An account of burning intensity

Paavo Järvi (conductor) Frankfurt Radio Symphony

Naïve V5434

Although Hindemith remains arguably the most deeply unfashionable and grievously underrated of all 20th-century masters, his Mathis der Maler Symphony has maintained its place in the repertoire and boasts a sizeable stream of fine recordings. The high standards of performance were established from the very outset by the composer’s pioneering 1934 recording in which he conducted the Berlin Philharmonic. Over 20 years later, the same forces came together to record the work again for Deutsche Grammophon, a benchmark performance of great warmth and intensity captured in decent mono sound, although lacking perhaps the depth and clarity of engineering that would be found in more recent releases.

Between the 1960s and ’90s, the Symphony became very much the province of leading American orchestras.

Paavo Järvi reinvigorates the Symphony, highlighting innumerable subtle details

Classic recordings include the warmly Romantic interpretations from Eugene Ormandy and the Philadelphia (Sony), and the same orchestra conducted by Wolfgang Sawallisch (Warner). More dispassionate accounts have been offered by William Steinberg and the Boston Symphony (DG) and the fleet-footed Herbert Blomstedt and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra (Decca). Every one of these performances boasts wonderfully manicured playing, and almost all of them have justifiably garnered critical acclaim.

Yet the Mathis der Maler Symphony amounts to far more than a dazzling orchestral showpiece. A top recommendation in such a highly competitive field therefore has to bring something more. In this respect, Paavo Järvi and the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra’s live 2010 recording really does stand out from the crowd. Almost like a picture restorer revealing the original colours of a faded masterpiece for the first time, Järvi reinvigorates Hindemith’s

score, highlighting innumerable subtle details of texture, balance and phrasing often missed in many other recordings.

Such a forensic approach could so easily sound over-fussy and self-conscious, yet Järvi never loses sight of the overarching trajectory of each movement. Adopting eminently sensible tempos throughout, his interpretation conveys all the drama and textural variety of Hindemith’s musical invention with burning intensity. Naïve’s recording is ideal, combining depth of orchestral sound with an admirable clarity that allows one to savour every strand in Hindemith’s linear writing.