COMPOSERS: Mahler
LABELS: Sony
WORKS: Symphony No. 4
PERFORMER: Kathleen Battle (soprano);Vienna PO/Lorin Maazel
CATALOGUE NO: SK 39072 DDD
Radiant, spacious and unquestionably authoritative playing, from an orchestra which has this music in its blood, makes this one of the truly great Mahler Fourths on record! Maazel’s unhurried, deliciously indulgent direction brings its own rewards, in a performance offering an hour of unadulterated musical seduction! Kathleen Battle’s saintly innocence in the Wunderhorn setting of the finale is again a sheer delight! Even now, in its latest full-price reincarnation, Maazel’s indispensable reading of this most Elysian of symphonies ranks among the finest Mahler interpretations ever committed to disc. Michael Jameson
Mahler: Symphony No. 4
Radiant, spacious and unquestionably authoritative playing, from an orchestra which has this music in its blood, makes this one of the truly great Mahler Fourths on record! Maazel’s unhurried, deliciously indulgent direction brings its own rewards, in a performance offering an hour of unadulterated musical seduction! Kathleen Battle’s saintly innocence in the Wunderhorn setting of the finale is again a sheer delight!
Our rating
5
Published: January 20, 2012 at 2:36 pm