GUSTAV MAHLER

Boult’s Mahler - An Historic Performance This is an exciting release of considerable historical interest, though one that is strictly for the Mahler or Boult enthusiast. As the accompanying notes state, Boult is not generally thought of as a conductor of Mahler’s music, but his Mahlerian credentials are actually even stronger than suggested there. In 1934 he gave the second English performance of the Ninth Symphony (the first London performance after Harty’s pioneering Hallé presentation in 1930), the first English performance of the Third in 1947, what was probably the second English performance of the Fifth also in 1947, and probably the third complete English performance of the Seventh in 1948. Recordings of the last three performances are known to exist, the last one having been issued commercially by Testament. Boult gave the Fourth Symphony in 1927 with the Birmingham Orchestra, and at least five further performances between 1928 and 1953 (two of these being at the Proms). He gave what was probably the second English performance of Das Lied von der Erde at Birmingham in 1930, with further performances in 1938, 1942, 1945 and 1947 (two of these being at the Proms). Add to this Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen in 1931 and again in 1951, and in 1949 he gave the Adagio only from the Tenth Symphony. In 1968 he gave a concert performance of the First Symphony which he had recorded commercially ten years earlier. He also recorded Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen with Flagstad, and Kindertotenlieder twice, with Ludwig and Flagstad. Only the Second and Sixth Symphonies eluded his repertoire. All these were before the start of the Mahler ‘boom’ - and there may have been other performances that have eluded the net. Not bad for someone not thought of as a conductor of Mahler! The performance in question of the Eighth was probably the fourth and not, as stated, the second in England. Henry Wood had given it in 1930, 1933 and 1938 (in London twice and at the Sheffield Festival). Boult’s was the first post-war performance in the UK. Nor was it to be his last. This writer can remember hearing Boult conduct the Eighth at the Royal Albert Hall in March 1965, also under the auspices of the Henry Wood Concert Society. The symphony was clearly not to the taste of The Times reviewer in February 1948 who wrote: ‘If Mahler is to give us a vision of heaven let it be through no 4, not no 8, and if we are to have orchestra and voice discourse to us of creation let it be in the pantheistic Das Lied von der Erde rather than in this odd assortment of Christianity and the Eternal Womanly.’ Of the performance he thought it ‘was probably not very good. At any rate it lacked conviction. Sir Adrian Boult kept his far-flung forces together but did not appear to enjoy either the job or the music.’ For someone who had already conducted five other Mahler symphonies and Das Lied, this last statement is questionable; Boult was anyway not someone to show his emotions. Conducting these vast forces would have put him in good practice for Havergal Brian’s Gothic Symphony of which he was much later to give the first professional performance. Judging this performance is nigh impossible under the conditions. Neither the orchestra nor the soloists stand out with any clarity, yet the occasion has nevertheless been tolerably preserved on disc and well transferred so that one can at least get a clear idea of Boult’s grasp of the shape and architecture of the work. As with many historic recordings, with a little tolerance the ear fairly quickly accepts a far from hi-fi sound, rather as if one were listening to the broadcast on an inferior wireless set. There is a degree of ‘wow’ in places, but not serious enough to spoil the listening. We shall have to imagine Bach’s Sixth Brandenberg Concerto that preceded the Mahler! There is no doubting the importance of this issue. Can we hope that Boult’s interpretations of similar vintage of symphonies 5 and 7 will follow? Stephen Lloyd