Reviews: Kirill Petrenko takes Mahler’s 9th fast and soft

An ecstatic reception of Petrenko’s Mahler Ninth with the Israel Philharmonic has been accompanied by thoughtful reviews. Petrenkko himself wrote in a programme note that he did not accept the collective conducting wisdom that the symphony is about dying. He took just 75 minutes to perform the work, quarter of an hour shorter than the more morbid Bernstein and Abbado.

Critic Omer Shomroni writes: All four movements were performed at a faster tempo than usual, especially the last movement. Petrenko led this movement in a fascinating way, emphasizing unconventional melodic lines and in a way that was very far from the sense of mourning and tragedy that can be heard in performances such as those by Bernstein and his ilk. Accordingly, one can also forget about the “larger than life” gestures in the style of Claudio Abbado or Theodore Currentzis: at the end of the movement, Petrenko held his hands in front of his body for a few seconds, then released them without making too much of a fuss. For me, the performance of this movement did not produce the usual tears but mainly amazement and appreciation….

It was truly a reconstruction – as if they had taken the familiar piece apart and put it back together. The interpretation was, admittedly, less emotional than that of the traditional performances, but very interesting and ear-opening. It was also fascinating to see Petrenko conduct: very precise and clear, with a lot of expression in his hands and face, and in a way that maintained the musical tension from the first note to the last.

Composer Oded Zehavi notes: One of the great things in the performance was the piano at the end of the piece. Magical. Nervous. Makes one shudder. Interesting that we hear more and more string playing at the soft end of the dynamic spectrum.