Mahler: Symphony No.5

Chronique

For the 10-year commemoration of Georg Solti's death in 1997, Decca released a splendid recording taken from his last concerts with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, exclusively devoted to Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 5 in C sharp minor. This popular work was a favorite of Solti's repertoire, one he previously performed with the Chicago Symphony Orchestra in an analog recording from 1970 and a digital recording from 1990 -- both exceptional accounts that became legendary in the conductor's lifetime. This reading is remarkably close in feeling and shading to its acclaimed predecessors, and Solti and the Zurich orchestra deliver a Fifth that matches Chicago's efforts at nearly every point. Granted, this is a live recording and not all details are as clearly focused or as carefully miked as they are on the older discs; the occasional audience and orchestra noises might make this recording a second or third choice for anyone torn between renditions. But for those who can get past surface distractions, this is a cohesive interpretation that is aesthetically and technically satisfying and worth having, perhaps even in addition to other versions, for the benefit of hearing the chilling violin and viola timbres in the haunted first part, the nostalgic, waltz-like lilt of the Scherzo, the intense ardor in the Adagietto, and the astonishing counterpoint of the Finale, for which Solti was a master of clarification. The reproduction is bold and vibrant, and the orchestra has a nearly palpable presence that almost puts the listener in the front row.

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