No Time for Chamber Music (2021)

The title of this release comes from an ironic adoption of a remark by Luciano Berio, and indeed, the music here by the string nonet collectif9 may seem offhand and unpleasantly irreverent for some listeners. For others, and the album's commercial success suggests that they may be in the majority, this will be imaginative stuff, taking Mahler as a point of departure for new creative activity rather than bowing down before him. Whichever camp individual listeners may fall into, they are likely to agree on three points. First ... Read More

The title of this release comes from an ironic adoption of a remark by Luciano Berio, and indeed, the music here by the string nonet collectif9 may seem offhand and unpleasantly irreverent for some listeners. For others, and the album's commercial success suggests that they may be in the majority, this will be imaginative stuff, taking Mahler as a point of departure for new creative activity rather than bowing down before him. Whichever camp individual listeners may fall into, they are likely to agree on three points. First is that collectif9 does its job quite well, producing a large variety of sound from their instruments and using them to fill out the sonic details missing from Mahler's originals. As if to underline their skill, the group includes the Fantaisie à la manière de callot by composer Philippe Hersant for contrast, which places Mahler's melodies into a more conventional string canvas. Second, those melodies hold up well; no matter how sprawling Mahler's visions became, he was a fabulous... Read Less