Well, for what it's worth, here are my thoughts regarding the Kobayashi M9 recently released on the Exton label. I started this review at 2:30 in the morning after my 6th full listen to it. I’ve listened to this thing all weekend…in the morning before work, and during work, and especially at night when the traffic outside my apartment is dieing down.
First, allow me to mention the glorious Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. The JPO's playing is bold, they may not be the RCO or LPO, but they truly give everything they've got for Kobayashi...they have no fear or hesitation at all. You will especially notice this during the phenomenal execution of the Adagio. It's amazing to hear how the strings blend with atmospheric feeling, and dig roughly as if breaking the earth. The climax of the Adagio is grand...larger than life…and seems about to explode...and the strings out do themselves again during the final moments, almost transparent. Kobayashi only makes noises three or four times that I can hear (his foot stamps on the podium here and there). The most I can hear him grunt is at the beginning of the Adagio, where he grunts to the rhythm a little, but it's not bad at all as he stops before the full strings enter.
The interpretation of the work’s structure is very well thought out, and the full execution of the score is rather subtle or complex with a sense of direction and purpose. I think many will have different impressions because Kobayashi doesn’t enforce an obvious concept or vision, and seems to be transparent overall in relation to the score. I personally feel this Symphony, as conducted by Kobayashi, appears to start with a detached state of simple almost childlike sorrow, but ends with emotional relatedness in the Adagio. This detachment doesn’t keep the listener at arms length, as this detachment is a defensive gesture and repression is hard to maintain, and it is sensitively projected mostly by the strings, trumpets and horns, with engaging nuance and excellent phrasing. This “defensive detachment” is gradually broken down through the pastoral warmth of the 2nd movement and the whirl and dreaminess of the Rondo. As the Adagio progresses this detachment or fear is replaced by emotional vulnerability. In Kobayashi’s performance the strings are almost the main character, or viewpoint of the work, and the rest of the orchestra are the memories, actions and emotions and etc. The strings are very sensitive to the musical argument, as the more turbulent sections of the first movement testify. In these spots the strings cannot repress emotion. However, the sound is not only balanced towards the strings, but favors the whole orchestra and the score and all its details are well heard.
At the beginning of the Andante Comodo the lyrical melody is played rather straightforward, yet the strings exhibit a subtle sorrowful “sigh” that is beautiful but doesn’t give too much away. I especially like how nothing is rushed during the climaxes in the first movement...this results in a kind of terrifying clarity...the sound is quite good and you can hear the different lines though the intensifying loudness. The tempo is like a heavy ship that keeps its course though the strongest storm, but the flow does not drag. The consistent tempo reminded me of Horenstein, but Kobayashi is flexible when he needs to be. Kobayashi also doesn’t hold back during the climaxes, yet he doesn’t lose control either…it is a nice subtle balance that hints at Mahler’s paradoxical nature. Overall the first movement performance is successful in every way. The orchestra meaningfully navigating though the paradoxes Mahler throws at them: complexity vs. simplicity, directness vs. indirectness, power vs. vulnerability and structure vs. freedom. The closing of the Andante Comodo is very tender and leads into the pastoral 2nd movement with grace.
The Scherzo is very Haydnesque, with much rustic humor and open simplicity with almost no sarcasm. The horns really deliver those humorous trills throughout; among the most humorous I’ve heard in this Symphony. The soft return of the 1st movement’s lyric melody reveals restfulness, a feeling of “coming to terms” with conditions and is very evocative. There is a kind of Haydnesque humor in the Rondo too …the same Haydn who preferred to put a joke in the middle of a Symphony (and who could be scheming and blunt) is here in Mahler’s Rondo. Whatever was fearful and hurt in the first movement now regains a powerful confidence for action and life. The stately transition into the “music from another place” section is a highlight, as is the dreamy interlude, intimate and full of power.
I already mentioned the great performance of the Adagio. A radiant energy builds and builds as heard in the ambient strings, using vibrato and no vibrato depending on the section. The horns are not as beautiful or direct as those in the major orchestras, but they play with earnest dedication and a keen sense of tone and phrasing. A powerful energy, slowly collecting itself throughout the whole performance, finally fully incarnates during the incredible climax. Everything opens and outshines all that came before. The execution of this passage is really an achievement in Mahler performance. The final minutes are full of calm and peaceful surrender, not too drawn out, just flowing quietly with the last ounce of purpose left. A word I once encountered (while reading various spiritual books) seems to convey what I sense about the whole performance…this word is “positive-disillusionment”. I sense an undercurrent of positive outlook behind the crisis moments and sorrowful detachment, but this attitude is balanced with the understanding of the dilemma of life (which is death) and the inherent suffering of living it.
After the final note drifts off, there is a pause that lasts about a minute before the applause sets in.
I highly recommend this recording. It deserves the high rating on the HMV site (97/100).
Now I can’t wait to hear John’s thoughts! He is a better judge on sound and he knows the details of the score to the 9th more than me!
--Leo
