This terrific performance of the Cooke edition of Mahler’s Tenth is a rather swift performance, just 71 minutes, and certainly one of the best–right up...

This terrific performance of the Cooke edition of Mahler’s Tenth is a rather swift performance, just 71 minutes, and certainly one of the best–right up there with reference recordings by Gielen (Hänssler/SWR), Sanderling (Berlin Classics) and Chailly (Decca).

I do have some reservations: the opening Adagio could have more gravitas at a slightly slower basic tempo, especially for it’s second thematic group, and the fourth movement doesn’t quite convince. It comes across as rather scrambled compared, say, to Gielen. Also, if you’re going to start the finale with the same muffled drum stroke that ends previous movement, why not play the first one softly, and launch the finale with a startling, Mahlerian bang?

Still, what this performance has all the way through is conviction: a total confidence in the music’s cogency and ultimate direction. It doesn’t sound threadbare or sketchy, even at the finale’s big climax, the optimal shape of which no arranger or conductor has quite figured out. The first scherzo bounces along brilliantly; the central Purgatorio flows with sinister grace; and most importantly, the last seven or eight minutes of the finale never drag, never turn static. The music’s last gasp relaxes in a way that’s truly fulfilling.

Dausgaard also has the orchestra playing with tremendous flair and virtuosity. They make the music sound almost easy (in a good way). You’d never know that this performance was captured live, before a dead-silent audience. The sonics too are excellent. So: a recording that sheds new light on the work, and reflects proudly on all concerned.

– ClassicsToday (David Hurwitz)