How is Gergiev's Mahler Cycle?

It's variable. To date I''ve picked up 1 - 8 and 10. Some of it is pretty good. M6 is really exciting. M7 isn't too bad either if you like quicker readings. M2 is thrilling at times. Then some are just wrong: 3 & 4 come to mind. Gergiev is a very hard driving conductor and reminds me of Solti in many ways, and like Solti, he doesn't always know when to let the music breath, and his tempos just are not always convincing. The problem I think is that he probably hasn't done too much Mahler and was too quick to make recordings of music he hasn't lived with. Given time, he could be a very formidable Mahler conductor. The playing (live) of the LSO is beyond reproach, but the SACD isn't what you would expect. The recording venue doesn't help. None of them sound bad mind you, but Ondine and Channel Classics do sound better.

As a set, I think most people would be quite pleased, while experienced Mahler collectors will be more critical. There isn't a single recording that I would call "the best". But then, the same can be said for the MTT set from San Franscisco or the Zinman set on RCA: very good, but not quite great. On the other hand -- the LSO prices are really pretty good. If you have Bernstein/DG or Bertini, Solti and you're happy I'd save your money until LSO packs the whole cycle into one lower priced box (I bet they do). But if you want to hear what all the buzz is about, start with 2 and 6.

I'd check the Mahler thread, its pretty large and old.  

I think the recording location may cause some of his interpretation choices which I'm not fond of.

I initially found his 6th sounds rush.

It is not a very absurd choice of speed, but I just keep wondering why he decide to do that.

Then I have a theory after I got couple more of his recordings with LSO (#1 #7).

The sonic character of recording location or of LSO is a little bit dry, so Gergiev made an educated decision to use direct and sometimes rush approach to avoid the problem.

VPO under Boulez is also quick tempo, but the sound is not at all dry.

That said, I still don't like his approach, although I would happy to have a live concert like this.

The recording is nice but the sound signature is dryer than the modern competitors (CSO, Concertgebouw, SFSO).

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler 

Just wondering, I don't think I've heard much of it.