B.G.'s mini-review of Zinman Mahler 1st.

[barry guerrero]

Here's a brief review that I posted at Amazon. Needless to say, I really like this new Zinman M1. I've always liked his work, and wish we had him here in S.F. instead of you-know-who.



I've always liked David Zinman's work, and his new Mahler first is no exception. If this any is indication for the future, this is going to be yet another truly fine Mahler cycle (can't wait to hear this team in Mahler's 3rd). More than anything, I was just struck by the natural sounding, innate musicality dispayed throughout the performance. For a lack of a better overall description, Zinman crosses Bruno Walter's warmth and geniality, with Bernstein's attention to local effects. I can't remember ever hearing Mahler's col legno - hitting the strings with the wooden back of the bow - so clearly delineated in the scherzo as it is here. And while the third movement's opening funeral cortege is just a tad too slow for my own personal taste (I like Norrington's faster tempo), Zinman really plays up the sleeziness of the two East European village wedding band passages. It's nice to actually hear the bass drum there for once, also. But perhaps more than anything, Zinman scores points with me by toning down some of Mahler's bluster in the finale, but without also weakening the cohesion or structure in any way. For me, this was Norrington's one big downfall (loved his inner movements). To be more specific, the brass don't dominate over everything. Yet, the trombones are plenty strong, and the horns cut through when they need to. There's also no shortage of percussion, as Zinman let's them take center stage at climactic moments. Chugging string parts are always clearly audible as well.

In short, I can't remember just enjoying the entirety of Mahler's first this much in several decades. The inclusion of an almost joyous performance of "Blumine" - taken here much quicker than usual - makes for a really lovely bonus. Please note that I'm only able to listen to this in regular two-channel stereo. Thus, I have no opinion on its multi-channel aspects.

[Damfino]

I can't remember ever hearing Mahler's col legno - hitting the strings with the wooden back of the bow - so clearly delineated in the scherzo as it is here.

I am always disappointed when recordings fail to bring those col legno effects out clearly in Mahler.

[sperlsco]

Zinman scores points with me by toning down some of Mahler's bluster in the finale,

Does this mean that the coda lacks excitement?  Or is it just that the brass are more integrated throughout the finale? 

[barry guerrero]

The latter - the coda is quite good. For my taste, he could have sped up a bit more in the coda, but few people do that. He also does a big bass drum crescendo on the very last chord. Mahler doesn't call for a crescendo, and simply marks for the bass drum to be loud throughout the duration of the chord instead. But it's done quite well, and so it doesn't bother me in the least.

If they keep the same balances between various sections of the orchestra, their upcoming Mahler 3rd should be very good. Mahler symphonies can too easily - on recordings, anyway - turn into trumpet concertos with large orchestral accompaniment (MTT/SFSO M7 comes to mind). Zinman seems careful not to let that happen.

Barry