Mahler Tonhalle Orchestra

Zinman's Resurrection is the second release in Mahler's complete series of works for this conductor with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. His Beethoven, Schumann, and Richard Strauss discs for Arte Nova have been a resounding success. The appearance of these Mahler discs on a full-priced label suggests that Sony-BMG Masterworks appreciates their potential to be the definitive Mahler recordings of the current decade.

David Zinman and the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra have presented exceptional performances of Gustav Mahler's symphonies in the hybrid SACD format, and this recording of the Symphony No. 9 in D major follows suit in its spot-on reading and splendid sound. Among the most enigmatic and difficult of Mahler's completed symphonies to interpret (perhaps only exceeded in strangeness by the Symphony No. 7, or in mystery by the unfinished Symphony No. 10), the Symphony No. 9 is haunted by visions of death, and Mahler's range of expressions runs from poignant lyricism to abject terror, resignation, and finally, sublime transformation.

Of Gustav Mahler's symphonies, the Symphony No. 4 in G major is the most neo-Classical in character, the most lighthearted in expression, and the most compact in form, all of which make it the most accessible of the cycle. Because Mahler's effects are precisely calculated, the music invites few liberties, and performances of the symphony tend to be quite similar in style and pacing; consequently, David Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich turn in a meticulous rendition that resembles many others in interpretation and is uncontroversial in execution.

David Zinman's recording of Mahler's Sixth Symphony, with the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra, is magnificent: dramatic, dynamic, heroic, and tragic. In the wake of many versions that are excessively emotional and hyperactive, Zinman's reading is refreshingly sane and lucid. Zinman has turned in great Beethoven and Schumann cycles with the Tonhalle Orchestra, and so far, his Mahler cycle seems set on the same trajectory. His Sixth avoids the extremes of heaviness and lightness; the tempos do not drag, the textures are rich but they do not clot, and the colors are beguiling without delaying forward motion.

DAVID ZINMAN concludes his acclaimed Mahler symphony cycle with the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich and the release of Symphony No. 10. Zinman describes the Tenth Symphony as the "saddest chapter" in this great, ten-part symphonic novel in which Mahler bids his wife Alma farewell, speaks of his disillusionment with life, and looks into the future of music. Zinman employs the lesser-known Clinton A. Carpenter version of this famously unfinished work as it "contains more of that specific Mahler sound … Sometimes one has to change the score on the basis of the sketches according to one s own judgment. So it will be exciting to perform this version of the piece."

David Zinman's audiophile series of Gustav Mahler's symphonies for RCA has garnered much critical praise, due mainly to the coherence of his musical interpretations and the marvelous clarity of the playing by the Zurich Tonhalle Orchestra. Both qualities are vital to understanding Mahler, whose intensely varied music is never easily pinned down, and often just as easily muddled. The Symphony No. 7 in E minor, unofficially nicknamed "The Song of the Night," is one of Mahler's most complicated works because it contains a sprawling symphonic dirge, a haunted yet charmingly pastoral nocturne, a grim danse macabre, a humorously amorous serenade, and a rondo finale based on nineteenth century musical clichés, all designed to showcase the many moods and mood swings of Mahler, perhaps the most complicated composer of the twentieth century.

David Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich have received extraordinary praise for their polished recordings of Gustav Mahler's symphonies, and kudos will surely greet the appearance of the Symphony No. 8 in E flat major, the most ambitious work of the cycle and the greatest challenge to a conductor's ability to marshal several ensembles into one immense entity. Hallmarks of Zinman's earlier Mahler recordings and RCA's superb engineering are the crispness and clarity of details, and the ensemble sound is exquisitely balanced between the chamber groupings within sections and the towering orchestral climaxes.

This disc marks the beginning of a new Mahler cycle with these forces in SACD sound. If you collect SACDs, you’ll be impressed with the engineering in the surround-sound format, which is very natural, coherent, and has plenty of room ambience without excessive rear-channel emphasis. “Natural” also describes Zinman’s performances. The first movement has a great sense of flow, and he doesn’t drag out the introduction as relentlessly as some others have. He catches the rustic character of the scherzo to perfection, though I do wish he’d exaggerated the Jewish music in the funeral march a bit more. The music could take a bit more schmaltz, and a bit more spookiness in the march itself despite the careful observance of Mahler’s dynamics.

David Zinman’s Mahler has been warmly received in many quarters. He is proceeding through the cycle chronologically and the Fifth will not disappoint those who like their Mahler sane and lucid. Sound quality remains near state-of-the-art even if there seems to be too much hall ambience for absolute clarity this time. The orchestra has been carefully drilled – individual members are named in the attractive, copiously annotated booklet – but it is idle to pretend that Zürich can offer either the characterful solo playing or the corporate weight of Chicago, Vienna or Berlin. That the back inlay and the track-listing misrepresent the work’s tripartite structure matters little.

After their acclaimed recording of the complete Beethoven symphonies in a new musical guise, a highly-regarded cycle of Richard Strauss's tone poems, the complete Mahler symphonies and a number of other musical projects with which they attracted widespread attention, David Zinman and the Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich now devote themselves to the symphonies of Franz Schubert.