Harold Farberman’s Mahler Sixth was the most successful of the clutch of Mahler symphonies he recorded for Vox in the 1980s (the others were 1, 2, 4, and 5). Claiming that Mahler was generally “played too fast”, Farberman determined to set things right by leading some of the slowest performances on disc. Thankfully he did not hold this opinion about Symphony No. 6, as he leads a strongly vibrant performance with good, generally upbeat tempos in all four movements. Farberman doesn’t just keep things moving, however; he also projects the music’s passions as well as its delicate beauties through his sensitivity and vivid imagination, even if he doesn’t make the piece the emotionally enthralling experience that Bernstein and Tennstedt do.
Of course, he’s greatly aided in the realization of his conception by the London Symphony Orchestra, which offers playing of real brilliance, polish, and (from the brass) raw visceral power. The strings conjure up considerable tension in the first movement and remarkable fury in the finale (if not on the hysterical order of Karajan’s Berliners). The winds do their part too, playing with much color and poignancy in the inner movements. Interestingly, the order of these two movements was reversed (Andante followed by Scherzo) when the recording was originally released on LP, with Farberman expressing his preference for Mahler’s later thoughts. The current liner notes claim that this recording is now based on the “critical edition” even though it retains the third hammer blow (and boy, do they whack it!) from the first version.
The truth is, none of this really matters as you can program your CD player for any old order you choose. What’s important is that this is a really fine performance available at a really good price. The large acoustic recording, though low-level, captures the full range of the orchestra, with good balances and some impressive bass transients. The only drawback is the somewhat bodiless and glassy early digital sound.
