DVD0591. KLAUS TENNSTEDT Cond. London Phil.: Symphony #5 in c-sharp (Mahler). (Germany) ICA ICAD 5041, Live Performance, 13 Dec., 1988, Royal Festival Hall, London. - 5060244550414

CRITIC REVIEW:

“Klaus Tennstedt (1926–1998), a renowned Mahlerian, conducted this live performance at the Royal Festival Hall a year after stepping down as the LPO’s Principal Conductor. Issued here for the first time on DVD, this same live performance was hailed as ‘legendary’ by Michael McManus in the Gramophone and has been released previously on CD by EMI.

Tennstedt’s 1978 studio recording of Mahler’s Fifth Symphony is described in one edition of the Penguin Guide as ‘an outstanding performance, thoughtful on the one hand, warm and expressive on the other.’ This 1988 live performance is described in a later edition of the same guide as ‘more daring and more idiosyncratic than Tennstedt’s earlier studio recording, but the tension is far keener. The experience hits one at full force’. ‘The emotional tension of the occasion is vividly captured.’ This performance was the last time Tennstedt returned to the Mahler Fifth with the LPO, and the highly personal and passionate interpretation justifies his reputation for outstanding live performances. According to Michael McManus, ‘The phenomenon that was Tennstedt in concert will never, can never, be recreated’.”