Ken-ichiro Kobayashi, Japan Philharmonic Orchestra - Mahler: Symphony No. 1, GMW 11 "Titan" (2026) [Hi-Res]

Tracklist

01. Symphony No. 1 in D Major, GMW 11 Titan: I. Langsam. Schleppend (Live at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall, 6/14/2025)
02. Symphony No. 1 in D Major, GMW 11 Titan: II. Scherzo. Kräftig bewegt (Live at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall, 6/14/2025)
03. Symphony No. 1 in D Major, GMW 11 Titan: III. Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen (Live at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall, 6/14/2025)
04. Symphony No. 1 in D Major, GMW 11 Titan: IV. Stürmisch bewegt (Live at Yokohama Minato Mirai Hall, 6/14/2025)

A performance of Mahler’s Symphony No. 1 by the esteemed Maestro Ken-ichiro Kobayashi and the Japan Philharmonic Orchestra. The orchestra responds with remarkable flexibility to the surging passion—as if an intensified energy were channeled directly through the conductor’s baton—unfolding a rich, profound vision of Mahler’s world. Kobayashi’s conducting—the work of a man who knows every corner of the score and has fully internalized it—breathes with a fluid, organic vitality, never once falling into rigid, formulaic patterns. His deep exploration and careful shaping of the music’s narrative arc may at times manifest as bold shifts in tempo or intensity, yet these choices remain entirely in harmony with the inner world of the piece. The striking contrasts between various motifs in the development section of the first movement, and the trembling, evocative quality of the second theme in the fourth movement, serve as prime examples of this. — From the liner notes by Issei Kowata