I took a cursory listen to this last night.
This is a very lamenting, world weary Mahler 5. Fischer holds off letting the 'sun' come out until the Rondo. His tempos are very moderate through out, including a 19 minute Scherzo. He doesn't let the brass dominate either, you can always hear the winds and strings.
The 1st movement is is very articulate, the triplets always can be heard. The martial sections are very contrasted against the lyrical. This is not a wild opening movement, it is mournful. Movement 2 has a similar feel to the 1st, just more intense and driving. The chorale is even dark and subdued, not usual blast of light.
I'm not sure I've heard a Scherzo likes Fischer gives us. It is very mysterious, mystical in sections. The tempos are very flexible and feel very patient. This is not hurried at all, it doesn't linger either.
The adagio clocks in at 10:32. Some will find this to slow, but it fits very much in the style of what Fischer is doing.
We finally get the 'light of day' in this movement. Again, this is very unhurried and articulate. The mood is light and fresh leading to a blazing chorale.
I will be giving this another listen as soon as I can. The mood and feeling in this doesn't really bring to mind any of my other recordings of this work.
As always, Channel Classics gives us excellent sonics.
Topic: I. Fischer/B.F.O. M5 on Channel Classics (Read 7745 times)