Search - Mahler - Symphony No. 2 on DVD

A glorious and unforgettable performance

gpk | Forest Grove, OR, United States | 05/27/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Mahler's Second Symphony has been recorded dozens of times, recently by Pierre Boulez himself (his 2006 DG CD with the Vienna Philharmonic which, in my opinion, does quite not match the DVD's audio nor the interpretation), and several competing versions are available on DVD. Boulez' interpretation, filmed in the Berlin Philharmonie on the occasion of the composer-conductor's eightieth birthday in March 2005, features the Staatskapelle Berlin in highly distinguished form as well as Diana Damrau and Petra Lang, both very much in tune with Mahler's vocal demands and the requisite broad expressive range. The Chor der Deutschen Staatskapelle Berlin is superb. In a brief but moving ceremony at the end of the concert, Pierre Boulez is appointed Honorary Conductor of the Staatskapelle Berlin. His reply: "I can only say one sentence: I am speechless." The Philharmonie's acoustics work exceedingly well for this recording: almost every single voice and instrument can be heard in proper balance and the sound stage is near perfect. Special plaudits go to the camera team and the editors who faithfully follow the score throughout the performance without any gimmickry. For Boulez, the symphony is much less a tribute to late Romanticism than a visionary foreshadowing of the twentieth century, of the revolutions in tonality and harmony--and perhaps even the catastrophic experiences of humanity--just around the corner. Quirky harmonies and chilling dissonances are given full attention in Boulez' analytical approach. Moments of extreme anguish or of triumph are at times imperceptibly reined in, nothing spills over. Boulez does not unduly linger on particular phrases. The cataclysmic first movement is inexorable rather than devastating, the finale glorious and sublime rather than apocalyptic. In the middle movements, Boulez' transparent display of textures highlights the inner cohesion of the musical strands and alerts the listener to details often lost in other performances, even to intertextualities with the late symphonies. Tempi are relaxed, with the exception of the relatively fast, hard-hitting Scherzo (10:01). Boulez takes the final movement much slower than most others (his 38:03 in comparison to Bernstein's 34:40, Abbado's 34:24 and Järvi's 33:43---all on DVD---or to 35:35 in Gielen's interpretation, one of my favorites, and to Klemperer's 34:06 or Norrington's at 33:57), but nothing of the tension is lost, nothing drags, the long movement beautifully unfolds as a journey from chaos to redemption. At eighty, Boulez' minimalist directing technique has become even more sparing: he conducts without baton, eye contact prepares the musicians for their entrance, his hands indicate the beat and underline a phrase, and his face remains impenetrable most of the time. Thus the contrast between sparing visible leadership and the perfect cooperation of all is truly amazing and shows a deep rapport that goes beyond exacting rehearsals and professionalism on the ensemble's part. It all adds up to a glorious and unforgettable performance."