But, I don't put much stock in nicknames; it is the ears which count. To these ears, Mahler's Seventh sounds like a precursor to Modernism, with some baffling musical elements. I could well understand if a listener didn't understand the work.
The first movement bandies between Mahler's typical heroic, sweeping style opposite a crusty, dissonant attitude. What catches my ear most is the vacillating between major and minor, sometimes within mere measures of each other. It keeps the listener off balance, and I daresay, this is the most unexpected music from Mahler.
The second and fourth movements are notated as Nachtmusik, and with this description my mind immediately turns to breezy serenades under the latticed window of a lover. This may be the case of the fourth movement, with its harps, guitar, and mandolin, but the second movement isn't too far a throw from the opening movements dire attitude. I was reminded of Terry Pratchett's Night Watch, one which is fraught with danger around every corner for the keepers of peace, where there is a certain militant aspect to the music.
The final two movements, including the earlier mentioned Nachtlied, are a diametric change, with a positive charge towards light. The finale is filled with fanfares and marches, as is typical, but is rather fragmentary compared to any of his other conclusions. Like I mentioned earlier, these aspects keep the listener off balance.
A couple of notes on musical choices. As with the previous two symphonies, Mahler relishes the chance to feature percussion, and I like their extra-musical qualities. The work opens with a solo for the Tenor Horn, which is sometimes a Euphonium or sometimes an Alto Horn. Lastly, I enjoy some of the chamber music qualities of this work; solo strings and featured solo instruments in sparse orchestrated settings.
It seems to me, Symphony no. 7 is Mahler's most experimental. I can only imagine contemporaneous audiences, who were already lukewarm to Mahler's compositions, being completely in the dark with this music. Yet it presents a compelling musical journey, as is the composer's talent.
1971: Chicago SO, Solti
1982: Chicago SO, Levine
2002: Berlin PO, Abbado
For now, we will have a very basic list of Mahler reviews above. The current list covers the most recent spate of listened recordings, not necessarily the best or most worthwhile. The older recordings are from our collection but newly reviewed, and the newer recordings represent recordings which were recommended to me. Until we at The Oozy Channel Keep have gotten ourselves up and running, this should suffice and we can reorganize the page a little more coherently in the future.