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Daniele Gatti and the Orchestre National de France put on an impeccable performance of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony as part of the Mahler Cycle in Paris. Photo © Radio France: Christophe Abramowitz |
Many of the world’s great cities are celebrating (if that is not too joyous a word) the hundredth anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s death in 2011, and Paris is no …
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Daniele Gatti and the Orchestre National de France put on an impeccable performance of Mahler’s Sixth Symphony as part of the Mahler Cycle in Paris. Photo © Radio France: Christophe Abramowitz |
Many of the world’s great cities are celebrating (if that is not too joyous a word) the hundredth anniversary of Gustav Mahler’s death in 2011, and Paris is no exception. Daniele Gatti and the Orchestre National de France are now more than halfway through their complete cycle of Mahler’s symphonies at the Châtelet Theater.
The enormous orchestra required for the performance of the Sixth Symphony (composed between 1903 and 1904) last week completely filled the deep Châtelet stage and included unusual instruments like cowbells and a hammer, the latter needed to deliver the shattering blows of fate that punctuate the final movement, awakening the more somnolent members of the audience with a start.
This symphony is known as “The Tragic” because it was Mahler’s first symphony to end in resignation (the First, Second, Third and Fifth Symphonies all conclude triumphantly, while the Fourth leaves the listener in a state of serene repose). The Sixth is certainly dark and intense throughout, even in the second movement, a Scherzo (literally meaning joke) during which very few laughs are to be had. But the sheer scale of the work (it lasts 80 minutes) allows the audience to immerse itself in the extraordinary sound world of Mahler’s orchestration, something that shocked a number of his contemporaries, including Richard Strauss (himself not averse to huge orchestral sounds), but thrilled others, such as Alban Berg, who pays homage to the symphony in his Three Pieces for Orchestra (opus 6).
Although the Châtelet theater’s acoustics are not ideal for such large orchestral forces, the performance by Gatti and his orchestra was impeccable. Ably and energetically led by violinist Sarah Nemtanu, who displayed her own skills with some beautiful solo lines, all sections of the orchestra were on fine form, and Gatti managed to elicit wonderful playing, perhaps most movingly from the string section in the glorious slow third movement.
The symphony was prefaced by a superb performance of Mahler’s Rückert Lieder by the German baritone Matthias Goerne, who is a regular performer in Paris, most recently in the title role in Hindemith’s Mathis der Maler at the Bastille Opera House. Goerne’s extraordinary breath control and sumptuous tone were tested to the limit by Gatti’s slow tempi, but he succeeded admirably, save for a quick snatched breath in the middle of the final word (“Mitternacht”) of the final song. His performance of the moving “Ich bin der welt abhanden gekommen” was magnificent: beautiful and profound.
Gatti’s Mahler cycle continues with Symphony no. 7 (my least favorite of the 10) on March 31, the ecstatic choral Symphony no. 8 on June 10, the darkly reflective no. 9 on September 15, “Das Lied von der Erde” (along with Berg’s haunting Violin Concerto) on October 27, and culminating with the unfinished Symphony no. 10 on December 1. Parisians are in for a real Mahlerian treat this year!
Théâtre du Châtelet: Place du Châtelet, 75001 Paris. Métro: Châtelet. Tel.: 01 40 28 28 40. www.chatelet-theatre.com
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