What an odd coupling:
Mahler's Fourth and Eighth symphonies. One can imagine the First and Second or the Fifth and Sixth or the Ninth and Tenth together, but the Fourth and Eighth stand apart in
Mahler's symphonic canon -- apart from everything else and apart from each other. The Fourth is his most lightly scored symphony -- no trombones! -- while the Eighth is his most heavily scored symphony -- it's not called "The Symphony of a Thousand" for nothing. The Fourth is light and witty and floats up to heaven on the wings of a song. The Eighth is heavy and earnest and storms the gates of paradise with wave after wave of counterpoint. The Fourth is for fun. The Eighth is for keeps.
But whether they belong together or not,
Mahler's Fourth and Eighth are joined here in EMI's Great Recordings of the Century series with
Klaus Tennstedt leading the
London Philharmonic and, in the Eighth, a veritable host of others. Whether the recordings are of
Tennstedt's 1983 Fourth and 1987 Eighth rather than, say, his thrilling Fifth or his blazing First, is somewhat beside the point. All the performances in
Tennstedt's complete
Mahler cycle were admired in their time for their endless power, their boundless glory, and their infinite spirit, and this Fourth and Eighth are certainly representative of the conductor at his best. His Fourth sings, soars, and surges with a delectable
Lucia Popp in the heavenly finale while his Eighth is just as strong and dramatic as the best contemporary recordings, plus his has a drive and a flexibility that many of even the best lack. Recorded in EMI's plushest sound, these performances will serve to introduce listeners unfamiliar with
Tennstedt to the series of recordings for which he is deservedly best remembered. But listeners who enjoy these performances are likely to want to check out the remainder of
Tennstedt's
Mahler, too.