GUSTAV MAHLER
Symphony No. 3; Kindertotenlieder
Kathleen Ferrier (alto)
BBC Symphony Orchestra
Concertgebouw Orchestra
Adrian Boult
Otto Klemperer
Testament- 1422(CD)
Reference Recording - Symphony: Bernstein (Sony); Chailly (Decca)
rating
This 1947 BBC recording of Mahler's Third was privately recorded off the air, and the sonics are extremely limited. There even appear to be a few beats missing here and there, most noticeably towards the end of the first movement at the point where the final, triumphant march steals back in. The more instruments that play, the worse it gets, which is never a good thing in Mahler. Balances are very, very strange. The loudest single instrument is the theoretically dreamy, offstage posthorn solo in the third movement, which was obviously positioned directly in front of the microphone. Certain sounds, such as the harps, tam-tam, or the bells in the fifth movement, are extremely well caught, while others, such as the lower strings in the fourth movement, or the triangle throughout, basically vanish entirely. The finale sounds best, though the variable perspectives between the strings at the beginning and the brass choir at the end make hash of Mahler's dynamic indications. Dynamics in general are completely flat and compressed, treble frequencies attenuated, and acetate surface noise variably loud throughout. So know what you are getting, and for the record, the sonics in the Kindertotenlieder are similarly poor.
Next, there's Ferrier, the most overrated singer in the entire 20th century, and one whose presence doubtless will lead to this being referred to as "the Ferrier Mahler Third". Actually on this occasion she sings well, far better than in her famous studio Das Lied with Walter on Decca. Her basic sound is brighter, more open, and less "hooded" despite occasional pitch problems in the fourth movement and the usual over-emphatic, somewhat mannered diction (which tends to distort the tone). That said, she still doesn't hold a candle to, say, Haitink's Maureen Forrester (Philips), or Levine's Marilyn Horne (RCA) in the Third, or Janet Baker, Christa Ludwig, or (again) Horne in the Kindertotenlieder. Klemperer undermines this 1951 Ferrier performance of the songs additionally with his occasionally brusque conducting (try the first number). As we all know, the vocal contributions in the symphony comprise a tiny fraction of the total playing time, and while I can sort of understand Ferrier fans wanting it for the scant moments when she's actually singing (four minutes or so in the fourth movement, and a few seconds in the fifth), no sane person buys Mahler's Third to hear the alto solo. That would be tantamount to purchasing a large and expensive new home despite the fact that it's lacking walls and a roof, solely because you liked its garage. Happily, garage fanciers can pick up just the Ferrier bits of this performance separately on SOMM, if they feel so inclined.
So it all comes down to Boult and the BBC Symphony. Let me say straight away that I don't accept the "interesting performance given the period in question" argument. Tovey once aptly observed that this excuse only applies to something that otherwise would not be interesting to us now. Nor could I care less about the progress of Mahler's symphonies (or anything else) in the UK, though music lovers who live there have every right to indulge their purely local concerns. All that matters is how fine a performance of Mahler's Third Symphony we find on these two discs. The answer, surprisingly, and even given all of the above caveats, is that it's really pretty good. There are some oddities of pacing: the second movement is charmless, taken so quickly that its decorative details turn positively ugly, particularly in the last reprise of its main section. Similarly, Boult cranks up the speed of the scherzo after the posthorn episodes well past the point where the players can handle it with the necessary clarity and precision. There are also a couple of curious misreadings, including the substitution of a military drum (tambour) for Mahler's tambourine (Kubelik often made the same mistake, in Mahler's Seventh with the New York Philharmonic, or in his DG recording of Dvorák's The Wood Dove), and Boult's weird decision to play the loud tam-tam crashes in the first movement as tremolos for the full duration of their tied notes.
Still and all, the first movement is exciting, and remarkably well-played. The BBC brass in particular make very few mistakes, whether as an ensemble or in the many solo passages: trombone in the first movement, posthorn in the third, horns in the fourth, and the big chorale at the end. Sure, the horns and trumpets crack occasionally, but I've heard many, many live performances by famed "Mahler orchestras", such as the New York and Vienna Philharmonics, that were much worse than this. To the extent one can tell, it's also evident that Boult was a fine colorist on this occasion (his later work also bears this out), not shying away from some of the more alarming sounds that Mahler asks his players to make. He whips up a fine frenzy at the eruption of "the mob" in the first movement's development section, as well as at the end of the scherzo, and captures the picture-postcard quality of the fifth movement very well. The choral singing, by the way, is mediocre, though it's kind of cute to hear the boys pronouncing "bam" at the end in a distinctly British fashion, to rhyme with "ham".
Best of all Boult turns in a truly outstanding interpretation of the finale. It's not surprising that he gets (or more properly, creates) the Elgarian "nobilmente" of the opening particularly evocatively, but he also offers some extremely persuasive flexibility of pulse that's entirely in keeping with what Mahler requests. We're used to thinking of Boult as somewhat unyielding rhythmically, and a bit slack in terms of ensemble, and so he could be toward the end of his career when most of his best known recordings were made. Not here. Particularly effective is the way he broadens out at the climaxes--especially the one at the first cymbal crash that signals the return of material from the first movement, where his control of tempo during the ensuing accelerando is just about perfect. He also keeps the orchestra securely together most of the time: you can feel their confidence, and consequently their lack of expressive inhibitions. In sum, this Third delivers the Mahlerian goods. It's not a great performance overall, perhaps not a necessary one at this late date, but Boult and his team had every reason to be proud of their work that day in 1947. Even if you're not a Ferrier fan or some other dweller in an alternate reality, you can purchase this recording secure in the knowledge that its claims on your time and attention are legitimately musical as much as they are merely historical.
--David Hurwitz
Topic: Dave gives A. Boult M3 (Testament) a 7/2 rating (Read 20482 times)