Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Symphony No 9 (1909)
Columbia Symphony Orchestra/Bruno Walter
rec. 16, 18, 28 & 30 January and 2 & 6 February 1961, American Legion Hall, Hollywood, California, USA
Reviewed as stereo, digital downloads
High Definition Tape Transfers HDTT22813 [81]

Gustav Mahler (1860-1911)
Symphony No 9 (1909)
coupled with Mahler Symphony No 1
Columbia Symphony Orchestra/Bruno Walter
rec. 16, 18, 28 & 30 January & 2 & 6 February 1961, American Legion Hall, Hollywood, California, USA
Reviewed as stereo, digital downloads
Pristine Audio PASC 376 [2 CDs: 82 + 53 (Symphony No 1)]

This famous account has long been a reference recording because, as the HDTT blurb succinctly puts it, “it offers emotional depth, technical clarity, and a unique historical perspective since Walter was closely associated with Mahler’s music during his lifetime.” It was of course Mahler’s friend and disciple Bruno Walter who premiered this symphony the year after the composer’s death, so one can hardly ask for a more authentic pedigree.

I thought it would be salutary to compare the digital downloads from two labels, both renowned for the quality of their remastering. Furthermore, having been profoundly moved by my experience of Herbert Blomstedt’s performance directing the Philharmonia in the Royal Festival Hall last month, I still have the power and beauty of the music running through my head and was curious to compare the interpretation of two great conductors.

As well as the range of downloads offered by both labels, double CD sets in physical form are also available. HDTT’s prices are considerably less but the costs are hardly comparable, in that Pristine has coupled this Ninth with Walter’s stereo recording of Mahler’s First Symphony made at the same time, whereas the HDTT set contains only the Ninth. I note that every movement in the Pristine issue is of a few seconds more duration, hence the slight discrepancy of a minute or so in the total timings; I assume this is the result of a slight difference in pitch but do not know – and in any case the variation is too slight to be of significance over eighty-odd minutes.

Walter’s first recording made in 1938 has been variously reviewed on MusicWeb and my colleague John Quinn very thoroughly reviewed this Pristine issue in 2013, comparing the two versions. Tony Duggan also favourably reviewed the Sony issue back in the year 2000 as part of his survey of recordings of the work – though he expressed some mild regret “that Walter didn’t linger more over the closing pages, keeping instead a single-minded concentration to the end just as he did in 1938.” JQ, too, has some reservations, but this time over Walter’s choice of tempo for the opening Ländler in the Scherzo, finding it “ponderous”. I refer you to both reviews for detailed enlightenment; here, I am rather more than usual focusing on the comparable sonic qualities of these two remasterings.

Let me first state unequivocally that both are very enjoyable and highly listenable. However, there are differences. Pristine have tamed the inherent tape hiss rather more without compromising definition and to my ears, despite this being a studio recording made over several sessions, have reproduced a broader, warmer, concert hall ambience. The HDTT version is identifiably “vintage stereo” with more highlighting of individual desks and a hint of fuzzy overload in forte passages. I thus have a distinct preference for the Pristine remastering, which is easier and more natural on the ear, but not as raw and immediate in impact as HDTT’s. That difference is noticeable right from the start when the muted horn snarls a five note figure over the harp and stuttering strings – but I stress: both are very fine; both preserve and deliver a great recording.

Walter’s manner in the first movement is steady, sombre and inexorable; he generates enormous power at the first climax beginning around 2:40 where he probes the psychological wound deeply and again, the second climax seven minutes in is frightening in its intensity. Despite his being 85 years old, not for one moment does one feel his concentration slip. This is very far from being the interpretation of an enfeebled veteran just going through the motions; there is no indication of waning strength – yet Walter died just a year later. Clearly, too, the extensive rehearsals and extended number of takes allowed for in the recording programme resulted in extraordinarily homogeneous and error-free playing by an orchestra which in one sense was a “pick-up band” – having at its core free-lancers and players from either the New York Philharmonic or the Los Angeles Philharmonic, depending on whether Columbia was recording on the East or West Coast. The deliberateness of his beat does not impede the creation of an enormous sense of release and momentum in the eery central passage around twenty-minutes in, with the thunderous timpani, bells and tam-tam all hammering out the funereal theme. Yet the coda is as serene and reposeful as if the previous turmoil had never been.

I am of JQ’s judgement that the opening to the second movement is simply too deliberate, but there is a kind of pleasure to be derived from its gawky, ironic insistence. It is something of a riot, in fact and more overtly rumbustious than any other interpretation I know. On its own terms, it’s great fun; I find myself swept along by it and it’s hard to resist smiling while listening to Walter’s gung-ho embrace of its wit and triumphant vulgarity. The new clarity of Andrew Rose’s XR Remastering materially enhances its effect, too.

That energy is sustained into and through the third movement. The orchestra emerge victorious, surmounting its fiendish technical difficulties with real élan – this is thrilling playing, the perfect foil to the long goodbye of the finale.

Walter eschews sentimentality in that last movement; in fact, his opening phrases, while sonorous and singing, are surprisingly driven – we are still in the grip of a struggle, postponing readiness and resignation while continuing to “rage against the dying of the light”. I am struck by the resonance and prominence of the double basses’ line here, almost constantly present like the grumbling of a mighty giant. They are certainly present in the original recording and in the HDTT issue, but Pristine has given them additional presence, which adds to the grandeur. Only halfway through the movement does Walter loosen his steely grip, allowing elements of pity and nostalgia to intertwine with the grinding dissonances and temper the heartbreak, then the great brass chorale beginning at 13:30 just builds and builds without interruption over eight of the greatest minutes in recording history, culminating in a transcendent conclusion of poignant, breathtaking beauty.

I believe Mahler’s Ninth is often cited as the “conductor’s favourite” in surveys and every lover of this symphony should experience this recording. For me, Pristine’s is the best option for doing so.

Ralph Moore

Availability: High Definition Tape Transfers and Pristine Classical