Now reissued on a single CD, Chailly’s Mahler Tenth has certainly withstood the test of time since its original release in 1988. Simon Rattle’s new Berlin recording offers perhaps a more highly inflected, characterful performance, but Chailly has both the better playing and sound, and this pays particular dividends in the dark, rich string textures of the opening and closing movements. Both Rattle and Chailly use Deryck Cooke’s revised performing version (Chailly sticks to it more literally than does Rattle), and this remains the edition of choice. Recent releases of other completion attempts, including a pretty ghastly one by Remo Mazzetti, only confirm the excellence of Cooke’s work. I remain firmly convinced that with a little retouching (the addition of some genuinely Mahlerian percussion parts and a harder, more wind-based sonority in the second movement), we could have an even more authentic Mahler sound while retaining the lion’s share of Cooke’s achievement. Until someone reissues Wynn Morris’ wonderful Philharmonia recording (the best thing that erratic but interesting conductor ever did and now unavailable to Philips due to a licensing problem), Chailly and Rattle offer the best way to go if you’re looking for a complete Tenth.
