Czech Philharmonic returns to Mahler
mainThe orchestra has unrolled its first Semyon Bychkov season.
The season will open and close with Mahler – 2nd and 9th symphonies – with Berio’s Mahlerian Sinfonia in between.
The Czech Phil has long shed the Mahler reputation it acquired under Ancerl and Neumann in the 1960s. This season marks a return.
I lived in Prague for three years (2014-17) and saw Belohlavek conduct #1, #2, #5 (his last CPO appearance), and Das Lied. And they also played #4 (with Ticciati, I think) that I missed. So it looks like they played Mahler about as much as most orchestras; 1-2 works a year. Hearing Mahler in the tiny Rudolfinum is an experience.
They’ll be playing Mahler 2 at Carnegie Hall next fall; hopefully elsewhere on tour, too; if Bychkov can get them away from playing New World on nearly every other tour concert, that would be progress, too.
Not only did the Czech Phil. give the world premiere of Mahler 7 in Prague (with Mahler conducting, of course), they’ve also made four commercial recordings of the work. Three of them are on the excellent sounding Canyon Classics label from Japan: Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi, Zdenek Macal and – best of all! – Eliahu Inbal. These came after the complete Mahler cycle with Vaclav Neumann on Supraphon. Good stuff, for certain.
You didn’t mention the other noteworthy bit: Sir Simon will be making his Czech Philharmonic debut – and conducting Das Lied (with Mme. Rattle). I can see him falling hard for this orchestra; hopefully it will be the start of a beautiful friendship.
I lived in Prague from 1994-99 and continued to live in the Czech Republic for nearly 20 years. I was assistant conductor to Jiri Belohlavek at the Prague National Theatre, and I still regularly visit the Czech Philharmonic where I worked twice as assistant conductor to Sir Charles Mackerras and additionally with Sir John Eliot Gardiner, and I must refute your claim that “the Czech Phil has long shed the Mahler reputation it acquired under Ancerl and Neumann in the 1960s”. I saw countless performances of Mahler led by conductors such as Libor Pesek, Ken-Ichiro Kobayashi, Eliahu Inbal, Gert Albrecht, Zdenek Macal, Jiri Belohlavek, Vladimir Ashkenazy, and even Vaclav Neumann (as you mentioned, but still into 1994). They even recorded another complete set of Mahler symphonies for the Japanese lable Pony Canyon during the 90s. Perhaps we should allow their librarian to chime in with a more thorough account, but I would go so far as to bet that during the 1990s, the Czech Philharmonic was performing more Mahler than most orchestras anywhere else in the world. They have always maintained their tradition of performing Mahler in Prague.
you are right . Every Orchestra plays Mahler continuously for the last 50 years or so.
And some, like the Vienna Philharmonic, for much longer. Reminds me of the myth that Bernstein was responsible for a Mahler renaissance. A myth that was debunked with good information by Norman Lebrecht in his book The Maestro Myth.
Bernstein may not have been responsible for Mahler’s profile. Kubelik was recording all his symphonies and Otto Klemerer and Sir John Barbirolli were recording some of them, but as a teenager, it was through Bernstein that I encountered Mahler for the first time. I remember buying a Sunday Times offer of the first and fourth symphonies by Bernstein and one of Bruno Walter’s recodings of Das Lied von der Erde all in a box set, when I was about sixteen years of age..
I think Bernstein’s profile greatly assisted the renaissance even if he wasn’t solely responsible. I for one, will always be grateful to Lenny for that.
Ah, my father (who was not very musical) bought that Sunday Times box for me because he could see my growing passion for orchestral music. I think I grew out of all the performances but the set was a milestone in my development.
And for each program-eating Mahler performance, 3 or 4 equally worthy or superior works reamain unplayed and unknown. Time to stop the overplaying of this conductor/egotist music.
I agree; Mahler sucks up all the oxygen in the room. And it’s overblown. I’m an advocate of the “less is more” philosophy and Mahler and Bruckner just don’t fit that bill. On and on and on they ramble…..come to the point, both of you!!!
I find Ravel a good antidote to too much Mahler. Short exquisite compositions. I do like Maher though.
I have similar reservations about Mahler’s Symphonies. Too much drama, and usually I don’t buy it. But I love his songs – no problems with overblown scale there.
While Mahler may be over-exposed, there’s a reason for it: audiences love it. Regardless, I’m happy to hear/see the Czech Phil. play Mahler at any time, because they play him very much in a way that you yourself might even like: less over-blown. (outstanding woodwinds!).
a correction to my list of conductors I saw leading Mahler in Prague: Inbal’s Mahler 1st in 1994 was more likely with the Prague Symphony (FOK). That orchestra was performing in the same hall (Rudolfinum) as the Czech Philharmonic that year.
Mahler is fantastically great but after listening to him for 40 years can we hear some Dvorak, Tchaikosky, Mendelsohn, Strauss….?
can we hear some Dvorak, Tchaikosky, Mendelsohn, Strauss….?
Where can you NOT hear Dvorak, Tchaik., Mendelssohn and Strauss? . . . For starters, Sirius XM plays a lot of those composers and little Mahler. Second, the Czech Phil. plays tons of Dvorak (that’s obvious). Third, the Czech. Phil. has, indeed, been recording Tchaikovsky with Bychkov for Decca (excellent “Manfred”, by the way). Fourth, how often do we have to hear the Mendelssohn “Italian”, “Scotch”, “Hebrides Overture”, violin concerto (yes, it’s a great one), or the suite from “Midsummer Night’s Dream”?
And if you like Mendelssohn, there’s an wonderful recording of the nearly complete “M.S.N.D.” incidental music with John Elliot Gardner on the LSO Live label.
One of the finest performances of a Mahler symphony I have ever heard was given by CPO/Belohlavek on Good Friday 2015. There was no sense the orchestra was in any way unfamiliar with the notes or the style!
Apologies – I should have made clear it was the Second Symphony
I heard that performance. The orchestra clearly know their Mahler, and what I liked about Belohlavek was simply that it was a case of a great musician who knew how to conduct music. And Bernarda Fink’s “Urlicht” prompted a rare “Who is THAT?”
Ah, she is a very special singer. And you are absolutely right about Belohlavek. Sadly it was the last time I heard him conduct live. But I will treasure memories of Tristan and Rusalka at Glyndebourne as well as many BBCSO concerts.
Sorry, just for a second I thought you were referring to an opera called “Tristan and Rusalka.” 🙂
Bruce, it’s a great opera, especially Tristan’s ‘Howl at the Moon’ in the 2nd act 🙂
To Bill: obviously in the version edited by Hugo Wolf!
Exton recorded the orchestra well but was very conservative with repertoire. Inbal performed Dvořák, Janáček and Martinů at an excellent concert but Exton only seem to have issued him in Mahler works which they had already recorded with Neumann, Ashkenazy and Kobayashi. I hope someone can issue the other performances which were certainly recorded for broadcast.