Teodor Currentzis:
“Mahler’s magic is that he takes elements we all know and present to us a beauty we did not see. He does not build upon a base of novel or strange ideas, musical or otherwise, to create his universe. He takes very ascetic forms, and on those he crafts something entirely magical.”
The New York Times, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim
Mahler’s darkest symphony takes on destructive force in this shock-and-awe recording by Mr. Currentzis, whose cult following is only likely to widen. In the tension between discipline and impulsive violence of this first movement, you can hear a kinship with Shostakovich and the music inspired by the 20th century’s cataclysms.
The Guardian, Erica Jeal
Currentzis shapes the music in forensic detail, luxuriating in an orchestra full of wind soloists who never seem to need to breathe. From those crisp opening thuds onwards, this doesn’t seem like a performance that is conceived on any kind of long-form scale, and yet the catharsis at the end, as defeat is snatched from the jaws of victory, is certainly there.
“Mahler’s magic is that he takes elements we all know and present to us a beauty we did not see. He does not build upon a base of novel or strange ideas, musical or otherwise, to create his universe. He takes very ascetic forms, and on those he crafts something entirely magical.”
The New York Times, Corinna da Fonseca-Wollheim
Mahler’s darkest symphony takes on destructive force in this shock-and-awe recording by Mr. Currentzis, whose cult following is only likely to widen. In the tension between discipline and impulsive violence of this first movement, you can hear a kinship with Shostakovich and the music inspired by the 20th century’s cataclysms.
The Guardian, Erica Jeal
Currentzis shapes the music in forensic detail, luxuriating in an orchestra full of wind soloists who never seem to need to breathe. From those crisp opening thuds onwards, this doesn’t seem like a performance that is conceived on any kind of long-form scale, and yet the catharsis at the end, as defeat is snatched from the jaws of victory, is certainly there.