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Published on 5/17/08
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There’s an odd analogy about Mahler’s music in classical circles: If it were a child, it would scream at great length that it’s dying. For all the hyperbole, the Ninth Symphony speaks to that characterization: At the time he composed this work, Mahler’s heart disease was worsening and one of his daughters had succumbed to diphtheria. This symphony thrives on tragic swagger, and Rattle and the Berlin Philharmonic’s latest recording of it supplies all the harrowing drama.
From the big, rugged sounds in the basses and cellos, you can imagine the sharp, rocky facades of the Höllengebirge mountains that surrounded Mahler’s composing hut a century ago. Climaxes build under whispered dynamics so that horns and violins explode with maddening intensity. The livelier movements midway through feel unstoppable; the Rondo-Burleske third movement unfurls with fury. Next is the all-conquering Adagio, which at first seems to crawl along; a few listens later, you see Rattle is juicing every bit of detail from the score. He convinces that this slow movement shouldn’t be heard any other way.
One aesthetic quibble involves the chilly tone of the strings, which could benefit from more of the same fireside warmth of the previous Berlin Phil conductor, Herbert von Karajan. Still, few conductors today deserve a landmark Mahler recording more than Rattle. A longtime worshipper at the altar of Gustav, Rattle’s already recorded a complete symphony cycle. His other Ninth with the Vienna Philharmonic had some sound-balancing issues, but that’s nicely amended here. This is Mahler’s last complete symphony, and Rattle makes his exit a grand one.
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