicht zu heben ,a juxtaposition too horrible to contemplate.  But confront such things we must or they could happen again.   Salonen is a brilliant Schoenberg conductor and the Philharmonia Voices and orchestra did the piece justice.  Salonen is also an admirer of Henri Dutilleux The Shadows of Time, which he has conducted many times.  The piece also refers to war and specifically the deaths of children like Anne Frank.  Salonen again understood the importance of lucid texture in the piece, letting its multi-coloured harmonies shine undimmed.

Mahler Symphony no 1 is heard very often - often "too" often - but Salonen and the Philharmonia made it feel utterly different, new and relevant. I'm not going to forget this experience in a long while.

Andrés Orozco-Estrada Mahler 1, London Philharmonic Orchestra

The London Philharmonic Orchestra's new Principal Guest Conductor, Andrés Orozco-Estrada, conducted Mahler Symphony no 1 at the Royal Festival Hall, London.  The LPO play with immaculate finesse: they're so good that they could almost function without a conductor. (I'm thinking of a recent concert where they saved the show by playing a composer's music better than he could conduct it).  What a luxury it must be to work with an orchestra as good as this! Already they seem to have a rapport with Orozco-Estrada, who is highly individual but who shares their very high ideals.

In profilre, Orozco-Estrada resembles an Inca God (He comes from Medellín)  but what really matters is the instinctive nobility he brings to his art. He  uses his body as an extension of his mind, like great athletes and method actors do. Nothing extraneous, everything focused on expressing the depths of the music. 

In his first Symphony Mahler sets out his "calling card", establishing his presence as a new voice.  Orozco-Estrada emphasizes the reverence from which individual voices emerge, like plants shooting forth from frozen ground. Yet, just as the sun wakes the earth, warmth and good humour emerge. Orozo-Estrada's hands flutter, suggesting the quirky impertinence of individual instruments. Who dares challenge what has passed?  "Ging heut’ Morgen übers Feld". The poet (Mahler himself) heads off to the open fields, in the morning, turning his back on the girl who's marrying another.  Perhaps getting dumped is a learning experience.  The marking "Nicht zu schnell" suggests firm footsteps, an earthy physicality, evoked  by the Ländler whose presence isn't decorative but represents solid confidence.

Just as the mood in Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen darkens with "Ich hab' ein glühend Messer", the symphony enters a more violent phase, which Orozco-Estrada is wise not to overemphasize too early.This interpretation is not brutish or violent per se, but connects to the wider theme which runs through all Mahler's work of triumph over setbacks.  Although the nickname "Titan" is wrong, it does, however, make sense, since the Titans of Greek myth  destroyed each other because they were stupid. The gods that emerged later had more intellect. Thus the cymbal crash that heralds the final movement.  All change! Orozco-Estrada shapes the music so its energy flows gloriously. The horns introduced in the first movement  were now reinforced by trombones and muffled tuba.  Far too often this symphony is distorted by banal brutishness. Orozco-Estrada instead understands its fundamental message and the way it relates to Mahler's work as a whole.  This symphony is often a test of a conductor's measure as a Mahler interpreter..

In September, he conducted Mahler 1 with the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra, where he's been chief for just over a year. They are very good, but the London Philharmonic Orchestra are in an altogether more elevated league.  Mahler's often quoted as saying "my time will come". Perhaps that holds true too for the LPO and Orozco-Estrada.

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos, Mahler Symphony no 1

Rafael Frühbeck de Burgos is to retire, with immediate effect. "After meeting with my doctors I have come to the following conclusion: I have to recognize publicly that I have cancer and that in this state of health and with deep sorrow I am not able to conduct at my standards and the moment to quit professional matters has come.” What a dignified and honest statement. That is the measure of a man, I think. I'm greatly moved.

Although Frühbeck de Burgos was a regular fixture in London in the late 60's early 70's, in later years his appearances here were relatively rare. I came to "know" him from his recordings with the "New Philharmonia" as it was called then. His recording of Die Meistersinger von Nürnberg (Deutsche Oper Berlin, 1995) is another milestone. Wolfgang Brendel's Hans Sachs is uncommonly wise and warm - a lot like I imagine the conductor himself is. Frühbeck de Burgos didn't record Mahler, but his way with the composer was highly regarded. He was awarded the Gold Medal of the International Gustav Mahler Society in 1996, when such things meant a lot. So when he returned to London after a long hiatus to conduct Mahler Symphony no 1, my friends and I were there.

In this symphony Mahler sets out his calling card, so to speak, so the way a conductor approaches it shows how deeply he's absorbed the composer's idiom. There are brash, vulgar Mahler 1's, perfectly valid in some ways, if you think of Mahler as a wild young man punching his way Titan-like into the world.  Then there are Mahler 1's conducted like Frühbeck de Burgos, where you feel you're hearing  a wise older man looking back fondly on a tempestuous young man's audacious dreams, knowing how the composer will grow and mature.

"This performance placed the First Symphony firmly in the context of Mahler’s early influences", I wrote then. "The imagery of dark, nocturnal forests is central to Germanic folklore, and to the sensibility of the Romantic period. It’s natural, then, that Mahler, so aware of the position of music in connection with other arts, would choose to start the first movement with what are effectively “forest murmurs”, evoking panoply of images pregnant with meaning for his time. Indeed, Siegfried was a kind of “Titan” individual who, like Mahler, had to make his own way in the world. Tentatively, the clarinet and flute break through the murmurs: the clarinet’s kuckuck a direct reference to the cuckoo heralding Spring who will appear in other songs and symphonies. The music then wells up to an unequivocally lyrical transposition of Ging heut’ Morgen übers Feld. Frühbeck de Burgos beamed with happiness, for this is exhilaratingly happy music, especially when separate from the other, darker songs in the cycle. It is, after all, about an idealised “Schöne Welt”. At the crescendo, the whole orchestra seems to explode with enthusiasm, horns and big brass in full fanfare, but Frühbeck de Burgos keeps the textures clear and distinct. It is exciting because it is so breathtakingly pure."
 
" In the second movement, the references to Ländler and folk dance are emphasized. Frühbeck de Burgos had the orchestra play the swaying, swaggering theme with panache, the lovely clarinet embellishments played with instruments held high. The heady, swirling figures in the theme later used in the Second Symphony and Des Antonius von Padua Fischpredigt came across confidently, for this conductor understands Mahler’s quirky sense of humour, which is never far from the surface. It’s not simply that this conductor’s personal geniality brings out the humour: Mahler’s sense of the ludicrous is far more deeply ingrained in his work than is often appreciated. Hence the “funeral march” in the third movement, inspired by a picture in which animals escort a hunter in his cortège This image frightened the composer when he was a child, for it addresses the idea of transience, a world overturned, and a reversal of order. It’s a theme later to be explored in the Dionysian deconstruction in the Third Symphony. In the First Symphony, though, it’s still relatively undeveloped. A well modulated roll of the massed kettledrums announces a colder mood. The slow march here was supported by a surprisingly gentle clash of cymbals, whose reverberations seemed to float on, highlighted by two bursts of sound from the double basses, a simple but telling detail. Then the orchestra reignites in full crescendo. In contrast with the rounded, warm lyricism that had gone before, the “inferno” sequence was wildly angular, trombones, trumpets and tuba in full fanfare. Yet as the conductor raised his hand, in an instant the powerful surge subsided into a recapitulation of the balmier “summer” theme.

"Frühbeck de Burgos uses volume to accentuate the colours and contrasts in the score: it works well because this orchestra is so good they respond immediately, as one. There’s no room for muddy playing in this approach. Thus the final movement really was Stürmisch bewegt, a tsunami of sound relentlessly, powerfully surging forward. It was both beautiful and terrifying at the same time. Yet at no point did the individual strands get lost in the tumult. Highly disciplined and accurate musicianship kept the colours clear and vibrant. Amazingly, the horns sounded almost like bells tolling, the bigger brass providing a deeper undercurrent. Sudden bursts of colour, such as from the flute and clarinet, lit up the curtain of sound created by the rumbling roll of percussion and the extremely well balanced strings. And so this symphony ended in a truly jubilant mood. Just as there were quotes from Lieder to provide subconscious commentary, the quotes now were from Handel “King of Kings, Lord of Lords, and he shall reign forever and ever”. It is, unmistakably, a triumphant ending, bursting with hope, life and vitality. Frühbeck de Burgos has the horns stand up to play in a splendidly theatrical gesture, which fits the exuberant spirit of this music. A complete Mahler cycle tracing the composer’s development, symphony to symphony, from this conductor and an orchestra of this standard would be a wonder to behold."

Sakari Oramo, BBC SO Mahler Murail Shostakovich Barbican

 

Andrew Morris writes : 

Sakari Oramo’s inaugural concert as Chief Conductor of the BBC Symphony Orchestra gave opportunities to explore existing preoccupations – theirs and his. Oramo – no stranger to the British music world after ten years at the helm of the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra – brought Mahler to the table, a composer with whom he’s had an affinity for some time. The BBC for their part, brought a substantial premiere by respected French composer Tristan Murail, affirming a commitment to contemporary music unparalleled among London’s symphony orchestras.

The title itself of Murail’s new piece, Reflections/Reflets, presages elements of the first of the piece’s two movements. Murail takes as his starting point Charles Baudelaire’s poem Spleen, not set vocally but rather painted in heavy orchestral sound. The poem’s bells are there, tolling grimly at the first part’s climax and the thick texture truly makes sonic sense of the opening line “When the low and heavy sky presses like a lid”. It’s the skewed tuning, though, that most clearly stems from that title – a cluster of wind instruments, just slightly off the pitching of the rest of the orchestra, distorts everything we hear, offering a cracked double image or a sullied reflection.

The second part, “High Voltage/Haute Tension”, darts of with a nervous energy not possible in the first. Pointed piano writing underlies much of the skittish but virtuosic orchestral writing, setting off waves of upward-reaching scales that couldn’t be further removed from the weighty import of the “Spleen” music. Murail intends these movements to be the first in a cycle of pieces, and the BBC Symphony Orchestra launched them with terrific power and commitment in this world premiere performance.

Something of the febrile energy of “High Voltage” was echoed in Shostakovich’s Concerto for piano, trumpet and strings of 1933 (sometimes dubbed Piano Concerto No.1), particularly so here with the hyper-detailed pianism of Olli Mustonen. I hadn’t seen Mustonen live before this concert, having encountered him only through his recordings, but in the event the visuals matched the eccentric intellectualism projected by his playing. Mustonen lets no phrase rise and fall smoothly, preferring to poke odd notes and send them out into the audience like barbs. His hands fly sometimes a foot from the keyboard, striking from a height and only increasing that sense of jaunty, jolting phrasing. It’s love-it-or-hate-it playing, sounding nothing like anyone else I’ve ever heard, but there’s something curiously disarming about it, as though Mustonen is dreaming his own quirky musical fantasy and allowing us to peek over his shoulder.

The obligato trumpet part was here taken by Russian star Sergei Nakariakov, whose quivering vibrato and silken tone were quite distinct from Mustonen’s angularity, but they shared a stingingly incisive rhythmic sense that made for a tremendously exciting finale. A little more tightness from the accompanying strings would have raised the performance even more, but with so much to intrigue and entertain, it seems churlish to complain. I can’t imagine that I’d want to listen to Mustonen’s wacky phrasing for too long, though.

If Oramo’s contribution has gone uncommented upon until now, it’s because the final item – Mahler’s First Symphony – was always going to be the test of his command and ability. He set down an admired recording with the Royal Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra a couple of years ago and here proved that he has something fresh and engaging to say in what is very frequently trodden repertoire. I say fresh not so much in that his view is wholly original, but rather that his approach drew out all that is youthful and hopeful from this mighty work. His motions on the podium suggested strongly that flow and lyricism were priorities, bringing out this music’s roots in song (Mahler does, after all, make heavy reference to his earlier song cycle Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen). I’ve rarely heard the scherzo infused with such a vigorous sense of dance, or the first movement’s climactic explosion of light more awake and alert. Along the way, he was given many moments of fine playing from the orchestra – some crisp offstage brass, gutsy string playing and that double bass solo negotiated with poise. What was missing, perhaps, was a real sense of polish and refinement from the BBC SO. It sometimes seemed that Oramo was pushing for more dynamic contrast that he was receiving in return, and while there were never issues of ensemble, I missed the beauty of sound of which this orchestra is capable. As inaugural concerts go, though, this was a promising one – a strong sense here of a conductor with firm priorities and an orchestra capable of delivering what he asks.    

Andrew Morris is a violinist  and runs the string music news and reviews site:Devil's Trill.

 
photo : Jan OlavWedin

Mahler Alert - London Sunday

 

Sybille Werner, the Mahler scholar who assists Prof. Henry-Louis de La Grange, conducts Mahler Symphony no 1 in the rarely heard 1893 Hamburg edition this Sunday, Mahler's 103rd birthday. It's an honour to be a friend of Sybille's, she "understands Mahler from within".

Trumpets and Demons - Prom 63 Mahler 1, Liszt Fischer

Trumpets and Demons ! Marches and Dances of Death ! In Prom 63, Ivan Fischer and the Budapest Festival Orchestra set the Royal Albert Hall ablaze with an exceptionally powerful Mahler Symphony no 1. This was Mahler's Declaration of Independence, the calling card with which he burst onto the world. Already, Mahler is declaring concepts that he'll continue to develop until his death. Conducting this symphony is a test of any conductor's understanding of the composer. This was a truly inspired performance, revealing bold insights.

In Prom 63, Fischer's approach was coloured by Liszt, whose influence on Mahler is underestimated, though Liszt himself dismissed Mahler's Das klagende Lied in no uncertain terms.  Mahler conducted the.Mephisto Waltz no 1 (Der Tanz in der Dorfschenke) several times and knew it well. Mefistofele grabs the violin from a village fiddler. Bucolic folk tune transformed by the Devil himself. Folk idiom juxtaposed with surreal, and macabre. Freund' Hein, who will appear in the sforzando section in Mahler's 2nd Symphony. Lizst's Faust Symphony (read more about this HERE)  springs to mind, and Mahler's Eighth on the theme of Faust's redemption.

If anything Liszt's Totentanz connects even more strongly to Mahler's music. Listen to those savage, angular ostinatos transformed by magical flurries, and think of Mahler's relentless marches and the whips of bright sound that will come in Mahler. Although Mahler was himself a pianist, he wrote but one work for piano, and nothing concertante. His voice "was" the orchestra. Liszt's "voice" was the piano. Dejan Lazić played with assertive authority, easily a match for this orchestra. How full bodied this piano sounds here, imitating the sonority in the orchestra, breaking away with flourishes that defy containment. In Mahler's symphony,  a vibrant new spirit emerges from struggle and breaks free. Mahler discarded the title "Titan" very early on, but it's not irrelevant, since in Jean Paul's Titan, a young hero becomes king.

Blumine is a serenade andante Mahler dropped after the Budapest premiere of the First Symphony in 1889. It's a fragment from the now-lost incidental music to Der Trompeter von Säkkingen, hence the prominent part for trumpet.  Although the piece has charm,. its inclusion in performance is rarely successful, so Fischer respects the composer's second thoughts. By placing Blumine between Mephisto no 1 and Totentanz, Fischer bridges Liszt with Mahler imaginatively.

Fischer's Mahler 1 is audacious. Clear, pure trumpet calls, not quite a reveille. Fischer's players make the call sound searching, soaring. From the low rumblings that follow, emerges a melody one recognizes as Ging heut' morgen übers Feld, from Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. It's not accidental recycling. By incorporating song into the symphony, Mahler is adding an extra dimension to what the symphony might mean. "This moring I strode out across the fields". The poet, (Mahler himself) has been jilted but he leaves his sorrows behind. A bird calls out Ei du! Gelt?. "Isn't the world beautiful!". Is this reveille the awakening of Spring and creative energy ? These strings are certainly lush and verdant, evoking "alles Ton und Farbe". But Fischer makes sure that danger creeps in. Full-toned triumph, but undercut with sharp, chilling alarums. As in the song, the poet takes nothing for granted.

A new theme emerges, balanced between peasant ländler and dreamy waltz. Again, trumpets and brass provide momentum and the section ends abruptly, emphatically. Then the haunted "Funeral March", apparently suggested by Moritz von Schwind's How the Animals buried the Hunter (click on image to enlarge). Another true Mahlerian contradiction. Death fells the hunter, power structures reversed. Fischer doesn't overdo the pathos as some conductors do. These animals are grieving, not seeking revenge. The idea of nature as a cycle, that returns again and again in Mahler. Fischer connects the passage to the steady forward thrust of the march that flows throufghout this symphony, and indeed, through most of Mahler's music. Next transit : the entry of another song from Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen. Fischer knows why the march blends with the theme Auf der Straße steht ein Lindenbaum, the symbol of sleep, dreams but not, here, of death, since the music keeps moving forwards until it's shot through by a stunning fanfare.

How full-bodied the orchestra sounds here, such depth and verve. Pounding circular figures, which repeat over and over. The march again in a new guise. Fischer and his orchestra get the bright, dizzying whips of sound particularly well, so there's no sense of stasis. The quiet passage has echoes of something nostalgic, a Ruckblick of some sort, the beautiful waltz theme remembered.  Then suddenly trumpets and timpani explode, horns and trombones call ever upwards. A new theme appears tentaively, submerged into another explosive crescendo, which are created with great crispness and clarity. Then the theme takes over, trumpets and brass "marching" again. This three chord theme always reminds me of Handel's Hallelujah chorus "King of Kings ! Lord of Lords ! He shall reign forever and ever". Whether Mahler was deliberately quoting or not, the concept does fit the mood of the symphony. Fischer's reading isn't as violent as some, and the gentler passages that follow the outburst are elegantly shaped. Again the rolling circular "march" returns, whipped ahead by extremely bright trumpets, heralding the final glorious coda, which here sounded specially golden and vivid.  Such a purposeful, determined and clear-headed. Mahler has arrived !

As a Mahler conductor, Ivan Fischer is much more idiomatic than Semyon Bychkov, whose Mahler 6th (Prom56)  I admired so much. Fischer engages with Mahler on a much deeper level, bringing out the fundamental strong mindedness in Mahler's architecture, which underpins the spiritual searching. "Always, trajectory!" as Pierre Boulez used to say. For Fischer, too, trajectory is a key to meaning. There are many ways to conduct Mahler 1, but this one has me transfixed. 

Rattle Mahler 1 Prom 65 Berliner Beethoven

A week after their concert in Berlin, the Berliner Philharmoniker and Simon Rattle brought Mahler 1 and Beethoven 4 to Prom 65.  Silly to nitpick comparisons between performances, though London was more relaxed. Not a bad thing with Mahler's First Symphony and its youthful exuberance.

A ravishing start - extremely quiet, demanding careful attention, for out of the stillness emerge twitches of sound : the music awakes, as nature awakes. The Ging heut' theme rises tentatively, then strides forth confidently, the whole orchestra surging together, Emmanuel Pahud's flute der lust'ge Fink, urging them ever onwards.

Extreme pianissimo, delicately held. The orchestra is listening, like the protagonist in the song, careful not to disturb the dawn. Quavers become cuckoo calls, heard from different directions, as in nature. Steady tempi evoke footsteps, gradually building in vigour, horns call, trumpets zing, and you hear the finch sing Ei, du? Gelt !....Ei Gelt ! Du?  So accurately observed, Mahler as Messiaen.

Rattle respects the marking Nicht zu schnell, because it emphasizes the angular walking rhythms.  Always the sense of being at one with a wayfarer, alert to the sounds around him.  A single double bass, then bassoons and low strings: pre echoes here of Fischpredigt and even a jaunty theme defined by cymbals and timpani : a germ of the Dionysius march from the Third Symphony?

Clapping between movements here would be barbaric. Mahler's silences shape his music. Sturmisch bewegt here was an explosion, all the more cataclysmic because it emerged from a void.  This felt dangerous, (especially in Berlin) as if Rattle and the Berliners were teetering dangerously on a precipice, shocked by the immensity of what's before them. The madness of Ein glühend Messer, ein Messer in meiner Brust, glimpsed in alarums, sharp attacks, and edgy cross rhythms.

Rattle plays up the dynamic contrasts, for this outburst is central to the explosion of creative ideas Mahler was embarking upon.  On the filmed version in Berlin the camera switches to a close up of the score, lingering on the quiet passage that emerges from the chaos - exceptionally well-informed filming.

Just as the song cycle ends with a vision of warmth, the symphony ends joyfully. Huge, swirling textures from the Berliners, almost too heady to be quite realistic. But that's an insight in itself. This finale is glorious, almost out of proportion to the simple vision of nature with which it begins. Is there a quote, there of Handel ? "He shall reign, he shall reign, he shall reign forever and ever". Village lad as Messiah? The seven horns stand up like a chorus of angels, heard from heaven. But that's what it must have felt like to Mahler, embarking on his journey, conquering his inner demons through his art.

We've all heard dozens of Mahler Firsts but this was exhilarating because it was so well observed and aware. I liked the way Rattle connected Mahler 1 to Beethoven 4, spotlighting the similar beginnings. Since the Friday Berlin broadcast (available on demand) I've come to appreciate Beethoven 4 in connection with Beethoven 6, the "Pastoral", also a vision of nature in the countryside. A storm explodes there, too, but it's cathartic, clearing away rather than merely destructive. Just like Mahler 1

No way could Rattle have programmed Beethoven Fourth after Mahler First, it wouldn't sound right. (Mahler 1 and Beethoven 6 would be too much).  But the comparison is relevant on a much deeper musical level than the nonsense about the symphonies being written after love affairs. For composers like Beethoven and Mahler, the main love affairs of their lives was with their creative spirit. 

Please see my other posts on Mahler, Mahler 1 etc., including oddball  "Mahler and the Tarot" (for Mahler is quite quirky!) . In this anniversary year everyone's carving out their commercial stake in this composer, but I'm just trying to download 40 years of listening experience in the hope it might be useful to others.

Mahler and the Tarot?

Gustav Mahler and the Tarot? Obviously there's no evidence of him believing in esoteric divination. But the Tarot is steeped in western culture, stemming from archetypes that have symbolic meaning to anyone versed in the Bible or European folk culture.  Which Mahler was.

The Holy Fool is the first card in a Tarot deck  "Fool" in this case does not mean foolish, but someone totally open and pure, setting out optimistically on a journey into the world.  Child-like in the sense of being non-prejudiced, non-judgemental.  Medievalists correct me, but weren't there folk movements in the Middle Ages, where people danced as "Holy Fools", in defiance of Death and Authority at times like plagues and famines?
 
Usually the Fool is depicted on a precipice but the crucial question is, will he fall or will he take flight? And he might just get lucky and carry on without noticing.

A dog, or sometimes a wolf chases him, symbolizing both dangers of the wild and of domesticity. Stopping is not an option. Sometimes the dog pulls the Fool's trousers down, typical medieval levelling down, not lost I suspect on someone like Mahler.

The Holy Fool carries a pack, but his baggage is light. Often he's shown holding roses or herbs, because he's idealistic, searching for beauty and knowledge (maybe occult pharmacology, too). This depiction's true to Mahler because it shows an Alpine landscape. Peaks to be scaled, difficulties to overcome.

So bear the image in mind when listening to Mahler's First Symphony. It's Mahler striding confidently out into the world.  He carries with him a background in "serious" music and also in folk culture (albeit filtered through middle class intellect) but it doesn't hold him back. Indeed, his songs infuse the symphony, pushing it forward. Thus the "walking pace" of this symphony, grave and deliberate but sprightly. This is a young man's symphony with all that implies - brashness, naivety, self absorption as well as boundless energy and verve. 

"Here I come" Mahler seems to be saying. Destination unknown, but the joy is in the journey.  How this symphony is performed tells us much about conductor and orchestra, and how they relate to Mahler's traverse as a whole.  There is horror in this symphony, a storm perhaps - but it moves on, undaunted. Sometimes this is called the ""Titanic" symphony, a reference to the Titans of Jean Paul.. But maybe that's premature as this symphony's vivacious rather than careworn. Though many young men think the woes of the world are on them. 

Tarot symbols are interpreted intuitively.  Obviously Mahler 1 isn't "about" the Tarot literally, but thinking about it in terms of wider European culture may sharpen our appreciation of the symphony's treasures.

Sir Simon Rattle conducted Mahler 1 in Berlin on Friday and will conduct it again this Friday at the Proms, also with the Berliner Phiharmoniker. I'll be writing up tomorrow or Friday.

Mahler 1 Rattle Berliner Philharmoniker LIVE

For review, please see http://classical-iconoclast.blogspot.com/2010/09/rattle-berliner-mahler-1-beethoven-prom.html

 

Please see my reviews of each of these concerts (and also lots of other Mahler) So far M1, M4 and M3 coming up. Please see labels on right.

This Friday, August 27th another major Mahler fix comes from the Berliner Philharmoniker.LIVE streaming online and in cinemas across Europe. This marks the start of the Berlin Mahler year, not that it's such a big deal in a city that's sponsored complete Mahler cycles several times. But in Berlin they do things with real style., so this will be another unmissable event. Especially as the band includes some of the same folk as played with Abbado in Lucerne.

Rattle's conducting Mahler 1 and Beethoven 4. Plenty more Mahler coming up from Berlin, see my summary HERE.  The Berliner Philharmoniker site has lots of fantastic stuff coming up - Berio Coro and Boulez conducting the full Stravinsky The Nightingale. The site's been streamlined and really is fantastic. 

This is the way to go ! The world is now one, with equal access for anyone, anywhere with the net (and a basic income - let's not forget how lucky we are, compared with millions).  It still amazes me to think we can all share wherever, whoever we are. Long term this could make a difference to the future of classical music. No more big fish in small ponds. No more insularity. No more hicktown Hitlers. No wonder some folk are running scared.

Fortunately, though, it's the top orchestras who have grasped the new technology. Ventures like the Berliner Philharmoniker are expensive, but they keep their quality high and aim at those who appreciate what they're doing. Really good business means growing the market, encouraging audiences to aim higher, learn more. This raises the bar for everyone, which is a good thing. Luckily, classical music is never going to appeal to tone deaf profiteers like Murdoch.

And on 4th September, Rattle and the Berlin Philharmoniker come to London for the Proms, which we can all listen to worldwide live and online. Wagner, Berg,  Strauss, Schoenberg, Webern and on BBC2 TV for the domestic audience too. I will be reviewing this concert and comparing it with the Proms broadcast - please come back for more !

Mahler in Manchester Mondays

Mahler, Manchester, Monday - ten weeks of Mahler from Manchester's Bridgewater Hall will be broadcast on BBC Radio 3 over the next ten weeks. Various conductors traverse the whole sequence 1-10.

Last week Gianandrea Noseda conducted the First Symphony.  Noseda's been conducting the Manchester-based BBC Philharmonic for nearly 10 years now, so this was as good a performance as you'd get from a team so used to working together.  The concert was hyped by an obsequious presenter on the BBC last week, so I refused to listen until a trusted friend told me how much she'd enjoyed it. And yes, it was very good! Not one for the ages, but very well paced, lively, lucid, a sense of freedom and even smiling good humour. Even the big cataclysm came off with  a sense of irony, which is good. When you're young, you pride yourself on defeating monsters. How could you be a "Titan" unless you can prove something? So the more hyper the drama, the better, even if it's nothing like the real dramas of life to come. The point is that glorious, exhilarating finale, which Noseda and the BBC Phil  did with great panache. Indeed, one of the best Noseda performances I've heard.

Tonight, Markus Stenz conducts the Hallé in Mahler's 2nd Symphony, and next Monday, Vassily Sinaisky conducts Mahler 3 with the BBCPO. Hopefully, the BBC will use different presenters and speakers, and try not to aim the series at the lowest common denominator. Many people are completely new to Mahler, but not all. And for those new to the composer, that's all the more reason for commentary that's well informed and challenging,..

The "selling point" of this series is that each concert will be prefaced by a new commission, which is good. Marina Mahler, who does listen to a lot of new music, is quoted in the programme as saying "If you don't like new music, you don't understand Mahler". It's common sense.  All artists carry the past with them, but if they have any integrity they are original, they're saying something new.   Because there's so much money to be made from Mahler, there's pressure to repackage him as mainly "Romantic",  operatic, Wagnerian, because that sells better than new ever will. But this conveniently overlooks Mahler's interest in Schoenberg and other new music of his time. And the fact that he died aged only 50, cut off in his prime. What might he have done had he lived another 30 years?

Paired with Mahler 1 was Kurt Schwertsik's Nachtmusiken.  It's "Mahlerian" in the sense that it's a mix of different styles and images, but it's not very original. Mahler didn't do allusions  for their own sake. Allusions aren't the same as pastiche. Schwertsik's a pal of H K Gruber, but without the craziness that makes Gruber distinctive. Tonight Friedrich Cerha Like a Tragicomedy (Cerha was the man who completed Berg's Lulu). On broadcast, each concert is supplemented with live recordings of Mahler performances from all over Europe this year - not the usual standard commercial issues.