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Has anyone heard Uri Caine's bizarre re-workings of Mahler? Although arguments could be made about this disgusting bastardisation of great art, I'm in no mood to make them. I think it's great.I walked into my usual record shop and one of the assistants said "You've got to hear this." He turned up the volume and there it was: the proclamatory horn solo that opens Mahler mighty fifth - and it had never sounded so funny. A lot of bemused faces looked up at that point, not sure whether to laugh or complain. At first it just sounds like the worst interpretation of all time; then you realise that a sort of augmented Jazz band has joined in. When Uri and his band finally reach the colossal central climax of this movement, everything collapses into chaos, every instrument making loud, structureless noises, every customer in the shop laughing hysterically, me reaching into my pockets to see if I have enough money to but this disc (I was just short). Strangely, the melodies have never sounded quite so close to their Jewish roots. The relaxed nature of the jazzy solos seems to have this effect.
Follow Ups:
What's not to like?Maybe we need "Mahler's Funniest Blobers and Blunders"?
As a passionate admirer of Mahler, I'm surprised to find that I like Cain's stuff, too. I feel a little odd saying so, because most of the time I'm extremely picky about how GM is interpreted, and even some of the most well-respected conductors' work in Mahler sometimes has me grinding my teeth in consternation and hurling the CD case across the room over some minor perceived indiscretion. Yet Cain, whose interpretations usually owe more to Captain Beefheart than Bruno Walter, always brings a smile to my face. He's also suprisingly well-received by Mahlerians in general, it seems. Go figure.Part of the reason may be that GM's music lends itself to this sort of thing relatively easily: his use of folk material includes all sorts of absurd/vulgar/openly nostalgic/out-and-out silly popular songs, cabaret bands, street musicians, etc. So maybe it's not as much of a shock to hear a thrash rock version of Mahler as it would be of, say, Haydn. Anyway, I think everyone who loves Mahler ought to hear Cain at least once.
BTW, has anyone heard Cain's work with other composers? He's done a CD of Goldberg Variations, I believe, and some others?
Yeah, I also heard his treatment of the Diabelli Variations. It's really fantastic. If you weren't paying attention, much of it would sound fairly classical - until you listen to the ultra-jazzy piano, which just swings around in the background.
It's a fine line sometimes.
It really is hard to know what to make of this music, except to say that it's undeniably enjoyable. I do know that Uri Caine takes Mahlers work very seriously, so this isn't just a piss-take of late romantic magniloquence.As a matter of fact, some music society awarded the disc Best Mahler Record Of The Year. After hearing it, I looked up some reviews and commentaries and found that it's been very well received, despite (or maybe because of) the inevitable amusement elicited by the more extravagant sections.
I preferred this version of M5 to Zanders. It's probably less contrived!
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