음반리뷰 Stenz/Gurzenich Orchester Koln/Oehmas Mahler Third Symphony (수정)

[Poincare]

I listened to the latest installment in Markus Stenz's on-going Mahler cycle.

Unlike his Mahler Fourth, it is a rather straightforward performance that emphasizes the architecture and formality of this most gigantic, ambitious of all works by the composer.

I liked the first two middle movements and Finale very much but had mild reservations about I. and IV. In the opening of the symphony much of Stenz's interpretation is unaffected and didn't seem to hold much of my breath. Likewise, alto Schuster's contribution is somewhat undistinguished and earthbound compared to say, Marilyn Horne in James Levine's RCA rendition.

On the other hand, the 2nd movt is terrific as are the Scherzo and the Finale. Here, not only the playing is of the highest order, Stenz's focus on articulating many rhythmic and dynamic contrasts pays off very nicely. Clocking under 22 min. Stenz's Adagio is one of the shortest on record and yet not a single bar sounds rushed under his baton. The symphony culminates in a stunningly gradiose fashion as it should. Well done!

Going back to Part I., I suspected the problem is partly due to the engineering which puts the orchestra in steely, hard sounding acoustics without much warmth and ambiance: the mid to high frequency range is excellent but the bass is wanting, although there is plenty of dynamic range whenever it is called for, e.g., the coda. Having said this, there no hint of digital glare or shrillness we often encountered in the early digital era. More importantly, when I  increased the volume the sound came into a tighter focus and provided much ambiance. So, turn the volume up, way up!

How to sum up? Overall, I admire Stenz's firm grasp of this gigantic symphony and I can understand his decision to scale down the first movt. a bit so that it fits better with Part II. Perhaps this recording will wear better upon repeated hearings.

By all accounts then, this is an outstanding Mahler Third. We're spoiled with many good versions including Lenny, Levine, Ozawa, Honeck, and now Stenz.

I am sure I will certainly revisit the disc again and again.

My rating is 10/9 (performance/sound).

[Poincare]

지금 쉬탄츠의 말러 2번 듣고 있습니다..... 굉장합니다. 쉬탄츠의 내공과 저력이. 3번보다 한수 위입니다. 이런식으로 부활교향곡 지휘하는 거 처음 듣습니다.

[Poincare]

제 5악장에서 전개부로 인도하는 작은북+큰북의 크레센토가 무려 1분여간 (기네스북 신기록 수립?) 동안 지속되는데...그 긴장감이 목바로 밑까지 오는군요!

이런 전율감은 생전 처음입니다!!

[Poincare]

제가 씨애틀의 베나로야홀에서 '부활'을 붏렀을 때의 짜릿한 그 기억이 되살아나게 하는 명연!!

[Poincare]

?1악장 도입부 두번째 마디에서 첼로+베이스로 "짜자 자자잔......짜자자자잔....짜자자 자자자자 짠자잔" 하는 것이 강렬하면서도 상당히 볼륨이 크게 강조되어 있지만, 그 다음 5번째 마디 마지막에서 이어지는 "짜 잔짜 잔짜 자안..."에서는 갑지기 볼륨이 확 줄어듭니다. 그런데, 악보를 보니 처음것은 fff로, 두번째는 f로만 표기되어 있네요!! 사실 이렇게까지 도입부를 드라마틱 하게 취급한것은 쉬텐츠의 녹음이 처읍입니다. 그가 상당히 신경을 써가면 연주했다는 증거입니다.

[Poincare]

위의 평 수정하였습니다.