There's no shortage of fine recordings of Mahler's tragic 6th symphony. Yet, this one has easily joined my top rank of very favorites. And while timings alone certainly won't tell you everything about a recording, I very much like the way Saraste's 'tragic' is proportioned.
The opening march is taken at a deliberate pace, but not excessively slow either. The 'second subject', the so-called "Alma theme", possesses plenty of sweeping passion. Thus, it makes a strong contrast to the opening march, just as it should. Saraste reaches his 24 minute mark by taking a bit of extra time on those quiet and pastoral 'cowbell' episodes. And here, we have a real nice set of bells that are perfectly audible from their offstage position.
In spite of slim historical evidence that Mahler may have wished to have the two inner movements performed in andante/scherzo order, Saraste - like a number of conductors these days - has reverted back to scherzo/andante order for purely musical reasons. I applaud his choice. Like Boulez, Saraste finds a starting tempo for the scherzo that's midway between the opening march of the first movement, and the faster tempo for the same movement's coda. More important, Saraste's low strings really dig in and produce a hefty, dark sound.
Yes, to some degree, it's as though the whole symphony were starting over again in A-minor. But consider the musical fact that the scherzo very much crumbles and dissolves in the same manner that the end of the finale does. Which is the more undermining musical sin? An even more important issue to me, is that Saraste - like Boulez, Thomas Sanderling and a few others - doesn't permit the numerous trio sections to drag or 'die on the vine'. Yet, there's sufficient contrast between the various trio sections, and the numerous returns of the scherzo proper, simply through Saraste's strict observance of Mahler's many indications for brief accelerandos and ritards that are sprinkled throughout. Rubato, in other words. Andante:
Slightly less than 14 minutes may appear to be hasty for the slow movement. However, Saraste's "andante moderato" doesn't sound rushed in the slightest. Keep in mind that this is NOT an adagio, and that many listeners have become too accustomed to hearing this movement stretched from 17 to 19 minutes. Look again. Much of the melodic material simply consists of two ascending notes, followed by the same two notes descending, then followed by a brief resolution on a lower, fifth note. Five notes in total - three, if you're keeping count of the actual pitches. It needs to just flow in its own peaceful way, and that's what Saraste allows it to do. Yet, he pours on the steam through the movement's passionate, climactic passage towards the end. Several friends of mine who were dubious of Saraste's quicker timing, later commented to me that the andante didn't sound rushed to them at all.
As always, the 30 minute long finale is a 'tour de force' and a symphony on to itself. For me, Saraste nails this from start to finish. The long introduction possesses the requisite 'spookiness' and 'creepiness' - it doesn't sound as though Mahler were just killing time. The passages surrounding the two middle hammer-strokes are as exciting and powerful as one could ever wish for. Yet, take notice of how Saraste approaches the first stroke with a head-first accelerando, then approaches the second one with great trepidation (Gergiev made this distinction also). Best of all, the final allegro (fast) 'charge' - located after the final cowbell episode - has to be heard to be believed. Never have I heard the rapid ascending and descending runs in the upper strings sound so fast and so menacing. Saraste proves to be expert at ratcheting up the tension, all the way to the symphony's final disappointments and resolution into A-minor. Comparisons:
I'm reminded of both the Boulez/VPO and T. Sanderling/St. Petersburg Phil. M6 recordings. Saraste's Oslo based low brass, low strings, contrabassoon, bass clarinet - everything that's low and 'growly' - produce more heft and power than what we'd expect from a northern European orchestra. It's like hearing a cross between Vienna and Chicago. Yet, Saraste conducts with plenty of forward momentum. In that respect, his interpretation reminds me of both Abbado/BPO (DG) or Ivan Fischer/Budapest Festival Orch. (Channel Classics). Although, Saraste conjures up much more power and drama than either of those two. In retrospect, I guess I'm reminded most of the fine Thomas Sanderling M6. But Saraste conjures up darker and more ominous sounds than Sanderling gets out of Russia's famous, "window on to the west" orchestra.
By the way, Saraste does reinstate the third hammerstroke near the end of the finale, but doesn't revert back to the original orchestration surrounding it in Mahler's first version. In fact, to my ears, it sounds as though this final stroke might have been hammered offstage albeit at a full fortissimo. It works without sounding overwhelming at the wrong spot.
Topic: My 5 star (out of five) review of Saraste (Simax) M6 @ Amazon (Read 3868 times)