Mahler: Symphony No. 6

Conductor Teodor Currentzis’ first Mahler on disc is a dramatic tour de force. From the opening salvo, the playing of the vastly imaginative and deeply emotional Sixth is rhythmically precise and penetrating, with Currentzis and MusicAeterna extracting every nugget of drama from the biting first movement. The Scherzo leaps seamlessly between its sardonic marches and gentler, childlike dances, while the Andante (the third movement here, in keeping with Mahler’s original wishes) is rich and intense. But it’s in the dark, epic final movement that Currentzis and his musicians truly impress, the urgency of their playing bringing emotional extremes of glory and anguish to this complex, often savage music.