Mahler: Symphonies Nos. 1 & 9

Album review

Bearing in mind that these recordings of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No.1 in D major, "Titan," and the Symphony No. 9 in D major date from 1954 and are somewhat pared down from their full length (with 24 measures missing from the Finale of the former, and 115 bars cut from the second movement of the latter), most listeners would pass over them for complete and better sounding digital recordings. Yet hearing Paul Kletzki and the Israel Philharmonic Orchestra perform these symphonies is a treat for collectors of historic performances, and there are rewards in store for Mahler scholars who will enjoy having them for the sake of comparison with other renditions from the decade. Kletzki took great pains to draw out clear details from the orchestra, despite taking a few liberties with tempos and dynamics, and there is a marked tendency in these performances to focus on the chamber-like combinations in the orchestration, which brings a feeling of intimacy to the music. This is somewhat apparent in the Symphony No. 1, though Mahler's use of small instrumental groups increased dramatically by the time he composed the Symphony No. 9, and it is the performance of that work that reveals in many places how Kletzki and the IPO mimicked the lean sound of a chamber orchestra. Doremi's sound is surprisingly good on these restorations, with very little crackle or hiss, except for the third movement of the First, which is quite gritty; the mix retains the original monaural sound without artificial stereo tricks.
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