[DavidMahler]

Every Mahler symphony is special to me and every symphony with the exception of the 8th has at some point been my favorite. The Mahler 4th is one of the most frequently recorded. I just wanted to say how much I love this new recording of Ivan Fischer's with Budapest on chanel classics. I think its the best performed and interpreted.

Before this version my favorite was the Szell and sometimes the Tilson Thomas account which is one of the longest on record. But I have to say this is a sublime account in every movement with a vocalist in Miah Person to rank alongside Kathleen Battle's great account under the baton of Lorin Maazel.

It is appearing that Fischer's recordings of Mahler symphonies, he's only recorded the 2, 4 and 6.......could very well become the new gold standard when he's done. And for audiophile-purposes his Mahler releases have been reference quality.

 

[DarkAngel]

Good news David, I think Bunny also is a big fan so far.
I will wait a while longer before jumping in, prices are very expensive to buy this series since they are hybrid discs.........but Channel Classics label usually puts out very high quality material so perhaps the price is justified

Not sure if you are an opera fan but Miah Persson and conductor Ivan Fisher have recently released the very best Mozart - Cosi Fan Tutte DVD available!

Miah Persson video from YouTube

You may want to check out the many youtube clips from this wonderful release............

 

[Salmoneus]

How does it compare with Klemperer's account?

I have a feeling, though, that we may go for different things in Mahler...I consistently rank 2 (I have Mehta's VPO recording) and 8 (Horenstein) as my favorites.

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Salmoneus /img/forum/go_quote.gif How does it compare with Klemperer's account? I have a feeling, though, that we may go for different things in Mahler...I consistently rank 2 (I have Mehta's VPO recording) and 8 (Horenstein) as my favorites.

I'm not sure if we're that different when it comes to ranking.....Mehta's take on #2 has always been my favorite in terms of performance. I think Andrew Litton and Simon Rattle are even better recorded and thus I listen to theirs more, specifically Litton. But I'm well aware of just how great the Mehta 2 is. The Klemperer 4th is an interesting account.......I'll name all the 4ths which I have by conductor in order to give you an idea of all the 4ths which I've ultimately compared this against

Abbado (1st Recording)
Abbado (2nd Recording)
Bernstein DG
Bernstein Sony
Bertini
Boulez
Chailly
Gatti
Gielen
Haitink (2nd Recording)
Horenstein
Inbal
Karajan
Klemperer
Kubelik
Levi
Levine
Maazel
Rattle
Reiner
Salonen
Solti
Szell
Tennestedt
Tilson Thomas
Walter
Welser-Most
Zander
Zinman

I may be missing a few that I own, but this is what I recall from memory..... .The Fischer for me is the best of the best

 

[mbhaub]

The Fischer is great, the sound an extra bonus -- if anyone still doubts the marvel of SACD, they need to hear this disk on a good system. The Heaven's Gate openingin the 3rd movement is breathtaking.
Of the other available recordings, and there are sooooo many, I really have a strong liking for the Paul Kletzki recording. Just perfect in my opinion. Right up there with Reiner (of all people!). Klemperer is not bad at all, the orchestra sure plays well, but there are two things I don't like: Klemp is awfully stiff in the first movement and doesn't wallow in the numerous tempo changes Mahler indicates. The other problem for me is Schwarzkopf. It's too cloying or something. It just doesn't sound sweet and innocent. This is not Rosenkavalier! When it really comes down to it, I just can't regard Klemperer as one of the great Mahler conductors. He may have known Mahler, and helped with the first performance of the 7th, but there's not a Klemperer recording of Mahler that really is essential as far as I'm concerned. His M2 is overrated. The 7th is just awful! How can a 75 minute symphony be dragged out to 100 minutes? The 9th is ok, but Walter was better.

 

[LevA]

What's the best symphony to listen to first for someone who has never listened to Mahler?? and which version do you recommend?
I've been interested in giving it a listen but I heard its quite different from other symphonies..
I really like Bruckner, esp 7&8th but I read somewhere its quite different from Mahler except for the length of their symphonies...

Thanks..

 

[DavidMahler]

Quote:

Originally Posted by LevA /img/forum/go_quote.gif What's the best symphony to listen to first for someone who has never listened to Mahler?? and which version do you recommend? I've been interested in giving it a listen but I heard its quite different from other symphonies.. I really like Bruckner, esp 7&8th but I read somewhere its quite different from Mahler except for the length of their symphonies... Thanks..

Hey there. Bruckner's 7th and 8th (and 9th) are amongst my favorites too! If you like the scope of those works...... I would try the Mahler 2nd or 5th first. But the 4th is a very beautiful work, just comes from a slightly different seed than the larger works. After you audition those 3 symphonies you may want to try my personal favorite the 9th, but I don't think the 9th is a great introductory symphony as it is very dense and harmonically more obtuse.

 

[LevA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler /img/forum/go_quote.gif Hey there. Bruckner's 7th and 8th (and 9th) are amongst my favorites too! If you like the scope of those works...... I would try the Mahler 2nd or 5th first. But the 4th is a very beautiful work, just comes from a slightly different seed than the larger works. After you audition those 3 symphonies you may want to try my personal favorite the 9th, but I don't think the 9th is a great introductory symphony as it is very dense and harmonically more obtuse.

Thanks DavidMahler,

I will try the second symphony first and also might pick up his 4th and 6th since they are highly recommended (Ivan Fischer SACD Hybrid). As for the 5th. any recommendations?

I just recently purchased Bruckner's 9th (Giulini - I've been waiting for this one for a while for the price to drop down a little) but haven't listened to it yet. I'm waiting for the right moment when I have time to just sit back and enjoy the music.

 

[DavidMahler]

The greatest recording of the 5th of Mahler which I have ever heard is without a doubt Rudolph Barshai's recording with a bunch of exceptional German Teenage music students. This sounds really strange, but I own at least 75% of all available recordings of the 5th and have seen it performed live 3 times. This version is just incredible. It comes on Brilliant Classics coupled with a perfomance of the Mahler 10th which by comparison is a negligible work being that Mahler never completed the orchestration.

 

[LevA]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DavidMahler /img/forum/go_quote.gif The greatest recording of the 5th of Mahler which I have ever heard is without a doubt Rudolph Barshai's recording with a bunch of exceptional German Teenage music students. This sounds really strange, but I own at least 75% of all available recordings of the 5th and have seen it performed live 3 times. This version is just incredible. It comes on Brilliant Classics coupled with a perfomance of the Mahler 10th which by comparison is a negligible work being that Mahler never completed the orchestration.

Thanks!
Just checked amazon and CD universe and they are both temporarily out of stock, so I guess they are in demand. Although some individual sellers still have them at amazon so might order one.