Beethoven - Piano Concerto No. 1/Mahler - Symphony No. 1 DVD

 very fine Beethoven, stunning Mahler
This is a splendid production, technically perfect and musically outstanding. The 2008 concert was recorded in the Munich Philharmonie im Gasteig, an appealing hall with excellent acoustics. Michael Beyer’s direction is sensitive to the musical proceedings and to all participants. Margarita Höhenrieder, so far unknown to me, is an impressive pianist—and a renowned teacher at the Munich music academy, as shown in the bonus portrait. She plays the Beethoven concerto flawlessly, with utmost subtlety in the lyrical passages. My subjective reservation is that some of the fire, bite and spunk of the young Beethoven—the young lion---is missing: Höhenrieder is just a bit too genteel and fastidious for this concerto. If you don’t know what I mean, try Perahia/Marriner, both at the peak of their careers, or the dazzling Duchable/Nelson on DVD. She is faithfully supported in her approach by Luisi and the Dresdeners, who rather carefully and tactfully take their lead from the soloist, instead of blazing away when called for in the score. This said, one would like to hear more of Höhenrieder, in a repertoire entirely suited to her temperament. The evening’s high point is clearly Mahler’s First. Luisi and his Staatskapelle deliver one of the most incisive interpretations of this often ill-treated masterpiece: attentive to every nuance of near-silence and the minutest inner dynamics, yet cohesive, powerful and overwhelming in the “big” passages. Luisi wrings the entire vast spectrum of emotions from the score, from blatant sarcasm through Weltschmerz to joyful ecstasy and a truly stunning conclusion. His musicians are top-notch and follow his every glimpse and gesture in an atmosphere of congenial collaboration. Let’s have more Mahler from Luisi and his superb Dresdeners! A footnote: the conductor’s physiognomic expressions and his gestures seem reminiscent of the younger Mahler’s mien and gestures on the podium as captured by the contemporary caricaturist.
Submitted by Gerhard (Salt Lake City, UT, USA) 
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