MAHLER: Symphony No. 8.(Review)

MAHLER: Symphony No. 8

[] Eaglen, Schwanewilms, Ziesak, Fulgoni, Larsson; Heppner, Mattei, Rootering; Prague Philharmonic Choir, Netherlands Radio Choir, Jongenskoor van het Kathedrale Koor St. Bavo, Jongenskoor van her Sacramentskoor, Breda, Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Chailly. Text and translation. Decca 289 467 314-2 (2)

Any recording of Mahler's Eighth Symphony is bound to be a major event, due simply to the vastness of the forces that must be marshalled. (In 1958, when the BBC needed an expensive project to mop up a budget surplus, Mahler's Eighth was by common agreement the costliest piece in the repertoire, and the result was the legendary Jascha Horenstein recording with the London Symphony Orchestra. Imagine having such problems today!)

Conductor Riccardo Chailly hits all his marks effectively in this new Decca recording with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, yielding a dean, rousing traversal of the enormous, eighty-minute-plus "Symphony of a Thousand," arguably Mahler's most ambitious work, both musically and philosophically. Sound is mostly excellent (although occasionally heavy on the reverb at the expense of clarity); ensemble, intonation and balance are all exemplary; and the distinguished soloists are all in fine shape and well cast for their demanding parts. What's missing, however, are the urgency and the sense of awe that animate superlative performances of this piece. (There are currently a total of about twenty-two recordings available, not counting an additional twelve boxed sets of the complete symphonies.)