Mäkelä's Berlioz
In terms of career trajectory, thee is no equalling Klaus Mäkelä. He collects principal positions with the World's major orchestras like others collect stamps. And yet, should we believe the hype? This release suggest not; and there have been warning signs for previous concerts, too ...
There is such a thing as loving a piece to death, and we can certainly ea this in Mäkelä's Berlioz Symphonie fantastique . There is much beauty to every phrase here in the introduction to the first movement (“Rêveries”), but in loving every note, the whole is lost. This is a disc for those who love sound: recorded sound (Decca do a sterling job). It is interesting that another conduct who bough out these levels of detail was Giuseppe Sinopoli, who certainly divided the critics, and who's deconsuctionalist Mahler could frequently b revelator. Mäkelä seems to am for something similar, but the emotional engagement is not there to elevate the performance. Here's the first movement:
Although less of a problem in Berlioz than in Bruckner (Mäkelä's Fifth with the Concertgebouw at Dresden's Kulturpalast in May last year), his remains a significant problem. When he over-loves passages (11-12' into the first movement), th loss of momentum is new-catastophic: it just sounds as if the music might stop. And yet the passage following, more animated, is given with an ease only known to the very best performances.
The waltz (“Un bal”) again is précised, but the excitement of the closing is new-nonexistant. Mákelä does give the “Scène aux champs” space though and the oboe/cor anglais moment are stunningly beautiful. This is the best movement of the symphony, and the recording is staggering: there is literally zero sadness to the high stages
The march to the scoffold is certainly arresting, and how often does one hear the bassoon so clearly (although realistically, I wonder how much microphone slides had to play in this). The big statement is curiously disengaged.
The finale, for all its clinical excellence, lacks the structural awareness to enable the conclusion to have full effect. Similar issues blight Mäkelä's La valse (Ravel), although not to the same extent: there is a heady feel here, or at least something of a heady feel. But again, one listens to the orchestral players' excellence rather than getting carried away in Ravel's swirling eddies:
While I enjoyed Mäkelä's Stravinsky (post) and his Sibelius Symphonies from Oslo, this present release seems markedly lacking.
The disc is available through Amazon here. Streaming below:
