There are two problems that need to be overcome in presenting the 1893, five-movement version of Mahler’s First Symphony (here also billed as “Titan: Symphonic Poem in Two Parts”). First, it’s impossible to discount the far more effective orchestration of the final version, evocative and original though Mahler’s earlier thoughts undeniably are. Second, no performance of this version compares with the best of the revised one, and this new release is no exception. It’s a thoroughly professional but completely unremarkable run-through.
Aside from a first-movement introduction that’s a touch too quick, Jan Willem de Vriend leads a lively performance, and the orchestra plays well. Granted, there’s some excessive timidity from the horns in the scherzo and at the outset of the finale (though this is partly a function of the less effective scoring), but otherwise the interpretation makes little impression beyond its basic fluency. Its chief value, therefore, lies in the fact that it presents Mahler’s earlier thoughts with intelligence and clarity, but that’s about it. The SACD sonics also aren’t special: clean enough, but also somewhat boomy (check out the timpani at the start of the scherzo) and unkind to the woodwind section in the tuttis. So nothing terribly wrong, but nothing remarkable either.
