Mahler: Symphonies 1-10; Das Lied von der Erdeby Anonymous

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March 17, 2006: My curiosity about this set was piqued to a fever pitch by David Hurwitz's review of it on the Classics Today website, although I'd heard about (but never actually heard) some of the individual recordings over the years. Having digested the entire 11-CD set, recorded between 1984 and 1991, I find myself both agreeing with Hurwitz--who called it the finest cycle available, all things considered-- and with James Leonard on this website, who suggested that it may not be for everybody. Rather than following the emotive and perhaps exaggerated approach of Leonard Bernstein or the fiery, dramatic example of Georg Solti, the late Gary Bertini was a "cooler" exponent of Mahler along the lines of Rafael Kubelik or, as Leonard mentioned, Eliahu Inbal. Listeners who need (or think they need) a Mahler brimming with neurotic angst may be disappointed that Bertini usually chooses to suggest the angst rather than explicitly state it. But even in Mahler, a less overt approach can pay major dividends, and what we have here are enormous but cohesive symphonic canvases rather than fireworks displays. I completed listening to this set with a feeling of refreshment and a renewed appreciation of this composer's mastery, thanks in part to Bertini's skill at delineating both the big picture and the details that help comprise it. In contrast to other complete sets, which usually contain at least one relatively dull patch, Bertini hits a home run each time he's at bat. He receives invaluable assistance from his orchestra and from the WDR engineers, who produce sound that approximates what you would hear in a concert hall (eschewing the extreme dynamic contrasts contrived by the recording teams on other Mahler discs). There are some minor blemishes--a detail here and there that could have gotten more pointed emphasis, some inconsistencies from the generally fine vocal soloists in the Eighth Symphony and "Das Lied von der Erde," and now and then a sense that the conductor is treating Mahler just as a Late Romantic, a man of his time, rather than holding him up as a prophet of the forthcoming century--but on the whole you're grateful for a maestro who for a change allows this music to speak for itself.