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Montreal Symphony Orchestra and Nagano’s Mahler 7th: A Fresh Reading
By Paul Serralheiro / January 30, 2007 |  |
Via the controlled, crisp sound of the Montreal Symphony Orchestra,
Kent Nagano presented an intelligent, fresh reading of Mahler’s Seventh
Symphony on the evening of January 23, 2007, at the Salle Wilfrid
Pelletier of the Place des Arts. While not Mahler’s most esteemed work,
the Seventh symphony contains material of varied colour and shape, from
disturbing somber moments, to plaintive strains, to outbursts of joy.
The writing’s dramatic contrasts were especially evident in the
puzzling fifth movement (Rondo-Final: Allegro ordinario) which has been
condemned by past critics and audiences as incoherent and pointless—but
it sounded especially fresh and modern as delivered under Kent Nagano
by the MSO, perhaps a sign of Mahler’s writing being ahead of its
time—audiences not having been quite ready for it. To these ears, it
sounded like the discontinuous sound pastiches of John Zorn, containing
as it did the postmodern shifts of texture and meaning we are, by now,
so used to. In the simple melodic fragments that don’t go anywhere,
Nagano created interest by highlighting and dramatizing the contrast
and cutting off the fragments sharply. The contours of the klezmer-like
phrasing were accented, rather than subsumed in a more genteel
orchestral style.
Other memorable moments in the 75-minute or so performance that
featured Mahler’s symphony exclusively came in the quiet fourth
movement (Nachtmusik II: Andante amoroso) with the unusual orchestral
setting of the guitar and mandolin which filled the big hall with
intimate melodies of a sweet and sensitive nature.
Although the string playing was impeccable with quirky effects demanded
by the score, like the flapping of the strings against the neck
(resembling sudden flights of birds or the stomping of peasant dancers’
feet) where executed perfectly, the brass writing was especially
notable. From the opening tenor horn call, to the numerous horn themes,
to the intricate trumpet figures of the last movement, the MSO’s brass
was kept beautifully busy. Likewise, woodwind melodies arose lyrically
and percussion delivered a myriad of effects like the shepherd’s bells
in the third movement and the dominant chimes underscoring the
delightful cacophony of the final movement.
Kudos to Nagano and the MSO for daring to approach Mahler’s most
questionable symphony, giving it a more than respectful reading and
seeing that the “banalities” the work has been accused are the rustic
element so important in the romantic imagination, leaving this
listener, at least, with the impression that this work—often subtitled
“Song of the Night”—could be Mahler’s Pastoral symphony.
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