Mahler: Symphony No. 4 - Benjamin Zander / Philharmonia Orchestra / Camilla Tilling, soprano
Benjamin Zander's Mahler series has been winning accolades, and his Fourth is fully up to its predecessors. He takes an expansive view of Mahler's shortest, most accessible, and sunniest symphony, caressing its plentiful melodies and capturing its serene mood. Zander, as always, pays close attention to Mahler's markings. As a result, and aided by Telarc's superb sonics, we hear details often bypassed in other recordings.The last movement, featuring a song set to a poem fromDes Knaben Wunderhorn(Youth's Magic Horn), presents a child's view of heaven. Camilla Trilling sings it with the wide-eyed innocence demanded by the words and music, avoiding the common fault of so many Mahler Fourths that give us a soprano too mature or too sophisticated. If Zander's doesn't supersede versions by Kletzki, Szell, and Tennstedt, it is certainly one of the best available for both sound and performance. Its attractiveness is greatly enhanced by a 79-minute bonus disc, an illustrated lecture by Zander that's informative and entertaining, sure to enlighten even experienced Mahlerians.--Dan Davis