I really like this recording, with a few reservations. I’ll get those out of the way first. There’s hardly any bass in the mix, and that means hardly any bass drum. What we do get is the timbre of the attack on the bass drum but not the actual... bass-ness of it. So that’s a bit odd to be, but not nearly a dealbreaker because the bass drum isn’t as important of a role in the Seventh as it is in other Mahler symphonies like the Third and Fifth. Fischer still manages to coax one heck of a final peroration with the suspended cymbals, and the cowbells and bells go nuts! In a good way of course.
Fischer’s pacing in the first movement is a little on the quicker side which is fine, but I personally like it slower. I also really like the doleful, round timbre of the tenor horn (Angelos Kritikos). Fischer’s tempi for the other movements are spot on, particularly the Nachtmusik ones. This is maybe the best Nachtmusik II I know of. He handles the wonky finale very well and makes good sense of it. The playing is spectacular throughout too.
All in all it’s one of my top-choice Sevenths. Besides my issue with the bass, the mix is otherwise quite amazingly engineered. This most-colorful of the Mahler symphonies is on full display here, and every detail can be heard with crystal clear clarity. Perhaps the lack of bass was intentional then? The rest of the cycle has the bass we need in the mix, so it’s curious. Fischer seems to make bold choices in this cycle in general. It’s a bit of a sleeper hit as well. I think while critics are swooning over Fischer’s M1 and M3 they are overlooking how well he did in M7 and M4 at the humble beginning of the cycle.
Topic: Adam Fischer's Mahler 7 (Read 2517 times)