This is one of the best examples of mood programming I’ve ever seen. The gentle, exotic strains of Debussy’s Prelude to the Afternoon of a Faun carry us aloft and leave us in a dreamy haze so that the dark stirrings of Schoenberg’s Transfigured Night steal in almost unnoticed. We soon find ourselves engulfed in a passionate love triangle, but one that ends in a peaceful resolution. Or does it? The opening passages of Mahler’s Adagio are so full of questioning that they leave room for doubt. And no matter how earnestly the cloying main theme tries to convince us, we remain doubtful until the searing chord at the climax cleanses away all that went before, leaving peaceful acceptance in its wake.
Sounds good in theory, but in practice? Well, Fritz Rucker’s flute playing in the Debussy is dreamy enough, as is Otmar Suitner’s accompaniment with the Dresden Staatskapelle. Schoenberg’s sextet benefits from marvelous string playing by the Leipzeg Gewandhaus Orchestra, but conductor George Sebastian is far too restrained in the climax. This problem afflicts the Mahler as well: the main body of the movement proceeds wonderfully (with some beautiful wind playing), but the impact of the climactic passage is diminished by limited dynamics, and what sounds like an oboe where there should be a piercing, wailing trumpet. But this nitpicking misses the point. Of course, there are superior versions available for each of the individual works, but the idea here is the combo, and like a Big Mac, fries, and Coke, this one works pretty well. Give this to your classical music novice friends, and they’ll be pleased.
