LPO/Jurowski review Mahler's 10th is full of colour, and the composer's pain, in Barshai's completion

"It was British musicologist Deryck Cooke who first took a proper look, discovering that crucial melodic lines were intact throughout the entire work. His subsequent lithe-limbed performing version has been embraced by many but some have adopted a more interventionist approach, the most popular being Russian conductor Rudolf Barshai, whose audacious completion Vladimir Jurowski presented here. As Jurowski admits, Barshai's orchestrations bring the music closer to Shostakovich and perhaps Britten both huge fans of Mahler."

"Barshai slathers on the colour. There's a clattering xylophone, a guitar (miraculously audible amid the orchestral melee), a Wagner tuba, a cornet, a second tuba to beef up the most terrifying passages, a second harp, celesta, woodblocks, tubular bells and a trio of tiny gongs. That these diverse timbral details came over loud and clear was a testament to Jurowski's textural lucidity and the outstanding playing of the LPO."

"We know that Mahler was wrestling with the discovery of his wife's affair with a young architect while working on the symphony because he etched his anguished thoughts into the very pages of the score. His inner turmoil may even have affected the order of the movements. Jurowski brought out much of that pain, leaning into the gut-wrenching dissonances that burst in upon the serene Adagio."

Gustav Mahler died aged 50, leaving fragments of his 10th symphony long regarded as skeletal and unfinishable. Deryck Cooke discovered intact melodic lines and produced a performing version that many favour. Others pursued a more interventionist completion, most notably Rudolf Barshai, whose orchestrations were presented by Vladimir Jurowski. Barshai adds striking timbral colours and extra instruments, aligning some textures with Shostakovich and Britten rather than a strictly Mahlerian palette. Jurowski's clarity and the London Philharmonic made those timbres audible. Mahler's personal anguish informed the score, and Jurowski emphasised its dissonant pain and dramatic contrasts.

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