Maazel Tackles Mahler

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The New York Sun

When Lorin Maazel stepped out onto that podium at Avery Fisher Hall on Wednesday evening to lead the New York Philharmonic in Gustav Mahler’s Symphony No. 4, he undoubtedly did so with a sense of history. Not only was the local Phil the orchestra of the composer, who conducted here in the last years of his life, but this ensemble, first under Dmitri Mitropoulos and then Leonard Bernstein, was in the vanguard of Mahler dissemination through the relatively new medium of LP recordings. It is not too much of an exaggeration to state that it was Bernstein who first made Mahler a star. Therefore, it was altogether fitting that Maestro Maazel should produce such an excellent realization.

But first, a rollicking run-through of the Overture to Oberon by Carl Maria von Weber. This was decidedly the opera house version, filled with colorful effects and a mad sense of acceleration that was infectiously pleasurable. When Mr. Maazel let the trumpets and lower brass loose at the end, he was going for the most visceral of the thrills of the pit, not the decorum of the concert hall. There were problems, however, most notably a badly botched solo by the new principal oboist, Liang Wang. And the Philharmonic horns were, well, the Philharmonic horns.

Soloist for the evening was the intelligent soprano Heidi Grant Murphy, who was extremely impressive in Mozart’s liturgical motet “Exsultate, jubilate.” Keeping her bell-like tones on the soft side, she achieved vocal power through well thought-out and controlled crescendos. This is a piece written for the church, after all, and does not need the exaggerated pyrotechnics often bestowed upon it by less confident singers. The Alleluja is often excerpted for recitals and encores and sometimes oversung. Ms. Grant Murphy remained remarkably pure throughout, as Mr. Maazel kept the now quite small orchestra, augmented by harpsichord, in check.

The first movement of the Mahler was just sublime. The piece is all about the contrast between the jagged rhythms of dotted staccato and the long, fluid line of endless legato. Mr. Maazel has always had a particular flair for Mahler, and he paced and shaped this movement expertly. Taking off the summer may have been a good thing, as the strings sounded much better than they have in several years: Every nuance, every percussion accent, every inner voice was spot on.

Concertmaster Glenn Dicterow did a fine job in the second movement, performing on two separate violins, one employing the Baroque device of scordatura (being tuned differently from the rest of the orchestra). He was able to establish two distinct characterizations, with the oddly tuned fiddle signifying the instrument of death himself. I have heard better live — especially the ghostly incantations of William De Pasquale of the Philadelphia Orchestra — but this was still arresting artistry.

What is the most beautiful movement in all of Mahler? I would be hard-pressed to give a definitive answer, but the composer himself had no difficulty proclaiming that it was the Poco Adagio of his Fourth Symphony. Here Mr. Maazel ran into a brick wall. As good as the Phil strings were this evening, they are simply not in the top echelon of the world’s ensembles and just did not have the technique to deliver a top performance of this ravishing music.

Ms. Grant Murphy was back for the final section and once again spun her diaphanous web of mezzo-piano delicacy. Adopting a childlike personality so fitting for this text about a billowy, comforting heaven, she dazzled with the sheer campanilian quality of her marvelous instrument — a human glockenspiel of unwavering pitch control. I would have wished for more of a slide at the end of the line “Sanct Ursula selbst dazu lacht,” but then again, I’m a bit old-fashioned.

One last point about Ms. Grant Murphy’s physical, rather than musical, entrance in the Mahler: The soprano does not sing until the final movement, so there are three ways to get her onstage. First, she can sit quietly through the first three movements. Second, she can make a grand entrance during the fanfare near the conclusion of the third movement. Third, and least desirable, she can opt for what she did this night and simply walk out from the wings after the conclusion of the third movement.

This turned out to be quite disturbing because, up to this point, maestro had done such a professional job of making this rendition seamless, pausing only briefly between movements with his hands raised to command silence. Coming to a dead stop to allow the singer to position herself led only to an inevitable coughfest in the crowd. For a moment it seemed like the Phil was holding open auditions for the lead in an upcoming concert version of “La Traviata.”


The New York Sun

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