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What stunning sound the BBC engineers achieved for their live broadcast of Valery Gergiev's Mahler 8 with the London Symphony Orchestra this evening. Yes, the close miking of the instruments necessitated by the very long resonance of the building was evident. But St Paul's Cathedral is one of the most difficult spaces in the world both to perform and record in, and the BBC Radio 3 technicians produced some of the best sound I have heard from my B & W Nautilus 803 loudspeakers for a long time. Valery Gergiev's operatic approach to symphonies is not usually to my taste, but it worked a treat with Mahler's flawed but exhilarating Eighth. Quite unmissable radio, catch it for the next seven days here.
One of the talking heads introducing the performance recounted how the work fell out of favour after Mahler's death and how surprising it was that the work was considered for a time to be lacking the genius of the composer's other symphonies. Well that is a view that some fine musicians still hold today. Have you ever heard Bernard Haitink conduct Mahler 8 in a concert?
Yes, he did record it for Philips in 1971 as part of a complete cycle of the symphonies with the Concertgebouw Orchestra and I think there was a Berlin performance captured on video. But the reason why concert performances by Haitink of the Symphony of a Thousand are rarer than the proverbial hen's teeth is just the cost and logistical challenges of performing it. But presumably he will give it a very rare performance as part of his Chicago Symphony Mahler cycle?
My header image is a scan of the box of the original Decca vinyl LP release of Solti's Mahler 8 which was recorded in Vienna's Sofiensaal with the Chicago Symphony in 1971. Now that recording is the original long ride in a fast machine, and although I also have the CD transfer the original vinyl pressings sound far superior. Fascinating that Solti recorded Mahler in Vienna with an orchestra from Chicago, could it have been because of this?
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Swings and roundabouts day. Elsewhere an interesting and topical thread that leads from Hugo Chávez and Gustavo Dudamel to Vladimir Putin and Valery Gergiev. Could we be coming at the same problem from different directions? Or should Gergiev spend more time rehearsing and less time politicking? While a thoughtful comment on a related Overgrown Path takes us to a music blog that is new to me, and has some interesting things to say.
The challenges facing the new nations of the former-Soviet Union have featured here frequently, and a year ago I wrote about the music of the Latvian composer Peteris Vasks. Recently I have been very moved by a new Ondine CD of his choral music sung by the Latvian Radio Choir with the Sinfonietta Riga directed by Sigvards Klava (header image). Vasks' music has never been inaccessible; but this new release is particularly approachable, and should appeal both to contemporary music aficionados and to those whose interest is great sacred music across the centuries.
And more musical engagement with the former Soviet Union here.
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They may have been queuing for returns for Gergiev's Mahler. But .......
Let's be thankful. At least he caught his plane.
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A reader in Paris tells me that Valery Gergiev (left) failed to conduct a performance of Lohengrin at the Opéra National de Paris at the Bastille last night due to travel problems. Dresden born Michael Güttler deputised at the last minute and made a big impact. Güttler is a very talented young conductor who is making a career out of picking up the ball in Wagner after Gergiev has dropped it - he first came to prominence when he deputised for Gergiev in the Ring and Parsifal at the Marinsky in 2003.
An apocryphal story tells how Herbert von Karajan gets into a waiting limousine in Vienna during his time with the State Opera there, and the driver asks him where he wants to go. "It does not matter", he responds, "I'm wanted everywhere." What a shame that forty years on maestros are still admired for the tempi of their travel arrangements rather than the tempi of their performances.
There is now legal protection which gives passengers a refund when a plane is late or cancelled in the EU. How about a similar refund to concert-goers for no-show conductors and soloists to focus attention on travel planning? Other examples from readers of jet-set musicians finding the boarding gate closed will be published here. Meanwhile I suspect Michael Güttler will be getting a lot more career opportunities courtesy of galloping Gergiev.
Now see Karajan's private jet and motor-bike
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The following correction was printed in the Guardian's Corrections and clarifications column, February 1 2007 - 'The newly appointed principal conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra is Valery Gergiev, not Valerie Gergiev (See A great song and dance - something for everyone as South Bank reopens, January 26, Page 9).'
Now read more about Gergiev's gender bending week here.
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The excellent ionarts reports 'Teenage composer Jay Greenberg's honeymoon with the press is over' and links to my recent article. While Anthony Holden's Observer review today suggests jet set maestro Valery Gergiev's honeymoon with the London press was over before it even started.
Bag-eyed, straggle-haired and in his usual hurry, he finally made his much-heralded, once-postponed entrance. On giant screens to each side of the stage, a 'new era' was proclaimed by the London Symphony Orchestra as the dynamic Russian maestro Valery Gergiev (picture above) finally embarked on his new role as its chief conductor.
Had he surrendered even one of his half-dozen other jobs to give this lustrous appointment the attention that is its due, he might well have been hailed as a thrilling catch for one of the world's finest orchestras - lending it a commercial glamour it has not known since the days of Andre Previn, with a heft worthy of the successor to Colin Davis. As it is, the honeymoon somehow felt over before the marriage had even begun.
Now the LSO's president, Davis (photo below) will still be spending as many weeks per year with the orchestra, to the point of leading it on 
overseas tours, as Gergiev is scheduled to conduct concerts. Will his reputation for haste and lateness, not to mention workaholic indisposition, see bass player Michael Francis constantly stepping in to lead rehearsals, even concerts, as in Russia last year and at the BBC's recent Gubaidulina weekend? Will Gergiev really steward the LSO's continuing evolution, as is surely his job description, or merely drop in from time to time to give us the odd Slavic thrill?
If his debut had been a football match, it would have been deemed a concert of two halves. The first was loud, garish and nothing if not boldly original; the second was contrastingly trad, user-friendly and several notches classier. Gergiev will have to pull off the latter act in a wider range of repertoire to convince the doubters that he is more than merely the dreamchild of the LSO's marketing department.
Read the full Observer review here. And learn more about jet setting in the Vienna Philharmonic in perpetual motion
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The BBC Symphony Orchestra's 2007 January Composer Weekend focuses on the music of Sofia Gubaidulina (left). A Journey of the Soul celebrates the remarkable composer in a weekend of orchestral, choral and chamber music, films and talks, including the chance to hear the composer in conversation. The dates are January 14 to 17, and the ten events include performances of Gubaidulina's complete string quartets, and Valery Gergiev conducting the London Symphony Orchestra in three of the composer's orchestral works. Full programmes via this link. More details from the BBC website, including downloads of Gubaidulina's music.
Now read about another remarkable composer - Ruth Schonthal.
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This morning brings the news that the Russian Valery Gergiev is to take the baton from Sir Colin Davis as Principal Conductor of the London Symphony Orchestra in January 2007. Sir Colin is to become President of the LSO, and thanks heavens will continue his close association with the orchestra. In Pliable's book Sir Colin is one of the few musicians with teeth around today, and he is a conductor par excellence as well.
Valery Gergiev is something of a legend in his own lifetime, and works closely with most leading orchestras worldwide. He is best known for leading the Mariinsky Theatre in St Petersburg through the tumultuous period of the collapse of the Soviet Union, and remains as its Artistic and General Director. He will retain his positions at the New York Met and Rotterdam Philharmonic.
The appointment of Gergiev as Principal Conductor is something of a coup for the LSO which inevitably will face upheaval as its long serving manager Clive Gillinson leaves in July 2005 to become Executive and Artistic Director of the Carnegie Hall in New York. Gergiev will undoubtedly add excitement and quality to the London orchestra scene. It is a shame though that the growth of the Early Music music ensembles seems to be causing a concentration of specialists in the the late romantic repertoire in charge of our major symphony orchestras. Hopefully specialisation will not lead to fragmentation. I hope I'm too young to say 'in the old days', but Sir Thomas Beecham was pretty damn good in Mozart as well as Richard Strauss. And Sir Colin Davis' recordings of Haydn Symphonies with the 'modern' Concertgebouw are something to treasure.
I can't help but finish with a quote from Beecham from the days when the conductor's life was a little less jet set, and there were fewer specialists around.....
'There are two golden rules for an orchestra: start together and finish together. The public doesn't give a damn what goes on in between.'
Update - it has emerged that because of his present recording contract Gergiev cannot record for the LSO Live label. This must be a major blow to the orchestra's own label as Sir Colin Davis' recordings with it such as Berlioz's The Trojans have been award winners. But on the other hand it may be a secret relief to incoming LSO Managing Director Kathryn McDowell . Sources suggest that the LSO Live label is unprofitable, and Gergiev's inability to record on it may give a the management a good reason to wind it down - see my post More on musician run record labels.
If you enjoyed this post you may like My first classical record
Any copyrighted material on these pages is included as "fair use", for the purpose of study, review or critical analysis only, and will be removed at the request of copyright owner(s). Report broken links, missing images and errors to - overgrownpath at hotmail dot co dot uk
