The camera kindly offers a close-up view of exactly what is wrong with this decent but ultimately unmemorable performance of Mahler’s Fifth. At the climax of the second movement, the tam-tam player gives his instrument a graceful whack and then immediately damps the sound. The problem is that Mahler marks the part triple-forte, “let it ring”. Why is it that conductors so often simply refuse to do what the score demands? It’s a mystery, and the result here, however well-played it may be (and a certain lack of corporate personality and somewhat timid brass aside, the Lucerne Festival Orchestra is very good), is a performance lacking in character and intensity.
The first two movements probably suffer the most in this regard. Abbado phrases the opening of the funeral march very expressively, but the eruptive outbursts fail to surge as they should, and the second movement, whose ferocity should sound threatening, comes across as poised when it should give the impression of immanent catastrophe. Abbado’s lightweight approach keeps the scherzo moving well, but it misses the twilit atmosphere in the central trio section and seems intent on avoiding any hint of underlying darkness. The approach works best in the last two movements. Taking note of current opinion, Abbado has speeded up the Adagietto to a mere eight-and-a-half minutes (his first recording with Chicago on DG took nearly 12), and his gentle approach serves the finale quite well, though the brass don’t exactly blaze in the final chorale.
So the performance gets better as it goes, and I have to give due credit to the very good playing as such, but there’s still more to this symphony than Abbado permits us to hear. The sonics are very good for a DVD production. Picture format is 16:9 anamorphic, and sound options offered include PCM Stereo, Dolby 5.1, and DTS 5.1. As a “bonus” you can switch to the “conductor camera” and “experience” Claudio Abbado from the orchestra’s perspective. I tried it and immediately regretted the experiment. Talented Abbado may be, but photogenic–no way. In sum, this must have been a decent concert event, but it’s not a performance worthy of being preserved for posterity. Let’s not forget that this is Abbado’s third recording of this symphony, and none of them constitutes a top recommendation.
