Mahler, Gustav
Symphony number 1
Donald Runnicles, conductor
Deutsches Symphonie Orchester Berlin
January 18, 2009
Live broadcast from Berlin Philharmonie, Grosser Saal
If you're new to the music of Gustav Mahler, start here.
If not, there is still more previously unnoticed detail to cull from his first symphony, as Runnicles brings out in a tight, bounding playpen of cacophony from the DSO Berlin.
After running around between a dozen other contenders for a favorite broadcast Mahler 1, this one beat out the pack. Barenboim's East-West youth assault had some great frisson, but so does this and with more focussed string textures to boot. Overall, the clarity of the interacting lines of sound impressed and delighted here; I hope you find as much in this interpretation as I have.
