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This is Bernard Haitink's second recording for the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra's own label, RCO Live, following on from the release of Bruckner's 8th Symphony a couple of years ago. The recording derives from a concert given on 7 November 2006 to commemorate the 50th anniversary of Haitink's first performance with the orchestra.
I must admit I found Haitink's RCO Live recording of Bruckner's 8th slightly disappointing in terms of both performance and sound quality, and I therefore approached this recording of Mahler's 4th with some caution. It turns out to be a fine performance of the symphony, full of character and for the most part deeply felt.
The beginning of the first movement starts with something of a surprise: the sleighbells have a conspicuous metallic jingle rather than the more gently percussive sound that is usually heard. This unusual start does not presage any radical rethink of the work, however. Haitink is a straightforward guide through the bustling invention of the first movement, eschewing the varied tempo changes of conductors such as Mengelberg and yet obtaining spirited playing from the orchestra and bringing warmth to the more expressive sections.
The piquant nature of the Scherzo is strongly communicated in this performance, largely on account of the excellent Concertgebouw players. In the two trio sections, Haitink avoids the very slow speeds that some conductors like to adopt, instead communicating the nostalgic nature of the music with a beguiling sense of old-world charm.
The strings are radiant in the beautiful, heart rending theme which opens the Adagio. I thought the great heaven-storming climax later in the movement could have been delivered with more intensity, but the playing of the orchestra in the sublime coda is extremely beautiful. The timing for the movement is a shade under 20 minutes, which is in fact slightly faster than average, but Haitink's pacing feels exactly right throughout.
It is in the finale that I have some reservations about the performance. To my ears, Christine Schäfer's voice sounds somewhat nasal and the delivery lacks the innocent quality that Mahler's Wunderhorn song requires. And ideally the gentle second half of the song should end the symphony with a degree of rapt serenity, but I found the performance a little plainspun at this point.
The RCO Live recording is presented on a hybrid SACD, and the sound is bright and clear. I briefly tried the 5.0 surround option and it seemed to provide a helpful amount of additional ambience. The booklet note contains an essay on the symphony, but fails to include a translation of the song finale, which is not so helpful for anyone coming to the symphony for the first time.
Despite the fact that the finale operates at a slightly lower level than the rest, this recording stands fairly high in a long list of fine performances of the 4th Symphony. It is unlikely to be a must buy for Mahlerites with lots of recordings in their collection, but for anyone wanting a new version of the work, there is much to enjoy in Haitink's performance.
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