Mahler [Symphony] Symphonies – No. 2 in C minor, “Resurrection” a; No. 4 in G b. a Carol Neblett (sop); b Frederica von Stade, a Marilyn Horne (mezzos); a Chicago Symphony Chorus and Orchestra, b Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra / Claudio Abbado.

DG (Mid  price) (CD) 453 037-2GTA2 (two discs: 138 minutes: ADD). Texts and translations included. Item marked a from 2707 094 (6/77), b 2530 966 (6/78).

Symphony No. 2 – selected comparisons:

Philh, Klemperer (1/90) (EMI) CDM7 69662-2

LSO, Bernstein (5/93) (SONY) SM2K47573

Symphony No. 4 – selected comparisons:

VPO, Maazel (1/86R) (SONY) SMK39072

Cleveland Orch, Szell (11/88R) (SONY) SBK46535

BRSO, C. Davis (7/96) (RCA) 09026 62521-2

In compiling their Claudio Abbado ‘cycle’ of Mahler symphonies (12/95), DG invariably chose the remake wherever an earlier Abbado version existed. At first sight then, the present two-disc release is something of a puzzle, placing the earlier of Abbado’s two accounts of the Resurrection alongside the recording of the Fourth included in the integrale. In fact, the performances have a good deal in common, reminding us of the generally more urgent style (and abrupt transitions) of a younger man’s Mahler. Whether the brightly coloured first movement of the Fourth is fresh and lively or restless and neurotic is probably a matter of taste, but, in the third, the rapt Beethovenian approach of, say, Sir Colin Davis is not on Abbado’s agenda; the playing of the Vienna Philharmonic brass seems slightly below par for all the incidental beauties.

The Chicago-made Second is another performance of extremes which many will prefer to the softer grain of the Vienna concert relay included in the boxed set. Marilyn Horne’s account of the Urlicht is rich and expressive, marred only by what sounds like a ‘premature’ edit at 1'59". At medium price, both Klemperer and Bernstein enjoy more full-blooded choral singing in the closing stages of the finale. (Or is it simply a more sympathetic balance? The words “Bereite dich” are superbly emphatic here as they must be in any properly prepared performance.) No conductor working today has been more closely associated with this score than Abbado and it shows. DG’s packaging is excellent with full texts and translations provided.
DSG