MAHLER: Symphony No. 5 in C minor (plus complete Audite Catalog) – Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra/ Raphael Kubelik – Audite 10.020 (originally 95.465), 71:32 **** [Distr. by Albany]:
There is a reason that Raphael Kubelik has such a tremendous Mahlerite following and this disc shows why. I myself have not been all that familiar with his many Mahler recordings over the years mainly because of the problems inherent in the recordings themselves—DGG’s sound from these years (1960-70s) is woefully lacking in any true bass presence, and this is something that, while tolerable with some other composers, is death to Mahler. Even though I own and admire Karajan’s reading of the Fifth, it too suffers from this same malady, and artificially boosting the bass just doesn’t cut it.
Nevertheless, Kubelik has a rightful reputation for his work in this genre, and to avoid him completely because of sonic issues is a mistake to anyone who loves this composer. While none of his renderings individually soar into first place, there is a certain rightness about his interpretations that almost belie criticism; one can struggle mightily to assert the many vicissitudes and variability in interpretation that make the best Mahler recordings truly great, but it is equally difficult to achieve a consistent excellence over all of the canonical nine. I cannot let this current issue take the place of Bernstein/Vienna, Tilson-Thomas/SFSO, or Abbado’s wonderful DVD reading with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra, but it will occupy an honored place for its virtue of reliability. Though he veers neither to the right nor to the left, Kubelik is able to present us with a fiery and luxuriously radiant account of this work that is pleasing on all levels.
The sound, recorded live in Munich in 1981, is miles beyond anything DGG was ever to give him; there is a rich bass presence and clear beautiful highs, with all the clarity one could want. The Bavarians play with finesse and passion (and very few mistakes) that makes this equal to a studio effort.
I do have a complaint about Audite’s repackaging; this is a re-release of a previous issue that includes an Audite catalog, but no notes and no individual track timings. I don’t know if they are offering this cheaper or not in this format. Fortunately they are also offering all of the symphonies and Das Lied with the exception of No. 4, and No. 8 is a SACD. These are well worth checking out, and preferable to his studio efforts, for the sound and other reasons.
— Steven Ritter
