Neither of these performances, I believe, have been released before, nor did Hans Rosbaud record these works commercially. Unfortunately, the sound is wretched. To my ears the Mahler Fourth sounds like a 30th-generation copy of a broadcast aircheck preserved on damaged tape. That’s a pity, because the performance, or rather what you can hear of it, is really excellent. The first movement takes off at a light and breezy clip, yet Rosbaud allows plenty of expressive wiggle room for his warm, responsive string section in the movement’s tender moments. The god-awful violin soloist in the second movement lacerates the ears, but if you’re brave enough to endure the sonic muck, the remaining movements are intelligently paced and lyrically sustained. The Brahms Alto Rhapsody sounds a little bit better, which is not saying much. Aside from soloist Ingmar Barth’s rich timbre and sensitive phrasing, the orchestra and chorus are nothing to write home about. Perhaps Wergo will unearth the Mahler Fourth mastertape for release in its series of excellently documented Rosbaud material. This review, of course, is not going to stop incurable Mahler archivists or Rosbaud fanatics from buying this disc. But don’t say I didn’t warn you!
