Eschenbach/D.S.O. Berlin M1/Ruckert Songs (Capriccio)

[barry guerrero]

In case any of you are wondering, the Eschenbach/DSO Berlin M1 is surprisingly good. Then again, I probably shouldn't be surprised since his Houston one has remained a favorite with Scott over the years (our moderator). Here, there aren't any of the eccentric mannerisms, or excessively slow tempi, that consistently crop up in his performances of the middle and late period symphoies. Instead, we get a nice and straight forward, no-nonsense conducting job from start to finish. And while they're playing is very accurate, we also get a whiff of old German rusticity - almost medeival, chivilristic romanticism of fairytale books - from the DSO Berlin.

That doesn't mean that the performance is boring or too plain-spun either. Escenbach really whips up the tempi near the end of the first movement. The scherzo is right on the money: not too fast; not slow slow either. Best of all is the third movement. Here, Eschenbach, plays up the East European village band music, but without making it stick out in an exaggerated way. Thus, it fits into the context of a symphonic argument but without sounding undercooked, or boring in some unintended way. Why can't he always conduct Mahler like this? (the man is very talented when he wants to be).

The finale makes the usual noises in all the right places, and there's sufficient bass drum underneath the vey final chord. Let's face it, this finale needs to not just be loud, but also geniunely exciting. Eschenbach succeeds. What's strange though, is immediately following the heroic end to M1 with "Blicke mir nicht in die Lieder". That's weird!

I don't have the mezzo's name in front of me, but she's decent. And while she's no Janet Baker, both the mezzo and Eschenbach put in a nice and flowing job on "Ich bin der Welt abhanden gekommen" - the most beautiul orchestral song ever written (eat that, Strauss!). Better yet, Eschenbach is truly able to navigate the strange and rocky waters of the climactic passage to "Um Mitternacht" - possibly the weirdest thing Mahler ever composed. Eschenbach makes it sound perfectly logcal and normal (so many conductors sound as though they've been caught on a rock at the climax).

The songs are in the order of: "Blicket mir nicht in die Lieder"; "Liebst du um schoenheit"; "Um Mitternacht"; "Ich atmet einen Lindenduft"; "Ich bin der Welt abahanden gekommen". Good stuff.

[GL]

Even if I don't always like its results, I like the Eschenbach's attitude towards the music he conducts: every time he conducts again a work, he seems studying it from scratch, looking for answers to questions he did not ask before.

Luca

[Dave H]

As my review has already been cited, let me just second what Barry wrote about the symphony, but I don't like the songs. Schaefer is not a mezzo--she's a soprano, and for me neither the songs nor the transpositions work in that register, though the singing as such is very good.

Best,

Dave H

[sperlsco]

Even if I don't always like its results, I like the Eschenbach's attitude towards the music he conducts: every time he conducts again a work, he seems studying it from scratch, looking for answers to questions he did not ask before.

Luca

Hey, I think that your post was the Board's 10,000th one.  Congratulations!  You get a free membership for the rest of the year!   

[barry guerrero]

Aaargh! My bad. I didn't have the booklet, so I didn't catch that the Ruckert Songs had been transposed. That said, perhaps "Um Mitternacht" actually sounds better in whatever key it MIGHT have been transposed into (?). Just wondering. I thought the last song sounded quite pretty, regardless of being sung by a soprano.