The darling of a sizeable fringe of the German musical world, Joana Mallwitz is the new musical director of the Berlin Konzerthaus Orchestra, the former “BSO” of East Berlin, formerly directed by Kurt Sanderling (we should point out that there was also a Berlin Symphony Orchestra – rather shabby – in the West, the “BSO” being an elite phalanx). Mallwitz, who succeeded Ivan Fischer and Christoph Eschenbach at the head of this renowned orchestra in 2006, has captured the attention of the German media and does not miss her entry into the DG catalogue here with biting and very accurately colored interpretations of Symphonies No. 1 And 2. Yannick Nézet-Séguin, too, had more or less started with the 2e Symphony by Weill (Atma, 2006) and the Mallwitz version is much better chiseled. On the other hand, the vocal performances of Katharine Mehrling (the men are better, fortunately) in The 7 Deadly Sins border on the interpretation of a repairman. We will listen again to Gisela May to understand the aesthetic universe in which the work evolves.
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To see in video