Mahler: Symphony No 2 | CD review

Jonathan Nott's account of the Ninth Symphony in his ongoing Mahler cycle with the Bamberg Symphony was outstanding, but this new version of the Second comes as a disappointment. From the very first bars Nott seems intent on demonstrating that his is never going to be a massive, apocalyptic view of the work; he favours precision, definition and forward momentum over barnstorming tonal weight and dramatic power, and as the symphony presses on, the detail he and his excellent orchestra reveal is remarkable. Yet well before the end, the restraint of it all starts to seem too much, what proved to be much more than the sum of its parts in the Ninth is found wanting in the sprawling, multi-coloured canvas of the Second. In the Urlicht movement the rather curdled sound of the mezzo Lioba Braun is an acquired taste too, and though soprano Anne Schwanewilms adds a touch of vocal luxury to the finale, this vision of the resurrection is still distinctly underwhelming.