A TALE OF TWO MAHLERS

A superb radio documentary from Canada focuses on Gustav Mahler's two careers as conductor and composer. He hated the former, though it brought him glory and wealth; loved the latter, though his music enjoyed neither critical nor popular success. Today his symphonies and song cycles have wide acceptance, though many still find him tedious and overblown. The critics and musicians interviewed here explain what all the fuss is about; their remarks are punctuated by digestible excepts from Mahler's scores and field recordings from his Austrian haunts. Producers Marilyn Powell and Frances Wainwright have included biography selectively to make their subject more sympathetic than his reputation suggests. Little of that is presented, nor do we hear enough about his brilliant, beautiful wife, Alma. We do get a beautifully recorded grounding in his aesthetic and his vaunted place in modern music. Y.R. © AudioFile 2001, Portland, Maine [Published: OCT/ NOV 01]