I haven’t heard ‘Berliner Symphonie’ for many years, finding it rather repellent in Gary Bertini’s recording, which no doubt was excellent – he was a fine conductor – and which did sterling service on LP (examples below, although I had a budget vinyl reissue) and made it to CD. Joana Mallwitz makes a very strong case for Weill’s stridency, angularity and piled-high dissonances, a sinister portrayal of 1921 Berlin. It now strikes me as a thoroughly fascinating and involving, if unrelieved and gnarly score, which I am pleased to have now made my peace with thanks to this dedicated Konzerthaus performance.
I have never been sure either about the cabaret-like “sung-ballet” that is The Seven Deadly Sins, text by Bertolt Brecht (1933), attractive though it is with its Threepenny Opera correspondences, although this is certainly a marvellous realisation, with Katharine Mehrling notable for not exaggerating the roles of Annas I & II, although the latter has little to sing, it being a danced portrayal (original choreography by Balanchine). Weill’s scoring is delightful and varied, sometimes unexpected, the male voices make an endearing ‘barbershop’ contribution, and once again Mallwitz conducts with immersive command, and she then leads the neoclassical masterpiece that is the Second Symphony (1934), music that breathes the air of its time without being stuck there, with similar identification for a vibrant account that is now the version to have. Bruno Walter conducted the premiere (Amsterdam, and soon after in New York) suggesting to Weill that he add percussion to the already in-place timpani. Some conductors ignore the addition, but these extra colours are now in the Critical Edition, so I guess Mallwitz had no choice, which is a pity; nevertheless her conducting of the three movements is spot-on, especially the forward-moving tempos, ultimately leading to a rollicking coda. Oh, I shall be returning to Sins.
DG 486 5670 is a demon debut for Mallwitz on the yellow label with a total time of eighty-two-plus minutes.