'One of the most awe-inspiringly controlled interpretations this work can ever have received….This has to be among the finest Mahler recordings ever made'
BBC Music Magazine
'This recording of Mahler's Sixth Symphony was made from performances planned long before the events of September 11 gave the San Francisco Symphony's choice of repertory extraordinary resonance. And it's a credit to both Michael Tilson Thomas and the orchestra that this ferocious performance is carried out without hysteria or self-indulgence. Tempos are judiciously chosen. In the first movement, for example, Tilson Thomas's Allegro energico, ma non troppo is only a hair's breadth slower than Bernstein's in his Vienna Philharmonic recording, yet the difference is enough to give proper weight to the march.
Indeed, the SFS strings dig very deep to produce a dark, throaty tone of startling vehemence. Ardently played and generously phrased, the 'Alma' theme provides welcome consolation – and how longingly Tilson Thomas clings to the final peaks of its melody. Gunshot-like sforzandos from the timpani introduce the scherzo, sharply etched here with stinging dotted rhythms. The trios are similarly pointed – though affectionately grazioso, as Mahler requests – and rather deliberately paced, like a long-forgotten dance now remembered in slow motion. The Andante moderato is also treated expansively, but the tension never sags. Tilson Thomas mis-steps only once in the sprawling finale, pressing too hard at the end of the introduction so that the orchestra arrives prematurely at the main tempo – a minor flaw and quickly forgiven.
A more impressive start to Tilson Thomas and the SFS's Mahler cycle is difficult to imagine. Less mannered than Bernstein, and more emotionally engaged than Karajan, this is an exceptionally intense and, under the circumstances, remarkably coherent performance that isn't to be missed. Very good sound quality, too, from the orchestra's new in-house label.'
