Mariss Jansons' performances of
Gustav Mahler's symphonies with the
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra may be better known to his fans, but his 2007 recording on BR Klassik with the
Bavarian Radio Symphony Orchestra of the Symphony No. 7 in E minor fills a gap that was left in the RCO Live series, and provides almost equal quality in performance and sound. Appropriately, this is a super audio CD, like the other label's releases, and
Jansons and the orchestra brilliantly produce the astonishing array of colors and effects
Mahler exploited in this symphony, nicknamed "The Song of the Night" for its vivid series of nocturnal images.
Jansons also has a good feeling for this work's eccentricities of form and style, and interprets it with lucidity and a clear sense of its "night to darkest night to day" trajectory, despite its sometimes confusing changes of mood over five long movements. One might wish that this excellent recording could have no flaws, but one annoying problem is
Jansons' out-of-tune humming along with the orchestra, which is picked up quite clearly in the DSD recording. Fortunately, these passages are just occasional distractions and only audible in the loudest climaxes, so they probably will escape detection unless headphones are used. Other than that, this is a fine rendition of what may be
Mahler's quirkiest symphony, and it is well worth having.