Review - Symphony No. 2 (Mahler), Taiwan National Symphony Orchestra 台灣國家交響樂團, 19 May 2018

Taipei Philharmonic Chorus 台北愛樂合唱團
National Symphony Orchestra (Taiwan) 國家交響樂團(台灣)
Chen Mei-Ling 陳美玲 (soprano)
Shin I-Chiao 石易巧 (mezzo-soprano)
Günther Herbig (conductor)

I often appreciate Mahler's second symphony less than other symphonies, which probably because as a work the composer was still locating his voice despite structurally mature no doubt. Yet this performance at a broad tempo and the restrain from unleashing the sheer sonic excitements til the end, made a different impression from my past encounters. One was impressed by the acoustics of the national concert hall in Taipei at my first visit. The double bass entry at the first movement resonated in a beautiful tone with the depth. Though the woodwind was rather polite with the accents than the confident brass. The horns were unsure in coordinating with the strings, whose produced a brighter tone and more ably carried the forward momentum.

The tempo slowed to walking pace alike pondering, which made the ethereal theme less flowing yet delicate texturally. Interestingly the horns had more confidently playing at loud dynamics than soft. Herbig hold the orchestra from being bombastic at the tense climax and stayed polish only. The flute solo gathered more direction than before, but the recapitulation of the opening theme was lesser devastating than expected. It left no room for sentiments at another violent climax yet steady and blazingly bright. Dramatic intensity gradually built up with screaming parts from the brass, but losing momentum again at the return of the lyrical theme. Pondering was the impression at the coda of first movement, which also lacked the sonic depth and rather mysterious where it was heading into.

Herbig took a rather steady tempo for ländler in the second movement, but very shaky when the woodwinds nearly missed their entries. It became uncertain and soft, which was not quite the majestic impression in mind. The building of nervous tension gathered more pace but still rather loosely driven throughout the pizzicato only passage. Perhaps Herbig approached from an inward looking perspective than a lively dance. The introvert approach continued into the gallop at the beginning of third movement, which hold back the masculine and heroic excitement. There was not much differentiation in dynamics either and felt stiffly robotic. Brass fanfare restrained excitement and the following ethereal theme also was out of shape. The culmination into the devastating climax also lacked impact but a big polished sound. Again the playing felt lost when the strings had the rocking theme.


Shin I-Chiao's tender, majestic and beautiful singing in the fourth movement gathered more interest for the audio appreciation. Her switching between vocal register was smooth and seamless. Effective projection that ably filled the hall, also sustained a long phrase with good breathe control. Attaca to the explosive opening of the final movement was swift, though holding back the intensity so soon was questionable from Herbig. Then came the weakest moment of the entire evening when the woodwind made wrong entry and being sluggish. Tuning of the off stage horn was not good and on stage the winds' coordination at the syncopated passage was very messy. The produced tone became very loose while the brass played the solemn theme heavily and not flowing. Surprisingly the triumphant climax gave a reassuring lead out of the foggy playing, which the orchestra carried a better road map by playing loud than quiet. Thundering percussion with the triumphant brass gave a confident statement against death. In turn, the strings expressed sentiments on the tragic theme against the screaming winds that depicted the horror scene in last judgement.

Herbig's conducting seems pulling the orchestra away from its wildness, but it knew where heading to finally and unleashed the energy in full. The brass dialogue on the last judgment antiphons were smooth and coordinated very well with the piccolo. The chorus entry experienced a quick swell to sink into the right pitch, and some tendency to go flat while singing softly. Chen Mei-Ling's timbre lacked the youthful tone in mind and the tendency to go below the pitch. A broad tempo for the tender lyrical theme while the choir's diction was audibly covered. With such long negotiation between salvation and death it began to become repetitive and seems forever not reaching the shore. Though the vocal duet broke the cloud finally and developed into an exuberant climax. The emotions finally poured out wholeheartedly without restrain and gave a radiant finale. 

No comments:

Post a Comment