Georg Solti made three recordings of Mahler’s Fifth. The first, with Chicago, although very strangely multi-miked, was fast and exciting. The second, digital version with Chicago was fast and less exciting. This third, Zurich broadcast recording is fast and almost totally faceless. There are no significant differences in approach among the three versions, only variations in quality of playing and intensity of results. The Tonhalle orchestra sounds significantly weaker than the Chicagoans in all departments, from the opening explosion (here a damp squib) onward, particularly in the brass. The funeral march sounds flat and expressionless, the wild central eruption anything but that.
The opening of the second movement is “stormily agitated” but far less biting than it should be. There are several perilous moments when the violins have serious ensemble problems; at times it sounds as though half the section has stopped playing. The big chorale toward the end has little of the necessary urgency, and the final climax and disintegration make very little impact. As usual, Solti plays the scherzo swiftly (a bit longer than 16 minutes), but with little flavor. The Adagietto goes by blandly, while the finale comes off best until the end, which once again lacks brilliance and power. If ever a Solti performance had no business being released posthumously, this is it. Oh, and by the way, Decca claims on a sticker that this is “Mahler’s most popular symphony.” On which planet?
