Mahler
Symphony No. 5
Tonhalle-Orchester Zürich/Paavo Järvi
Alpha Classics ALPHA1127 71:31 mins
Clip: Mahler – Symphony No. 5 in C-Sharp Minor III. Scherzo. Kräftig, nicht zu schnell
Every time a new recorded Mahler cycle is heralded, you (I) groan about yet another one, but then – in the recent cases of Czech Philharmonic/Bychkov, Minnesota/Vänskä and now Tonhalle Zurich/Paavo Järvi, you’re hooked the minute you start listening by the attention to detail, the newly revealed textures, the different sounds.
I’ll go for broke and say I don’t know a better Mahler 5 than this one, since in addition to Järvi’s care over every dynamic, there’s a sense of live electric charge which makes the ends of the Scherzo and Finale above all hair-raisingly brilliant. In the first movement, bassoons especially illuminate perfect balances, strings singing the vocal funeral marches, while in the second Mahler’s extravagant counterpoint doesn’t feel excessive – this interpretation comes as close as any to making my least favourite storm and stress hold the interest to the end – and there’s no better horn obbligato in Mahler’s central ‘world without gravity’ than that of Swiss national treasure Ivo Gass; you’ll never hear the primeval blasts that bring the dance temporarily to a halt more thrillingly full-throttle.
The Adagietto is on the slower side of Mengelberg’s famous golden mean, but doesn’t feel it; Järvi is a master of flexible movement, so it’s always going somewhere. The opening of the finale brings two of the orchestra’s best players together, and the fugal romps have alternating delicacy and heft where they need them. Natural Tonhalle sound contributes to making this a great Mahler 5, and lucky you if it’s your first. Time for me now to catch up on previous Tonhalle/Järvi symphonies cycles, which I’ve somehow missed so far. What a team. David Nice