Jonathan Nott's extraordinary series of audiophile recordings with the Bamberg Symphony have been revelations of the richness and complexity of Gustav Mahler's symphonies, and in many cases the multichannel format has made them the best of their kind. Such is the case with this 2012 Tudor release of the Symphony No. 7 in E minor, Mahler's oddest and the least understood symphony, though Nott takes pains to make the piece as easy to grasp as any of the other symphonies. Avoiding the obvious tactic to treat each movement ...
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Jonathan Nott's extraordinary series of audiophile recordings with the Bamberg Symphony have been revelations of the richness and complexity of Gustav Mahler's symphonies, and in many cases the multichannel format has made them the best of their kind. Such is the case with this 2012 Tudor release of the Symphony No. 7 in E minor, Mahler's oddest and the least understood symphony, though Nott takes pains to make the piece as easy to grasp as any of the other symphonies. Avoiding the obvious tactic to treat each movement separately as a bizarre tone poem, based solely on its distinctive characteristics and coloration, Nott focuses instead on the work's trajectory from beginning to end and keeps the orchestra's energies trained on the piece's arc. Known unofficially as "The Song of the Night," the Seventh has a scheme based on the idea of moving from darkness to light, and Nott draws out all the nocturnal effects and eerie timbres that Mahler intended to be heard as "night music." Yet the formal structure...
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