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Symphony No.4

The Fourth Symphony is the last of the Wunderhorn group and a link back to

the Third is conrmed by a quote from that works fourth mo!ement in the

nale of this one. "fter the Fourth #ahlers sound and intellectual world$!iew

would change profoundly% but there was still much to be gleaned from what

had meant so much to him in these e&traordinary poems. The principal work

on the Fourth occupied him in '()) and ')**% though one of its mo!ements

dates from '()+. This is the orchestral setting of the Wunderhorn song ,-as

immlische /eben, 0,The ea!enly /ife,1 which he rst thought of as nale

for his Third only to set it aside and carry it forward to be the unusual nale

of this work. 2learly the words detailing hea!en as seen through the eyes of a

child painted a potent image% and the e&istence of this mo!ement before the

composition of the preceding three tells us this is the ideas ,cluster, around

which the symphony is constructed. What we ha!e is an e&amination inmusic of the special nature of childish perception% specically as it is brought

to bear on those matters #ahler had wrestled with in his two pre!ious works3

questions of e&istence% of what happens after death% of what lies behind the

e!eryday% all with the poems and world of ,-es naben Wunderhorn, like a

beating heart. 5n the Fourth he would use this connection to lay before us a

proposition. Nothing less than that the perceptions of childish innocence are

not innocent but% in fact% all$knowing and uniquely percipient. 5ts a set of

ideas he would return to in the future. So in this work there is no actual

wrestling with the questions of e&istence and hardly any concern with con6ict

and resolution either. For this reason the Fourth is often portrayed as #ahlers

least troubled work and there is some truth in this on a surface le!el. 5t

certainly means there is less the conductor can do to harm it and this is

re6ected in the recordings under discussion where di7erences are quite

slight% unlike those that present themsel!es when recordings of the Second

are compared% for e&ample. For this reason my core selections of recordings

remain constant in this re!ision though there are some new !ersions to be

considered and one nal thought to the future at the end. Since this is

#ahlers shortest symphony and the one with the prettiest and most tuneful

te&tures its earned its place as his most popular and approachable. 8ut be

careful about !iewing it as entirely untroubled. There are dark shades cast on

the ligree te&tures and piquant colours% as -eryck 2ooke recognised whenhe wrote of ,gures mo!ing behind a !eil which obscures their naked horror

and makes them like the bogeymen which appear in illustrations to books of

fairy tales., 9rimm rather than "nderson% then. For the conductor this has

always meant a balancing act. "ccentuate the dark elements% pile the work

with too much emotional drag% and the special fairy tale nature is lost. 8ut

play down the shadows% take too far a step back% and those bogeymen

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disappear from !iew. #ost conductors pull o7 the trick admirably and tell us

this is one #ahler work whose secrets may ha!e been unlocked. 8ut there are

still comparisons to be made in a eld of e&cellence and still a case to be

made for selecting what 5 belie!e is the ,cr:me de la cr:me, which is what 5

shall now do.

This is the only complete #ahler symphony where we can compare and

contrast recordings by the two conductors most closely associated with

#ahlers work in his lifetime3 Willem #engelberg and 8runo Walter.

#engelberg sat in the audience in "msterdam in ')*4 to hear #ahler conduct

the symphony with the 2oncertgebouw ;rchestra twice in the same concert.

e also attended the rehearsals% discussed the work with #ahler% and made

copious notes in his score with #ahlers co$operation. #ahler in turn had a

!ery high opinion of #engelbergs conducting of his music so any recording

by the -utchman must carry a degree of authenticity but with the ca!eatsthat need to be applied to that word in this conte&t. Whether what we hear in

the ,li!e, concert recording from No!ember ')2-**?1 can

be said to represent #ahlers own wishes is another question. 5 would only

point out that by this time twenty$eight years had passed since #ahlers

death and #engelberg% a conductor known for a !ery e&pressi!e style% must

ha!e de!eloped his interpretation in those years howe!er much it may ha!e

been in6uenced by #ahler to start with. owe!er% 5 think we can say this

recording gi!es us a window into the way the generation nearest to the

composer saw and performed his works.

5f you are only used to more recent recordings the opening will come as a

shock and the shock will hardly lea!e you as the work proceeds. #engelberg

is more mannered and more moulded than anyone else% with sharply

accentuated tempo changes forward and back% often in the space of a few

bars. This e&treme inter!entionism continues right through the work but in

the rst mo!ement especially. >assages of nostalgic repose are deli!ered with

e!ery ounce of care and feeling% wrung from them like ripe fruit being made

to yield e!ery drop of @uice. The mo!ement contains a double A&position andits in the second of these you also hear the full treatment of string slides the

era this performance comes from% and which #engelbergs and #ahlers

audiences would ha!e been used to and ha!e e&pected% pro!ides. 8ut

#engelberg is good at the menacing shadows of the work% the lyricism and

the nostalgia. Though 5 do wonder how much we today ha!e ears that can

take the bar$to$bar control he e&ercises% howe!er brilliantly or authentically. 5n

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spite of his inter!entions% though% the underlying pulse of the music ne!er

6ags. Bou know #engelbergs intimate knowledge of this music% and that of

his orchestra with it and his methods% means there is clear !ision right

through and its this which ultimately sa!es the recording and makes for a

remarkable e&perience. 5n the centre of the mo!ement comes one of the few

points of real crisis as the music is whipped into a dissonance that comesdown on a trumpet fanfare #ahler will later recall at the start of his Fifth

Symphony. #engelbergs treatment of this shows him aware of the link

forward% but he is also aware enough of the internal structure of the

mo!ement to make the clinching clima& that follows it soon after more

imposing where nostalgia and good humour carry the day. Following this%

#engelbergs second mo!ement sees !ery much the same approach. e

in!ests e!ery bar with character and detail. We also hear what a superb

instrument the pre$war 2oncertgebouw was and how at home they were with

#ahlers music. Note especially the mellow sound of the superb principal

horn. 5n general this is an orchestral style and sound now lost in an age where

orchestras sound alike.

The slow mo!ement is one of #ahlers most noble and mo!ing creations. "

!ision of a child asleep in death car!ed in stone atop a tomb was in his mind.

#engelberg and his players rise to the occasion with an account that% more

than most with his e&pressi!e style% shows the ebbs and 6ows to superb

e7ect. #engelbergs inter!entions also seem less pronounced than in the rst

mo!ement and 5 am struck by a wonderful honesty that more than conrms

the high regard #ahler felt for his friends work. The playing of the woodwind

is a special delight and also the piercing solo trumpet at the clima&. So this is

an important recording% a recording that can be en@oyed on its own merits

irrespecti!e of historic nature% e!en though a deep breath might be needed

for those who prefer their #ahler more circumspect. The mono sound may be

a big problem for some too. 5t was recorded on discs and these ha!e a degree

of surface noise. 8ut if you can listen through this% and the slightly pinched

quality of the sound% you will come to regard this performance as an essential

supplement.

#engelbergCs successor at the 2oncertgebouw% Aduard Dan 8einum% did

sterling ser!ice restoring #ahler to the Auropean continent in the ')E*s

following the musicCs banning by the Nai occupation. 5n ')E' he recorded

the Fourth for -ecca and whilst it may be hard to nd this is still worth

seeking out for those interested in an age of #ahler interpretation now sadly

lost to us. owe!er% if you are e&pecting a #engelberg$like interpretation you

will be surprised. e is swift and classically$thorough% an antidote to

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#engelberg and to Walter whose recording was made four years earlier. What

Dan 8einum might take away in warmth and personal in!ol!ement is

balanced by the 2oncertgebouw players whose e&perience under #engelberg

must still ha!e been potent so what you are left with is a superb balance of

head and heart with head @ust predominating. #argaret =ichie is a wonderful

soloist too and whilst this ne -ecca mono recording can ne!er be a front linechoice it must be in the pantheon of #ahler Fourths.

There are a number of recordings of the Fourth by #ahlers friend% assistant

and disciple 8runo Walter a!ailable but 5m going to deal with the one made

in New Bork in ')4? 0Sony E'E

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>hilharmonic% another great #ahler orchestra% is full of character and

security% fully aware of the idiom in which they are playing.

Walters account of the third mo!ement is broad and noble but it mo!es

forwards a little more than #engelberg and so seems more true to #ahlers

marking of ,=estful, than #engelbergs who% in comparison only% appears

more troubled. This% as so often with Walter in #ahlers slow mo!ements%

carries the feeling of the /ied% and we must ne!er forget how much of #ahler

is allied to song. " feeling conrmed when the last mo!ement enters. A!en

though a quite fast o!erall tempo is adopted% -esi alban is encouraged to

sing out rather than meld into the te&ture. alban has a !ery distincti!e !oice

too% not an especially attracti!e one% not the usual creamy modern ,di!a,

soprano we are often used to% and 5 belie!e this is a gain. ;ne of the great

pities of recordings of this work is that none of the sopranos achie!es the

childlike quality #ahler wanted and neither does -esi alban quite. 8ut atleast shes distincti!e% at least she has character. ;ne day a conductor will

engage a choir girl to sing it and then we might ha!e a recording that gets us

to what #ahler really wanted. Two conductors 08ernstein and Nanut1 ha!e

recorded the work with boy trebles but the results% to me at least% sound

biarre. There is a link to #ahler in Walters choice of -esi alban for this

recording% by the way. er mother was none other than Selma ur% one of

the great stars of #ahlers glittering ten years at the helm of the Dienna

;pera at the start of the twentieth century and a particular fa!ourite of

#ahlerIs. For this and other reasons this too is an essential recording. Not a

reference !ersion% but one to be considered in the same way as the

#engelberg as historic and illuminating. The clear mono sound is better than

that of #engelberg but remains rather bo&y and unatmospheric.

"nother conductor associated with #ahler in his lifetime% though to a lesser

e&tent% is ;tto lemperer. There are a number of ,li!e, lemperer recordings

of this work a!ailable but my ad!ice is to stay with the studio recording 0A#5

G+4< E ?G*

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the fringes of being underpowered. 8ut there are gains in the much clearer

detailing of te&tures and parts% notably the woodwinds% always a ngerprint

of lemperer. Not for him the e&cessi!e indulgence of #engelberg% or the

softer grain of Walter% howe!er. For lemperer e!erything is clearly presented

in bold% 8reughel$like primary colours. The crisis on the dissonance emerges

superbly from the structure% always a strong point in a lemperer account%bold and grand. So too does the ,big tone, #ahler asks for in the clima& that

follows. True% he misses some of the sourness% some of the ligree lightness

too% but o!erall the distincti!e playing is a @oy. 5f the tempo seems a little

under$paced in the rst mo!ement in the second it seems right where

lemperers primary$colour sound palette again pays o7 along with our rst

real e&perience lemperers di!ided !iolins% left and right. Theres no lingering

for e7ect in the Trios but thats in keeping with the astringent approach% allied

to superbly balanced recording. 5ts in the third mo!ement the biggest

surprise awaits us.

lemperer was capable of confounding critics as the supposed master of slow

tempo and this is no more in e!idence than here where he gi!es the quickest

account of the slow mo!ement of many 5 know. 5t alters the character of the

piece and promotes this recording to one of e!en greater interest than it

might ha!e been% o7ering an alternati!e to the% under lesser men% often

comatose accounts we can encounter. Sometimes #ahler would speak of this

mo!ement as an "dagio% sometimes "ndante and this used to annoy his

friend Natalie 8auer$/echner so he told her he could @ust as well call it

#oderato% "llegro or >resto ,for it includes all of these., lemperer has his

@ustication. 5 also want to draw attention to the playing of woodwind against

strings in this mo!ement as its like ha!ing the score in front of you% so clear

is the balancing. ;!erall 5 think lemperer gi!es a more unsettled !iew of the

mo!ement than most and for that reason this recording has a special place in

the list. Notice too how well he manages the increases in tempo between

bars +++ and +(+3 an acid test for the conductor in this work. Then the

moment of clima&% when #ahler depicts the 6inging open of the gates of

hea!en% timpani hammering out the bell$like motif hitherto heard quietly on

harp and reminiscent of the bells in Wagners >arsifal% really bursts with @oy

and is played for e!erything. 5ts a ne preparation for the last mo!ement

where we come to the most contro!ersial part of this recording% the reasonwhy many people dislike it so much. Singing in the fourth mo!ement is no

less than the great Alisabeth Schwarkopf and its clear from her rst entry

her approach is wrong for this music. That she is far too worldly% far too

knowing% far too ,arch, for what the strange and simple words and music

need is ob!ious. "nd yet% for all that% she does it all so beautifully% e!en

though 5 always shake my head when 5 hear her. "nd smile too.

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The lemperer recording wasnt the rst #ahler Fourth by the >hilharmonia

;rchestra of the old era with Walter /egge producing. "s early as ')EG >aul

letki had made a !ersion which /egge must ha!e felt was going to be hard

to equal% e!en with lemperer 0=oyal 2lassics =;B?4?(1. This must be at thetop of the list for bargain hunters as well as a contender irrespecti!e of price.

5t has always been a fa!ourite of mine and 5!e always felt it has been

o!erlooked because letki is not a conductor usually associated with #ahler

and was ne!er one of the big names. e does superbly well and is supported

by an orchestra which% at the time% was at the height of its considerable

power. Some would say their response is not #ahlerian enough and 5 suppose

5 can see what they mean% but the gains they bring to their account are

remarkable and% like the 2oncertgebouw of ')

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of the Fifth Symphony on the latter label it ser!ed us !ery well when there

was little else a!ailable. is recording of the Fourth 08erlin 2lassics 82 +'')$

?1 was made in -resden in ')EG% not long after the letki% and has appeared

sporadically o!er the years. 5n ')EG #ahlerCs music was still quite rare in the

concert hall and these -resden players especially must ha!e approached the

work as something of a no!elty. #aybe this partly accounts for the fact thatthis is a !ery straightforward% supremely unmannered performance compared

with many other !ersions J an antidote to those who take the !iew that e!ery

e&pressi!e opportunity in #ahlerCs scores must be attended to as though

under a magnifying glass% perhaps. 8ut that canCt be the only e&planation.

/eopold /udwig was a ne conductor with a high reputation and must ha!e

decided his own approach from the start. Though 5 still cannot help wondering

whether he felt he couldnCt really test the players as much as he may ha!e

liked in music they hardly knew. #ore e&perienced #ahler listeners may be

disappointed with the ,hands$o7, approach that emerges. 8ut there are still

some di!idends to be had from this recording% especially when the orchestra

concerned is one of the greatest that% e!en in late ')E*s Aast 9ermany% had

clearly maintained standards through hard times. 5n fact itCs interesting today

to hear a performance taking #ahler at apparent face !alue in the rst

mo!ement. #ahler does appear to ha!e written something that implies

sunshine and that is certainly what you get from /udwig. 5tCs almost as if he is

determined to tell us there are absolutely no clouds and no storms on this

horion. The brisk tempo he sets and keeps% one probably closer to what

#ahler intended than we may now be used to% helps. This is !ery much a

feeling that is continued in the second mo!ement too. ;ther recordings will

o7er you more edge to the ,Friend -eath, o7$key solo !iolin passages% as

well as greater character to the woodwind te&tures% but what we ha!e in thismo!ement is !ery much in keeping with what has gone before and what will

come J plain% unadorned% uncomplicated playing. 5t was only in the third

mo!ement that 5 felt the lack of any personal in!ol!ement most strongly.

"gain the tempo is kept mo!ing along and whilst there is still warmth and

consolation to be felt it is only the ne phrasing of the -resden strings that

pre!ents this wonderful music lea!ing us feeling short$changed. The

mo!ement doesnCt really linger in the mind as it can. Then in the last

mo!ement there is a little hesitancy in the deli!ery of the bursts of reprise

from the rst mo!ement that punctuates the Wunderhorn setting. The only

tangible impression of unfamiliarity with this music on the part of the players%5 feel. "lmost as if the music takes them by surprise. "nny Schlemm is no

more than an adequate soloist and certainly doesnCt manage to deli!er the

heartCs ease that other sopranos can at the !ery close. Knfamiliarity with the

genre again% perhapsL #ahlerCs Wunderhorn settings are a !ery particular mi&

of humour and fantasy which it has taken a generation for singers and

players to really master. owe!er% this is an interesting recording from an era

prior to the #ahler boom and from behind the 5ron 2urtain.

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8en@amin 8rittens admiration for #ahler went back long before the ,boom, of

the early si&ties and in his notes to the 882 /egends issue 08828 (**4$+1

containing 8rittens ')?' "ldeburgh Festi!al performance of the Fourth

-onald #itchell identies his friend as one of the leading gures in the early

renaissance of #ahlers music. This 882 mono recording with the /S; in

;rford 2hurch has a rich% deep sound with some church re!erberation but no

distortion to playing which breathes humanity and in!ol!ement. 5n ')?rague in ')?G. 0882/ 4*'4$+1. "lthough 8arbirolli was of

the ,inter!entionist, school of #ahler conductors his brand of e&pressionism

ne!er sprang from self indulgence. #ichael ennedy found a quotation from

=ussell in the conductors papers3 ,....underneath the passion there should

always be that large impersonal sur!ey which sets limits to actions that our

passions inspire., There is about his reading of the Fourth a remarkable air of

calculation underpinning the emotion that throws a frame around what% under

other conductors% might sound like hamming. The feeling that thought and

careful planning has gone into e!ery bar and e!ery sound too as this is a

recording where the sound of this symphony has been rendered to a more

!i!id degree than 5 ha!e heard in a long time. Bou could also say this is

#ahlers Fourth in retrospect from later works. 8arbirolli doesnt at all indulge

in the e&cesses of #engelberg% but hes closer to the -utchman than many. 5nthe tapes made by William #alloch of the old New Bork players who played

under #ahler himself we hear how the composer would interpret the opening

theme of this mo!ement and its as if 8arbirolli had heard this too for in the

fourth note you hear the same drag that with #engelberg is so accentuated it

can annoy on rehearing whereas under 8arbirolli it has the e7ect of a rather

arch ,;nce upon a time, and is quite charming. /ikewise his rendering of the

second theme marked ,8roadly sung, where 8arbirolli really takes #ahler at

his word. 8ut that appears to be the hallmark for the strings% the cellos

especially% in this performance. ;ne of the other glories of this recording is

the prominence gi!en to woodwinds with some particular phrasing in theoboes and the sound of the bassoon against high 6utes in the de!elopment

especially notable $ reminder of #ahlers propensity to pitch highest and

lowest against each other that would reach its apogee in the last mo!ement

of the Ninth. 5n sum% 5 think 8arbirolli sees this mo!ements darker% unhinged

side more than most. The piicatos and spiky high woodwinds really

protrude from the te&ture.

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5n the second mo!ement 5 liked the woodwind chuckling in the Trios and the

clarinet shrieking like a startled bird. 5n performance Sir ohn always

positioned his harps at the front of the platform beneath him and this may

account for the prominence of the harps in the performance as a whole. Theway it underpins the te&ture bell$like is another memorable sound to come

out of this recording% again apparent in the third mo!ement which recei!es a

performance in the grand manner% spacious% well$upholstered% broadly sung%

but also consciously moulded with the most elastic approach to tempo in the

whole symphony. There are many ne points of detail brought out. #ost

notable are passages for the woodwind that take on an autumnal colouring.

ust before the passage where the gates of hea!en are 6ung open Sir ohn

achie!es a real sense of stillness akin to that at the end of the Ninth which

makes the outburst that crowns the mo!ement that much more towering. 5

want to pay special tribute to the coda under Sir ohn. e sees a perfumed

garden% e&otic and hay% and 5 couldnt help but see #ahler here as a distantmusical cousin of Frederick -elius. The last mo!ement is a relati!e

disappointment% though. eather arper has the wrong kind of !oice for this

mo!ement. She is too matronly for the childish quality needed. 8arbirolli also

does himself no fa!ours by adopting a slow tempo for the stanas and an

e!en slower one for the nal stana of all. The e7ect is a bit dreamy most of

the time% broken only by the sudden @olt of his quicker tempo for the

incursions of the bells. 5t would be wrong to let this reser!ation spoil what is a

remarkable% if !ery indi!idual% reading of the work which has needed to be

restored oHcially to the catalogue for years.

=afael ubeliks recording with the 8a!arian =adio Symphony ;rchestra can

be found singly on a -eutsche 9ramophon Aloquence release 04?) ?

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when the music resumes% the e7ect is like that of a day dream passing% which

seems to me to be what #ahler intended. The second mo!ement follows on

from the kind of mood ubelik is trying to portray in the rst with the solo

!iolin balanced forward to make its ,out of tune, e7ect well. Then the Trios

strike a !ery four$square pose with clipped woodwind contributions attended

to in a performance that radiates attention to detail right down to reallymale!olent clarinets at the close. " ne prelude to the lo!ely performance of

the slow mo!ement where ubelik maintains the same kind of singing line as

Walter. e e!en brings in the mo!ement at around the same o!erall timing as

lemperer but by speeding up more in the faster sections gi!es himself that

little more space in the lyrical passages. So his handling of the surprisingly

many tempo changes% some of them quite drastic% in a mo!ement too often

referred to as the ,slow, mo!ement is one of its most remarkable features.

Not least the passage between +++ and +(+ we noticed under lemperer

where ubelik is e!en more con!incing in handling the step$by$step increase

in tempo. 5 also want to draw attention to the way ubelik treats the sound of

woodwind against strings in this mo!ement and how they are reproduced in

the recording. ;ne early commentator dubbed this delicate sound

,langfarbenmelodie, 0,Tone$colour #elody,1% a term used later by

Schoenberg and that link between these two great Diennese composers

ne!er seemed more signicant in these passages as interpreted by ubelik.

"gain the soprano in this work% Alsie #orrison% fails to really deli!er a childlike

response in the last mo!ement% but she sings with great meaning and ubelik

seems more an&ious than most to mark the relationship between aspects of

this last mo!ement and the second. The faster sections also are !ery impish

and the work is rounded of beautifully.

;ne brief sidelight on ubeliks recording which 5 lea!e you to ponder is the

following. 5n ')** #ahler told Natalie 8auer$/echner that the Fourth

Symphony would last forty$!e minutes% which is a surprisingly short amount

of time when you consider most recordings and performances. 8ut notated in

pencil in the autograph score% on the title page of the fourth mo!ement% can

be seen the numbers 'E% '*% ''% ( and 44 which is their total. -o these

represent #ahlers ideas for the duration of the mo!ements L 5f so they are

!ery quick% much quicker than we are used to. ;f all the recordings before me

=afael ubeliks comes closest3 'E34(% )3*E% '(3E*% G3E(% which total E'34'.The third mo!ement is the problem% but since ubelik is one of the two

fastest% a few seconds only short of lemperer% we can allow for that if we

accept the gures for what they appear to be. Whate!er the truth% for me

ubeliks recording is one of the supreme accounts of this work. 5ts care for

detail% its sense of the special sound of the piece% but abo!e all its care for

this work as it stands rather than as precursor of what is to come make it a

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must for all aspiring and established #ahlerites. 5t lets the symphony be

itself.

Following concert performances in ;ctober ')G*% ascha orenstein went into

8arking Town all in /ondon with the /ondon >hilharmonic to record the

Fourth 0in between bursts from pneumatic drills doing road works in the

street outside1. This was to be one of the rst recordings for the new 2lassics

For >leasure bargain /> label and the result was musically deeply satisfying

e!en though the sound on the /> left a lot to be desired. For what e!er

reason% the recording failed to sell !ery well so was ne!er really considered

among the recommended !ersions in the way others ha!e been down the

years. Then for a long time it was out of the catalogue leading many to be

unaware of its e&istence until a ne remastering @ob was done for an />

reissue by 2F> in the ')(*s. Now that remastering has been reissued for 2-

0E G4((+ +1 and it can more than hold up its head among the greats at last.

orensteins rst mo!ement starts out a degree more distanced than

ubeliks% less distincti!e% but @ust as aware of the works special tone

colouring. 2ompared with ubelik% orenstein is more ,through$thought, and

symphonic% preferring a slightly tighter rein on proceedings. So this is not a

performance in the #engelberg tradition. orenstein was a di7erent kind of

conductor e!en though he admired the -utchman. A!en so% this is orenstein

more unbuttoned than we are perhaps used to% showing what anyone who

has e!er heard his recordings of Diennese Waltes knows that he can charm

and beguile with the best of them. /isten to the way he gets his cellos to slideif you want more con!incing% for e&ample. 5n the -e!elopment a slight

hesitancy pays o7 in introducing a degree of trepidation. "s if% master of the

de!eloping argument that he was% orenstein makes us aware that the one

true crisis in this work is casting a !ery long shadow back. is slower tempo%

@udged to near perfection% allow for the ghosts to peek out from the ligree

with real drama and the clima& itself to be grand and imposing. So the rst

mo!ement under orenstein is remarkable for its structural integrity%

breadth% but also charm% delicacy and feelings of menace. "gain in the

second mo!ement orenstein is that bit more distanced from the music than

ubelik and some others $ his woodwind not quite as prominent and histempo @ust that little broader $ but this approach is not to be discounted. 8y

keeping a degree of distance orenstein seems to accentuate the dream$like

quality. is clarinets chuckle wonderfully and there is a trace of elegy in the

Trios ubelik misses rather. #ore nostalgia with orenstein% 5 think. 5 also like

the way the music seems to be fading into the distance as the mo!ement

draws to a close. 5t is as if we are walking away from the scene.

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"s you would e&pect% orenstein hardly inter!enes in the phrasing of the slow

mo!ement. 5f he does its the lightest of hands on the rudder. "s so often% he

chooses at the outset a tempo that suits the music and lets it speak for itself.

owe!er% such simplicity of utterance is also strength of utterance for whatwe ha!e is more towards the repose #ahler is asking for% 5 belie!e. There is at

the start a cool beauty that refreshes. This more cerebralM intellectual

approach needs time and repeated hearings to make its e7ect% but those

passages of greater drama% of pain and yearning grow from this sustained

opening and gain from the comparison. "fter this% #argaret >rice is a !ery

creamy$toned soprano who pouts a little too much for my liking. 8ut shes as

good in this as most sopranos and her contribution rounds o7 as performance

5 cannot recommend too highly especially at the super$bargain price. 5t is% as

with orensteinCs recordings of #ahlerCs Third% one of the nest #ahler

performances e!er committed to tape. The sound is showing its age when

compared with the best of the most recent but the performance more thancompensates.

9eorge Sell and Frit =einer had much in common. They were both born in

ungary% both en@oyed success in post$war "merica% both led two of the

greatest of "merican orchestras% and both had a reputation for their

authoritarian styles. "nd they both left us great recordings of #ahlers Fourth.

The Sell recording with the 2le!eland ;rchestra 0Sony S8 4?E

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ha!e to report that in close comparison with those already dealt with 5 nd

myself yearning for more depth. 5n the second mo!ement there is again a

wonderful attention to tonal beauty but 5 wonder whether Sell is really aware

of what the music really means% or whether he is @ust gi!ing a !ery good

impression that he does. No praise can be too high for that playing% though.

#yron 8looms horn is magnicent. 8ut the sourness and grotesques writteninto the woodwind% which ubelik and orenstein and others bring out to a

greater degree% dont make as great a point. 2ertainly Sells account of the

slow mo!ement is deeply mo!ing. 5 am aware many will nd my slightly

negati!e feelings towards the Sell recording disappointing% shocking e!en%

but 5 would not be honest if 5 didnt report them. The recording should ha!e%

and fully deser!es% its place among the greatest and that is why 5 mention it

here and by doing so recommend it to you. 5ts @ust that 5 think others

penetrate the piece more than Sell does. ;ne authority once went on record

as saying he belie!ed Sell to be ,no #ahlerian,. 5 ha!e heard ,li!e,

recordings of Sell in #ahlers Si&th% Ninth and -as /ied Don der Arde% and

count them among the best 5 ha!e e!er heard. is #ahler repertoire was

small but so was lemperers.

Frit =einer also e&ercises great control o!er his orchestra% the 2hicago

Symphony% and e!en more on the music. 0=2" (+(G??G)*'+OS"2-P or

*)*+??4**++1. Where 9eorge Sells emphasis was on beauty of tone%

=einers is on clarity. There are gains here in that you are aware to a

remarkable degree of the te&ture of the piece% but there is a brittle quality toit that can be rather wearing on repeated listening. /ike the Sell recording

this has a rightful place in the pantheon of Fourth recordings% but what is

missing here is that sense of repose that is so important especially in

passages of nostalgic re!erie. =einer can bring out the grotesques% but there

is less conte&t for them% less ability for us to re6ect on what they mean to us%

because we ha!e little with which to compare them. 5ts a !ery sharp ride

then% but one that should be e&perienced by those interested in how this

symphony ticks and in hearing a great conductor and orchestra again at the

height of their powers.

"lso from the KS" of the same period comes /eonard 8ernsteinCs rst

recording of this symphony with the New Bork >hilharmonic. 5t was made in

')?* though it would be ')G' before it was released in Aurope. "s a

statement of intent% if that is the way it was percei!ed at the time% it must

ha!e struck "merican collectors as quite a style change from this orchestraCs

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pre!ious recording of the work under Walter. The rst mo!ement is sassy and

sharp in its pointing up of e!ery small detail% woodwinds especially cheeky%

and is a sparky realisation of #ahlerCs happiest music. Though 5 think the

de!elopment section is a shade too fast 5 can compliment the NB>; for

holding on so well. This does betray what sounds like impatience on

8ernsteinCs part though 5Cm sure that is not what he meant. The secondmo!ement is equally colourful and helped by a sound balance that is

e&emplary for home listening with only the top edge betraying age. The third

mo!ement starts serene and becomes !olatile but only occasionally strays

beyond the tasteful and full marks to 8ernstein for the snappy tempo he

adopts in the last mo!ement. That must ha!e sounded more contro!ersial

then than it does now. =eri 9rist has a distincti!e enough timbre but 5 cannot

escape the impression that she doesnCt really know what she is singing about.

"t least she is a woman. 5n his second recording of the work on -9 8ernstein

casts a boy treble in the last mo!ement which 5 think rules it out completely.

ad #ahler wanted a boy to sing the last mo!ement 5 am willing to belie!e he

would ha!e said so in the score.

#y choices for recordings of this work so far ha!e come from at least thirty

years ago but it would be wrong to think that in the case of this symphony as

opposed to the Third only ,the old boys, ha!e it. Far from it. There are still

new things being said by the present generation of conductors in this work.

-aniele 9attis recording is a case in point. e is forging a well$deser!ed

reputation as a #ahler interpreter and there is room in a !ery crowded list forhis Fourth Symphony with the =oyal >hilharmonic ;rchestra on =2" 0GE?*E

E'

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up here. The ,out$of$tune, !iolin solo has ne!er sounded more sinister either

and a special word of praise is due to the principal horn. 5n the slow

mo!ement there is much intensity in the hushed pianissimos that is swept

away by a remarkably muscular attack in the clima&es. "fter all of asset%

e!en at the e&tremes of tempi that her conductor maintains% bells @angling.

The playing of the =oyal >hilharmonic ;rchestra is e&emplary in alldepartments with some spiky woodwind well caught by the spacious but

sharp sound% especially in the fourth mo!ement where 9atti doesnt forget

the animals that are being depicted in the accompaniment.

The recording of the Fourth by >ierre 8oule and the 2le!eland ;rchestra on

-9 04?< +GE$+1 will di!ide opinions @ust as the others in his cycle ha!e. A!er

the clear$eyed interpreter of #ahler% 8oule barely acknowledges the

a!ailability in the score of the many e&pressi!e opportunities other

conductors use to the full. "t the fourth bar of the rst mo!ement% fore&ample% where others ha!e been known to almost bring proceedings to a

halt% 8ouleCs mere 9allic shrug in the direction of #ahlerCs marking 0and the

performance tradition1 itself stands out. "n e&pressi!e opportunity more

conspicuous in the breach rather than the obser!ance% 5 think. This general

attitude will be one of this recordingCs most ob!ious ngerprints as the same

sharpness of focus continues through the rst mo!ement where a brisk% clear%

neo$classical e7ect is aimed for and achie!ed. This impression is assisted by

a care for balancing e!ery section of the orchestra so nothing protrudes to

rock the boat. To some this will be e!idence of coldness% to others it will be a

refreshing ,back to basics, that takes us further into the origins of this work

as representati!e of #ahlerCs ,Wunderhorn, period. Not least with the

trumpet gure #ahler called the ,leiner "ppel, and later recalled at the start

of his Fifth Symphony. ere this crucial appearance% half way through the

mo!ement% is buried by 8oule within the te&ture rather than trying to

o!erride it which it sometimes does in other !ersions where conductors try to

make a link to a work #ahler had not e!en considered when he wrote this

one. Then the second mo!ement continues 8ouleCs general approach but

deepens the music with superb woodwind solos from the 2le!eland players

caught by the ne recorded balance.

What we hear in the third mo!ement is remarkable for its lack of pretension

and its greater stress on classical poise. 5 was e!en reminded of the slow

mo!ement of the Schubert String Quintet at the start% so ne is 8ouleCs

sense of stillness achie!ed without an especially slow o!erall tempo. 5n the

rst main !ariation notice too the balance of oboe against horn and then the

surprisingly e&pressi!e quality that emerges chaste on the strings. "nother

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point to listen out for is how the timpani are ne!er in danger of o!erwhelming

the more passionate% climactic passages. So 8ouleCs watchwords of

,balance,% ,poise, and ,transparency, really re!eal details others can miss.

The aftermath of the central clima& of the slow mo!ement% where the gates

of hea!en are 6ung open by #ahler% is especially ne in this respect and also

structurally accentuates the arc$like design of the mo!ement. uliane 8ansesings beautifully in the last mo!ement% making no attempt to impose herself

too much as some singers make the mistake of doing. ;f course some will

say she should sound more child$like% @ust as #ahler intended% but sheCs not

alone in concentrating on the notes and words and 5 was delighted by her

contribution as itCs beautifully tailored to the rest of the performance which is%

after all% as it should be. For many this new recording will be @ust too clear$

eyed% too lacking in character% too tidy a performance of this lo!ely work. For

me it represents 8ouleCs #ahler at its !ery best and does% in the end% show a

certain degree of warmth thatCs crucially tempered by that classical poise to

gi!e another refreshing !iew of a work we might think we are all too familiar

with.

8y some strange alchemy 8en@amin Rander has managed to !i!idly con!ey

the last mo!ement as the real culmination of the Fourth% the homecoming for

the whole work and it is that that in the nal analysis makes his recording

with the >hilharmonia 0Telarc +2-$(*EEE1 a satisfying one. 5ndeed 5 ha!e

heard other recordings where% in comparison to this one% it is almost as if the

conductor is rather embarrassed by such an apparently trite ending to such a

spacious work% especially following one of the greatest and most profound

mo!ements #ahler e!er wrote. "s always with #ahler there is profundity to

be found in the most unlikely places and @u&tapositions and it takes a

conductor who knows his #ahler to bring this out. is soprano soloist% 2amilla

Tilling% is charming too. Far more the ,tomboy, than many of her colleagues

and her contribution undoubtedly assists Rander in marking the performance

of this mo!ement out as distincti!e. Something which might not ha!e been

the case with a more established di!a. "s if to further pro!e he has thought

!ery deeply about how this mo!ement should be presented% in his discussion

disc Rander plays an e&tract from a concert performance of the work he

conducted in Dienna where he used a boy soprano for the mo!ement. This

has been done a couple of times on record 0by Nanut and 8ernstein in hissecond recording on -91 but 5 ha!e ne!er been in fa!our of it. Not least for

the fact that #ahler asks for a soprano and not a treble. So 5Cm glad Rander

resisted the temptation to cast a boy in the recording% as it must ha!e

crossed his mind to do. 5n the rst mo!ement Rander appears suspended on

the cusp between neo$classical restraint and eal to deli!er surface lustre. 5t

certainly seems as though he is wary of crumbling the musicCs petals so the

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mo!ement emerges in a rather patrician fashion3 all symphonic and score

details attended to but lacking degrees of fallibility. 5 donCt think he is helped

by the recorded sound that 5 nd a little too general and bass light to make a

great impact and deli!er the musicCs character. 2ontrast this with the letki

recording% for e&ample. A!en after all these years this is still an ob@ect lesson

in how to balance this work with bags of detail in perfect proportion. Thesecond mo!ement is more persuasi!e in both cases with Rander% though.

ere he and his !iolin soloist% 2hristopher Warren$9reen% really ha!e gone to

some trouble to pro@ect the particular fairy tale e!il lurking behind ,Friend

-eath,. 5 liked too the character$lled chuckling of the clarinets and the

e7ortless way the music segues into the Kpper "ustrian trios. Bou can almost

see the orchestra members% e&emplary throughout% smiling at those points. 5n

the discussion disc Rander makes the inspired connection between the solo

ddling in this mo!ement and that in Stra!inskyCs ," SoldierCs Tale, which

was% let us remember% @ust eighteen years away when #ahler completed this

symphony. ThereCs a thought. 5 always nd connections like that send me

back to the music with new ears and that% as always% is the great !alue of the

discussion disc which 5 suggest you listen to after you ha!e heard the

symphony.

The great slow mo!ement recei!es a luminous% seamless performance from

Rander and the orchestra with great line that @ust fails to penetrate beneath

the surface beauty. ere 5 see Rander as a collector and connoisseur of

-resden china who has taken down a much$lo!ed piece from his shelf that he

knows e!ery inch of and wants you to know e!ery inch of too and come to

lo!e @ust as much as he does. "s ne a guide to the mo!ement than you

could ask for but% as with the rst mo!ement% he is rather afraid of dropping

his much lo!ed ornament and smashing it to bits. The patrician again. -onCt

get me wrong. 5 like patricians% e!en in #ahler. There is a certain streak of the

patrician in ascha orenstein and 5 admire his #ahler conducting abo!e

most. 8ut 5 do wonder whether% o!er time% the e&treme care Rander takes

o!er the rst three mo!ements will mean that this recording wonCt endure%

wonCt really endear itself to the listener in the way others ha!e. 2ertainly in

the great ,collapse clima&es, in the centre of the slow mo!ement the music

opens out wonderfully% the great !istas as impressi!e as e!er% and the gates

of hea!en burst with a real surge of energy. 5t is then that the last mo!emententers and is able to make the e7ect 5 so much admire. For that aspect abo!e

all this !ersion earns its place in the discography.

5f -onald =umsfeld were a #ahlerite he would hate the recording of the

Fourth by #ichael Tilson Thomas and the San Francisco Symphony 0SFS;

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#ediaM"!ie (+')

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rest. So much depends on the deli!ery of the soprano soloist who must gi!e a

childCs !iew of hea!en and so must sound young. 5 am too much of a

gentleman to ask /aura 2laycombCs age but 5 think 5 can safely say she ts

the bill admirably% as does her feisty ,daddyCs girl, deli!ery. For his part Tilson

Thomas dri!es the sleigh bell interludes with a terric snap. 5n this he keeps

in our minds% right to the end% the bipolar element that e&ists in e!en thismost amiable of #ahlerCs symphonies. The playing of the San Francisco

Symphony ;rchestra is e&emplary throughout and the recording rich and

detailed. There ha!e been so many ne recordings of this work o!er the years

that there are many that can be recommended to collectors to last them a

lifetime. This latest one is certainly now among them. 5f you ha!e room for

another Fourth that is well$recorded and well played% and with that striking

sense of ,old Aurope, in the third mo!ement% this is certainly one to consider

seriously in a crowded eld. ust donCt send a copy to the >entagon. Tilson

ThomasCs gi!es us a Fourth from the grand tradition and one of the most

recommendable now before us.

5n #ahlers Fourth Symphony there is no great wrestling with questions of

e&istence as there is in the pre!ious two. ardly any concern either with

con6ict and resolution as in the succeeding three. The Fourth is often seen as

#ahlers least troubled symphony. Since its also his shortest and the one with

the prettiest% most tuneful te&tures% its also his most popular and

approachable. owe!er be careful about !iewing it as entirely untroubled.

There are dark shades on these te&tures and a delicate interplay of emotion

and for the conductor this all means a careful balancing act. "ccentuate

those dark elements% pile the work with too much emotional drag and the

fairy tale nature is lost. >lay down the shadows% take too far a step back and

the bogeymen peeping out from behind the drapes disappear from !iew. /eif

Segerstam 02handos 2"N)(

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poise of 8oule on -9 or the ice$ crystal purity of =einer on =2"% for e&ample.

5n fact 5 think Segerstam looks to what would for #ahler be more recent times

as he puts me in mind of the hot house atmosphere of Wagners Wesendonk

/ieder with its dark colours and long% sensuous lines. Ne!er was 8eechams

remark about this work of #ahlers as ,the illegitimate o7spring of Tristan and

5solde, more apt. We should ha!e been alerted to the approach Segerstamwould adopt in the third mo!ement from his account of the second. is

,hands$on, approach allows him to accentuate weirdness in the Trios that

ought to ha!e more parody about them. e probably takes this mo!ement

too much at face !alue where #ahler has something subtler in mind $ a

cartoon world of fairy tale fears in his portrayal of ,Friend -eath, striking up

on his out$of$tune ddle. 5n the rst mo!ement Segerstam also in!ests e!ery

bar with special attention and this brings some nice touches% like the lower

woodwind chuckling away in the -e!elopment. 8ut some may nd his close

attention to detail here ultimately gets in the way of the broader 6ow. 5t only

remains to report that A!a ohansson is a rather anonymous soprano in the

last mo!ement though Segerstams accompaniment of her is e&emplary. "n

e&pressi!e% consciously moulded performance resonantly recorded and

sonorously played. Some of #ahlers lightness of touch is sacriced but

Segerstams in!ol!ement o7ers a persuasi!e alternati!e to more central

!iews.

laus TennstedtCs ne reading of the Fourth with the /ondon >hilharmonic on

A#5 0A#5 E G4+)? +1 is coupled with his Third which 5 included in my sur!ey of

that work. With such a large work as the Third taking up most of the two discs

it might be the case that the Fourth Symphony is o!erlooked and this would

be a pity. 8oth the rst and second mo!ements see Tennstedt pressing

forward in the !igorous passages so that when he rela&es in the more

re6ecti!e ones he doesnt need to slow down too much to make the kind of

contrast he seemed unable to make in the rst mo!ement of the Third. 5ts

certainly an impressi!e and compelling approach. e is also blessed again

with e&cellent playing from the />; who by then were his to command. They

are on their toes throughout for the engineers to capture e!ery detail of their

playing and 5 especially liked the passage between bars ++' and +

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toned and serious for what #ahler had in mind. Tennstedt has slipped back

into his old Third Symphony ways here as he seems determined not to break

the mood he has established in the third mo!ement whereas 5m con!inced

that is e&actly what #ahler wants the conductor to do. The playing is superb

but too straight$faced to con!ey any of the fun the words carry.

The recordings detailed abo!e are% 5 think% the most desirable of all to own in

their di7erent ways. There are many more recordings% of course. There are

ne ones by /orin #aael and the Dienna >hilharmonic on Sony and 8ernard

aitink and the 2oncertgebouw ;rchestra on >hilips. 8oth are superbly

played and recorded% both would grace your collection% but neither quite

penetrates the work as deeply as the ones already dealt with. 5 am still

surprised at my reaction to the #aael recording% though. When 5 began this

sur!ey back in '))G 5 fully e&pected to include it among the leading choices

then% but hearing it in conte&t with the others disappointed me a little and% ona ne balance% 5 decided to lea!e it out and 5 must say that 5 ha!enIt changed

my mind now. 8ut 5 do want to draw it to your attention again and to some

lo!ely playing and conducting that is contained there 0Sony S#hilharmonic on -9 but you donCt hear it until the last mo!ement. "bbadoCs

rst recording with the Dienna >hilharmonic was ne!er !ery high in my

estimation. 5 always felt that he was ne!er quite at home with the mi&ture of

fantasy and classicism and ne!er really reconciled them. is new recording is

rethought somewhat but to no great e7ect. The 8erlin >hilharmonic% as usual%

show little corporate #ahler feeling and then in the fourth mo!ement =ene

Fleming stands up and ruins e!erything. 5f 5 say that the manner she adoptswould ha!e better suited ,-addy WouldnCt 8uy #e a 8ow$Wow, 5 think you

will catch my drift. 2asting star sopranos in what e!er new #ahler Fourth

passed through the recording companies seemed to be quite a practice once.

5t knocked the nal nail in the coHn of the% too hyper$sharp% Solti recording in

2hicago for -ecca when iri Te anawa arri!ed and might @ust as well ha!e

been singing the small$ads from ,A&change and #art, for all the attention she

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seemed to be paying to the words. Simon =attleCs A#5 recording might well

ha!e likewise been spoiled by his soloist "manda =oocroft% a ne artist but

here with her feet in quite the wrong wellies% were it not for the fact that his

own mannered deli!ery of the pre!ious three mo!ements had already done

that pretty conclusi!ely. =attle is no #engelberg% certainly not in this

symphony. 5n 2hristoph Don -ohnanyiCs recording with the 2le!eland;rchestra on -ecca it is the soprano soloist% -awn Kpshaw% who is the

highlight. 5n the rest% as so often is the case% -ohnanyi @ust fails to get inside

the special world of this symphony and certainly comes nowhere near

deli!ering as great a performance as the last time the symphony was

recorded in 2le!eland by Sell. There is @ust too much of the routine about it%

the slow mo!ement especially% and there is a feeling that the orchestra are

not on top form either. That ne and in!ariably interesting #ahlerian #ichael

9ielen is not quite at his best in this work either. Strange how this seemingly

most simple and ,easy, of #ahlerCs symphonies can bring e!en the best

conductors to grief. "re they perhaps beguiled by its apparent simplicityL Boel

/e!i does much better in his "tlanta Symphony recording on Telarc. e is

blessed with superb sound and e&cellent playing but isnCt he @ust a little too

studied% too careful% too punctilious for his impeccably played and pointed

!ersion to add up to anything more than the lightweight and the supercialL

We hear lots of detail% but whatCs going on beneathL =eaders of these sur!eys

will not be surprised to know that the word ,supercial, is also one 5 choose

to apply to =iccardo 2haillyCs !ersion on -ecca with the 2oncertgebouw

;rchestra. e is as well recorded as /e!i and his orchestra play e!en better

and with more idiom% the strings particularly fuller% but then stand 2hailly and

/e!i up against orenstein and 8arbirolli% to name @ust two% and the

deciencies of the two modern conductors are only too ob!ious. Where istheir heart% where is their soulL "s always in #ahler% the performance to

con!ince is the one that is the sum of all the parts $ those are the ones with

the heart and the soul.

" consequence of writing sur!eys like this is the amount of ,lobbying, one

recei!es from people an&ious that fa!ourite recordings may ha!e been

o!erlooked by me. #aurice "bra!anelCs #ahler recordings ha!e come in for

their fair share of lobbying and his Fourth in particular has many ad!ocates.

"bra!anel was a #ahler pioneer but 5 think today that his Ktah orchestra @ustdo not ha!e the class or the #ahler pedigree to match e!en the worthy

#ahlerian he was. "nother piece of lobbying 5 ha!e recei!ed since starting

these sur!eys and which refers particularly to the Fourth comes from the

e&istence of an arrangement of the work for fteen chamber players

0including piano1 that was made by Arwin Stein in ')+* for "rnold

SchoenbergCs Society For >ri!ate #usical >erformances. This short$li!ed

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organiation was dedicated to performing new and under$performed works

and as #ahlerCs symphonies were still of suHcient no!elty at that time the

Si&th and Se!enth symphonies were presented in two piano arrangements

and ,-as /ied Don -er Arde, and the Fourth Symphony in reduced chamber

!ersions. The Fourth would seem a natural for such a treatment as it is the

most chamber$like of #ahlerCs ma@or works. 5n the time since the appearanceof the rst !ersion of this sur!ey a number of recordings of this Stein

arrangement ha!e appeared and% if my lobbying is anything to go by% is

highly regarded by many people. For myself 5 see nothing at all to get e&cited

about. Quite the opposite% in fact. No matter how felicitous% no matter how

much care% no matter how much integrity Arwin Stein brought to his work in

')+* the fact remains that #ahlerCs miraculous scoring is here literally

butchered before our ears% rendered down like a prime carcass in a meat

factory into something easily chewable for the fast food industry. 5f #ahlerCs

Fourth in its nished form is a big @uicy turkey fresh from the o!en the Arwin

Stein chamber arrangement is a plate of underdone Turkey Twilers. Not to

put too ne a point on it% 5 loathe it with a passion. 5 loathe it because 5 lo!e

the original so much% and am at a loss to know why so many people who also

lo!e the original can apparently nd anything in this abomination to detain

them. 5 suppose it ser!ed a purpose at a time when it was not possible to

hear in performance what #ahler really wrote. 8ut now we ha!e lots of

performances% many recordings and frequent broadcasts so there seems no

need for the Stein arrangement other than as a biarre curio from a bygone

age with a sound more suited to a >alm 2ourt tea dance complete with

lukewarm tea urns% curling cucumber sandwiches and the distant snap of

arthritic hips. 5f you do still want to hear it after 5 ha!e @ust trashed it so

enthusiastically 0and that means you probably do now1 then the nerecording by -ouglas 8oyd and the #anchester 2amerata on "!ie 0"D +*?)11

is the one to ha!e. Not least for the delicious singing of ate =oyal in the last

mo!ement and the clear balanced recording all at super bargain price. These

players at their full strength would do well to consider performing the real

thing as it stands because let us hold the thought of a chamber orchestra in

#ahlerCs Fourth Symphony a little while longer as 5 deal with one more

recording that 5 wouldnCt want you to o!erlook.

>laying #ahlerCs Fourth as it stands in the nished score but with a chambersied string section is not as mad an idea as it may at rst sound. 5n his

chapter ,#ahlerCs ammermusikton, in ,The #ahler 2ompanion, -onald

#itchell writes in fascinating detail about two performances of

indertotenlieder and other songs that #ahler himself mounted in Dienna in

the small 8rahmssaal in ')*+. The orchestra comprised members of the

Dienna >hilharmonic formed into a chamber orchestra and subsequent

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research points to an ensemble of appro&imately thirty$si& players% a lot less

than we are used to in #ahlerCs songs. =esearch by =enate ilmar$Doit

suggests strings of about ($'* !iolins% ?$( !iolas% 4$? cellos and +$4 basses.

05n a ')?? "ldeburgh performance 8en@amin 8ritten ga!e indertotenlieder

with 'G !iolins% 4 !iolas% E cellos and + basses and that with no access to any

research @ust his own instincts.1 5n an earlier chapter in the #ahler2ompanion% this time specically about the Fourth Symphony% #itchell goes

further when he writes of 5nnocence and A&perience manifested in this work

and pursuing 5nnocence he cites% among other things% ,the shift towards a

chamber$orchestra style that #ahler was soon to establish in

indertotenlieder and the late =uckert settings% his IammermusiktonC as he

was himself to describe it., 0The italics are mine1. Then in a footnote #itchell

draws our attention to that !ery ')*+ 8rahmssaal concert already mentioned.

So why not try performing the Fourth Symphony with such a chamber

orchestraL /ea!e aside the chamber arrangement by Stein completely if

small forces only are possibleL Well this is largely what -aniel arding and

the #ahler 2hamber ;rchestra seem to ha!e done in their recording for

Dirgin 2lassics 0G+4< E 4E??E +

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8oule and Tilson Thomas from the present. The Tilson Thomas recording is% 5

think% a truly great !ersion and certainly the best all round for performance

and recorded sound together. 8en@amin 8ritten is on hand for the profound

insight of a fellow composer and -aniel arding for a new insight that% in fact%

may not be new at all but which% as 5 ha!e tried to indicate% might take us

back in time to some of #ahlerCs own thinking about how his orchestra cansoundU a challenge to how we listen to this work and 5% for one% am always up

for a challenge in #ahler. With which thought% albeit a tentati!e one% 5 will

lea!e you to en@oy #ahlerCs lo!eliest work again. #aybe with new ears.

Tony -uggan

V Tony -uggan #ay +**?

#engelberg

Walter

lemperer

letki

8ritten

8arbirolli

ubelik

orenstein

Sell

=einer

8ernstein

9atti

8oule

Rander

Tilson$Thomas

Tennstedt

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Welser$#ost

8oyd

arding