An evening of Gustav Mahler by the Orchestre Philharmonique de Radio France under Mikko Franck opened with the song cycle ‘Kindertotenlieder’ before continuing in the second half to what was intended to be the main event, Symphony no. 4.

However, whilst the symphony would be well performed, ‘Kindertotenlieder’ was, for me, always going to be the main event. Not only is it a collection of songs that I love to listen to, despite the sad subject matter, but it was being sung by my favourite French mezzo-soprano, Marianne Crebassa.

Marianne Crebassa (photograph Simon Fowler)

Whilst ‘Songs on the Death of Children’ is obviously not the most cheerful of subjects to listen to, Marianne Crebassa’s voice is perfectly suited to conveying the sorrow of the words in an extremely thoughtful way. It was a most beautiful interpretation.

Symphony no. 4 in G major was composed between 1899 and 1900, although the song for soprano in the fourth movement dates from 1892. The Fourth is the last of Mahler’s three so-called ‘Wunderhorn’ symphonies, which incorporate themes originating in his ‘Des Knaben Wunderhorn’ song cycle.

Mikko Franck (photograph Christophe Abramowitz)

The first movement is quite jolly, with its sleigh bell motif and the woodwinds and brass were particularly impressive. Impressive playing continued in the second movement from the violins especially and thoughts were that this could be a particularly fine Fourth Symphony. However, the slow third movement, whilst played well, failed to keep the same level of attention. The fourth movement belongs to the soprano, in this case Melody Louledjian, but whilst she sang beautifully, in some sections her voice didn’t seem to have the power to effectively reach the front row of the balcony where I was sitting. So in all, a fine performance, but not the best Mahler 4 I have ever heard.

Nevertheless, overall it was a great evening, especially because I got to hear the wonderful Marianne Crebassa again.

Gustav Mahler: ‘Kindertotenlieder’; Gustav Mahler ‘Symphony no. 4 in G major’.