MAHLER, G.: Symphony No. 6, "Tragic" (Saarbrucken Radio Symphony, Herbig)

Chronique

While this is a live recording of Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 6 in A minor, "Tragic," with some audience noises in isolated spots between tracks, listeners will find that the overall sound is quite clear, clean, and lifelike, and that Günther Herbig and the Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra have delivered a vivid and detailed account of the score; so it's difficult to fault this Berlin Classics release for anything other than small issues of interpretation. Herbig skips the exposition repeat in the first movement, opts for the old-fashioned ordering of the Scherzo and Andante moderato, and chooses not to play the third hammer-blow in the Finale, so fans of the symphony who are strongly opinionated about such matters may quibble. However, each of these choices is historically valid; listeners who know George Szell's 1967 live recording with the Cleveland Orchestra will find it similar and may turn to it for the sake of comparison. Herbig's tempos are often more flexible than Szell's, and Szell's feeling of Classical form is less pronounced here; but both conductors treat the music with objectivity and a high degree of dryness, so the performance has the crispness and clarity that are often lacking in heavier-handed, emotive readings. This may not be a Sixth to please everybody -- with so many variables, what version could? -- and despite occasional flaws, it is compelling for the first three movements and absolutely stupendous in the Finale, even without the ultimate Hammerschlag.

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