Kobayashi’s Mahler Seventh is the slowest since Otto Klemperer’s (though not quite so extreme) and shares many of the same virtues and vices. The first movement certainly stands as one of the finest available: cogent, never rushed, and played to the hilt by the Czech Philharmonic. The central nocturnal episode sounds especially bewitching. Nachtmusik I takes its title literally, and comes across full of velvety atmosphere despite the fact that certain moments (the central tango episode, for instance) could do with a bit more sleaze. From here on, the performance becomes less interesting. The central scherzo realizes Mahler’s “shadowy” injunction but otherwise lacks the additional parodistic grimace the music demands, and the second Nachtmusik, despite excellently balanced guitar and mandolin, takes a bit too much time, its various tempos insufficiently contrasted. Things perk up in the finale (How could they not?), and once again it’s the quality of the orchestra that makes the most positive impression at tempos that allow Kobayashi to reveal plenty of characteristic detail, even if he doesn’t show much humor in the process. The recorded sound is drop-dead gorgeous, but the conductor’s grunting and moaning really becomes bothersome. It’s an affectation Kobayashi would do well to control. Not a first recommendation, then, but an interesting performance that Mahler completists might enjoy exploring if they can find it at an acceptable price.
