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Mahler: Symphony No. 1, Version for Chamber Orchestra by Flavio Emilio Scogna on CD

Since the end of the nineteenth century, the large Wagnerian orchestra reached

unprecedented dimensions, pushing listeners' expectations toward a gigantic sound

overloaded with colour. Mahler continued this tendency, further enlarging the

ensemble: additional winds, triple brass, and a rich percussion section became the

norm. Today we naturally expect overwhelming power from Mahler's Titan, as

if the very title evoked an immense orchestra. Scogna, by contrast, overturns this

expectation through subtraction: he does not like to speak of arrangement, but

rather of chiselling work. His idea is to reduce excessive doublings while leaving

intact the principal lines chosen by Mahler, almost as if carving from marble only the

contrapuntal skeleton of the work.

Arnold Schoenberg (1918-21) had already theorized a similar idea with the Society

for Private Musical Performances: the aim was to 'create a thinned-out sound in

order to examine the essence' of symphonic works.

In transcribing the First Symphony for only fifteen instruments, Scogna carries out a

subtraction of the utmost rigor. Mahler's commanding orchestra dissolves into a small

chamber ensemble, yet each fundamental timbre remains 'typically Mahlerian.'

The result is a revelation, as if hearing Mahler with a new set of ears.

Played by a select group of young Italian instrumentalists, conducted by Flavio Emilio Scogna himself.