How far does “authenticity” go? This new Mahler release not only uses instruments available at the time of the 1893-4 performance of Mahler’s First Symphony (“Titan”), it also reproduces the early version of this piece, before the composer made significant changes to it.
This 1893-4 version is still titled “Tone poem in the form of a symphony in two parts and five movements for a big orchestra”. The orchestration is also different from the final version, most noticeable in segments such as the opening of the “Funeral March in ‘Callot’s manner’”, which starts here with a solo cello.
This performance will divide listeners. You can’t deny the curiosity this “Hamburg” version arouses, for the early thoughts of the composer and for the usage of instruments from the period. Yet there are some elements which may be objectionable; We do have old recordings of orchestras which still included players who worked with the composer, as well as conductors who assisted him (Walter, Klemperer, the Vienna Philharmonic, the Concertgebouw and the New York Philharmonic come to mind), none of which adopted this vibrato-less approach, nor the overemphasized strings portamento adopted here by Les Siècles and acted out unnaturally.
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The clarinet player mimicking a klezmer player in the march sounds delightful, as do the birds-like calling throughout the Symphony, colored differently than usual with the old instruments. The balance in the louder passages also gives more weight to the strings than the usual brass taking over. But then, one realizes that most of Mahler’s decision for reductions and orchestrations changes were spot on.
This album can be cherished for die-hard fans of this masterpiece, illuminated by the period instruments and the chosen version, yet it does not replace other recommended versions of this Symphony (few mentioned below), and not even François-Xavier Roth’s previous recording of this piece in its better-known version, with the SWR Sinfonieorchester Baden Baden for the Hänssler label.
Mahler – Symphony No. 1 (“Titan”), 1893-4 “Hamburg Version”
Les Siècles
François-Xavier Roth – Conductor
Harmonia Mundi, CD HMM905299
Mahler – Symphony No. 1 – Recommended Versions
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