Giuseppe Sinopoli, the great Italian conducting psychiatrist, died of a heart attack at the age of 55 leading
Verdi's Aida. He left behind an extensive discography including a complete cycle of
Mahler's symphonies with London's
Philharmonia for Deutsche Grammophon recorded in the late '80s and early '90s. This 1999 live recording with the
Dresden Staatskapelle is an entirely different and some might say inferior performance. The orchestral playing is arguably better: the Dresden orchestra has a deeply burnished tone, a subtly blended balance, and an amazingly effortless virtuosity that the London players cannot quite match, and the German musicians' performance is never less than consummately beautiful.
Sinopoli, however, seems to be having an off night. His cues are not quite on, his attacks are not altogether precise, and his transitions are not always smooth. Worse yet, his tempo relationships are nowhere near tight enough.
Sinopoli's recapitulation in the opening movement is far slower than his exposition and his coda is slower still until its final bars, which are far faster than they should be. Similarly, his tempos for the slow movement's set of double variations fail to cohere, and the closing movement's tempos are all over the map. This does not mean there are not lovely moments here. The strings in the slow movement's coda are as warmly consoling as one could hope, and soprano
Juliane Banse does a wonderful job of bringing freshness and light to the closing movement. But for those interested in
Sinopoli's way with
Mahler's Fourth, his 1991
Philharmonia recording is a better choice. Hänssler's live recording is very colorful, but a bit shallow and a tad dry.