I started listening to the Haitink M9 at about 11:30 at night—a time when I should have been sleeping in preparation for a half day of summer school the next day. But…this was something I was looking forward to hearing…so I decided to ignore the time.
As others have already indicated, this is a wonderful M9. The first movement seemed to be more expansive than I had previously heard under other conductors (my personal favorite is the Rattle/BPO version), and I felt as though Haitink brought out different details in the score that I previously had not noticed, particularly in the later part of the first movement. Haitink’s first movement was gripping, a feeling that I got during the entire performance.
The Landler also took the listener for a ride. It did not have the hardened sound of Rattle and the BPO, but that's okay because I have never heard such a delicious crunch on the violins in the opening of the Landler (as I did under Rattle) in any other performances.
The Rondo is what I remember most about this performance—not the elegiac fourth movement, but the Rondo. I had never really liked the Rondo because the melody was—as Mahler intended—unpleasant. For the first time, though, I got a real feel for what I think Mahler was trying to say: this is a fast-paced, unemotional approach to the hardships of life.
The fourth movement was more reserved than I had expected—but, admittedly, I haven’t ever heard Haitink conduct an M9 before. It had a feeling of "getting on with it", something that was just fine with Haitink's interpretation. The strings did not sound as full as in some other recordings I have heard, but that is not necessarily bad because it gave a different feeling to the movement. Instead of living in the twilight of something wonderful (life for Mahler), you are instead watching someone live it, almost as though you are reading their story in a book. You know what is happening, but Haitink’s Proms M9 did not tap into the all-out emotionalism I have heard…at least for me. I stress that I do not hold this against Haitink and the orchestra; it is a different interpretation that brings different feelings.
