Mahler: Symphony No. 10

Album review

There have been several ingenious completions of Gustav Mahler's unfinished Symphony No. 10, the most notable being Deryck Cooke's three performing editions, and various other versions by Clinton Carpenter, Joseph Wheeler, Remo Mazzetti, Jr., Rudolf Barshai, and others. Israeli-American conductor Yoel Gamzou presents his "realisation and elaboration of the unfinished drafts" with the International Mahler Orchestra in this 2016 Wergo release, and offers a novel take on the symphony that diverges in orchestration, connecting sections, and the finer points of tempos, articulation, dynamics, and so on, yet somehow feels authentic. While many versions retain the completed Adagio as Mahler left it, with few changes, Gamzou rethinks it, in part by making subtle shifts from full sections to smaller groupings, reflecting Mahler's own practice of treating the orchestra as a collection of chamber ensembles. The process of refining and polishing applies to the remaining four movements as well, and Gamzou is always clear about conveying Mahler's core material, even if it is reimagined with startling and original sonorities. Because there is no universally accepted completion, notwithstanding the success of Cooke's versions, Gamzou's score at least warrants equal standing, and deserves special attention for its inventiveness. The chief complaint against performing the Tenth was always that Mahler had had no opportunity to revise its myriad details, as was his habit, but Gamzou has done so with audacity and brilliance worthy of the composer. Highly recommended, especially for collectors of recordings of this controversial symphony.

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