Preorders now avail. for A. Fischer/Dusseldorf M6 @ Amazon, Nov. 5 release date

[barryguerrero]

I've listened through Adam Fischer's M6 on Spotify a couple of times now. It's a reading that places the work somewhere between the 'end of the world' type interpretations of - let's say, for example - Klaus Tennstedt, and something that's more 'small scaled' and personal. Fischer draws a fine line between these two extremes. A closer look through the magnifying glass reveals that Fischer brings forward some interesting secondary voices not normally heard. Even more interesting and essential, he brings out voices within harmonies that are not necessarily 'dissonant', but rather make the narrative a bit more nebulous and complicated. I find this particularly true in the finale. I wonder if he's working from a new 'urtext' edition, or if he simply dug out things that normally get covered over (I'm betting on the latter). I'm usually not a fan of just interjecting the third hammer stroke from the first version, but Adam Fischer does it convincingly.

In the bigger picture, Adam Fischer's M6 has the same qualities in the inner two movements that I like so much on Vanska's M6, but also addresses my concerns about Vanska's two outer movements. When the CD becomes available, I'll be replacing my Vanska M6 with this one.

[erikwilson7]

This recording is excellent through and through. At first, I was a bit thrown off at how quiet the timpani solo / fate rhythm motif (which coincides with the major/minor seal) was in the first movement's exposition, but I think it's intentional. During the recapitulation that rhythmic motif is much louder, and any other time it appears throughout the symphony it is prominent. I think Fischer's idea here is that the rhythm gains prominence as the symphony goes on... or as inevitable fate creeps in.

Like Barry I don't care for the third hammer blow, but this is the third recording I've ever been convinced of it. Bernstein's DG recording puts it in a very clever and convincing spot, and Simone Young's is such a tragic reading that it works as well, in my opinion. But convincing or not, I'm always reminded of why Mahler removed it: it's really just there. It hardly, if at all, adds anything to the music at that moment. If there is ever to be an "official" third hammer blow, it should be where Lenny put it in the DG recording.

All in all, I'm happy to say that I believe this M6 is one of the highlights of this very good cycle. The key recordings to listen to, in my opinion, are M1, M3, M4, M6, and Das Lied. The rest are all at least good. I personally don't detect a dud in this cycle, but as we all know there are some that feel very differently.