Even if one always has doubts about
Simon Rattle conducting
Mahler -- doubts about his sincerity and his seriousness -- even if one has always questioned his radically wrong tempos in the Second and Fourth and his amazingly uncomprehending interpretations of the Sixth and Seventh -- one has to admit that
Rattle has over time gradually been getting better at recording
Mahler. His Ninth with the
Vienna Philharmonic was more than tolerable and his Tenth with the
Berlin Philharmonic was among the best in an admittedly small field. In this Eighth with the
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra,
Rattle turns in what may be his best
Mahler recording yet, a vibrant and vivid recording that is arguably the best since
Solti's with the
Chicago Symphony.
Rattle's control of balances, of textures, and, more importantly, of tempos has improved immeasurably since his heavy-of-foot and short-of-breath Second. Most important, however, is that
Rattle's earnestness is no longer in question. In the huge waves of choral counterpoint in the opening movement, in the variety-show-cum-oratorio closing movement, and in the Barnum & Bailey final chorus, there is no doubt that
Rattle and his forces really mean it. EMI's sound is so big it could comfortably accommodate Godzilla.