[FinnishFlash]

OK, so I pulled the trigger on a used copy of the Great Conductors/ Mitropoulos through Amazon... Thanks for the tip!

 

[Tyson]

Mitropoulos pretty much owns the M6, IMO. His M9 ain't too shabby either. Too bad the rest of his set is a bit of a let down.

 

[FinnishFlash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by sydneyaudio /img/forum/go_quote.gif I have the Chailly set and enjoy all the symphonies, but something does not sound right with the 2nd. Any recommendations for a 2nd, similar style to Chailly's approach to Mahler, sound quality being the priority?

Sydneyaudio,

I was in a similar position about a year ago, thinking there must be more to the M2 than Bertini (his box set on EMI) had to offer. Now, a year later and largely thanks to this thread, I find myself seeking out out-of-print recordings by conductors until previously unknown to me in my quest for the Mahlerian Holy Grail. The bottom line is, escape this thread while you can and brace your wallet in case you chose to stay...

I am not that familiar with Chailly's Mahler (more seasoned Mahlerites may chime in in this regard) but if sound is really THE priority you should perhaps look into some of the more recent recordings from the likes of Litton, Fischer and Gielen. Of these, I have heard only the Fisher recording which has received positively glowing reviews in the press. I must say that I am not quite as impressed as Gramophone and Hurwitz at ClassicsToday. The sonics are indeed great (on both the SACD and CD layers) but the interpretation, although being very true to the score and having both bite and sophistication, somehow feels clinical, calculated and earth-bound to me. Also, the soloists are less than first-rate and the final climax just fails to take off, despite what the critics tell you. I would think you best bet would be Litton/Dallas SO on Delos (available also as SACD), which I have not heard myself but which has been discussed quite favorably in these pages (I believe our learned friend DarkAngel has it in his top 5).

If/when you go further down the road to Mahler madness you may decide that you can live with less than state-of-the-art sonics in the interest of Mahlerian greatness. In that case you would be well advised to look into M2s by the usual Mahler suspects like Bernstein (x2), Solti (x2), Rattle, Klemperer (xn) to name just a few (most of which have been discussed in this thread). Good luck!

 

[scompton]

Fischer is conducting the NSO next week in Mahler's 2nd. I'm not great at judging performances, especially live, so I'm sure I'll love it. The only time I've noticed something wrong is last year when I saw the NSO playing the 9th, the tuba player dropped his mute. It's amazing how much noise a tuba mute can make

 

[FinnishFlash]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif Fischer is conducting the NSO next week in Mahler's 2nd. I'm not great at judging performances, especially live, so I'm sure I'll love it.

That is no doubt going to be a wonderful experience, please do not let me limited enthusiasm for the Fischer M2 discourage you. After all, his recording is up against some of the very finest Mahler recordings ever made and Fisher is undoubtedly one of the best Mahler interpreters alive (not to mention the obvious fact that a live concert is a totally different thing than a recording).

 

[scompton]

Every other Mahler symphony I've seen the NSO do has been conducted by Slatkin who is pretty fanatical about Mahler. I'm surprised he's never recorded any since he conducts a couple every year.

He even conducts Mahler's reochestrations of Beethoven's symphonies which brings howls from the local critics. He's done it enough that even when he conducts straight Beethoven, the critics howl that it's too much like Mahler. That happened this year when he conducted the 9th and had a talk afterwards which the critic must have skipped. He explained his interpretation followed the score and that he tried to increase the tempo towards what some HIP interpretations are doing.

He had a similar talk last year after conducting Mahler's 9th. Very enjoyable and educational. And almost no one stays for it.

 

[pbarach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by scompton /img/forum/go_quote.gif Every other Mahler symphony I've seen the NSO do has been conducted by Slatkin who is pretty fanatical about Mahler. I'm surprised he's never recorded any since he conducts a couple every year.

He has recorded the first and second (Telarc, 1981 and 1982) and the first Mazetti version of the 10th (BMG, 1994), all with St. Louis. The 10th comes with a 30-minute CD demonstrating some of the differences in the various completions of the piece (Cooke, Wheeler, Carpenter, Mazetti).

I also caught the end of a live performance of Slatkin conducting M2 to celebrate the opening of Nashville's new concert hall. I didn't hear a lot of it, but what I did hear was exciting.

 

[scompton]

That CD of the 10th sounds interesting, especially since I don't have a copy of the 10th.

Unfortunately, the NSO essentially fired Slatkin and this is his last year. The offered the musical directorship to Fischer, but he turned it down. He will be the principle guest conductor, but there won't be a musical director next year. I'm not sure how not having a musical director effects an orchestra, hopefully not much.

 

[Facade19]

My newest Mahler recordings arrived today.

Solti's 1st and 2nd readings with the LSO and Barenboim's 7th.
Oh my goodness, does Solti's 2nd sound incredible. The acoustics IMO are simple fantastic. The engineers at DECCA outdid themselves to my ears. Solti's reading is simple fantastic. Of the four recordings of the 2nd I have (Mehta, VPO, Bertini/RSOK, Abbado/CSO and now Solti/LSO) I have to say that the Solti has become my favorite. Of course there is still the Bernstein/NPO to get, but dang it with the Solti and Mehta versions I do not think I need another one for a long time.

Currently I am listen to the Rondo-Finale of the 7th. Barenboim and the Staatskapelle did a amazing job, but so far I still give the edge to Abbado/BPO reading of the 7th. Though IMO the woodwinds in Barenboim shine better, the strings in the Abbado/BPO are clearer to my ears. Either way I have two of the great recordings of the 7th. I still want to get the Gielen version though.

However next Mahler CD will be most likely Chailly's 9th.

 

[pbarach]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Facade19 /img/forum/go_quote.gif My newest Mahler recordings arrived today. Solti's 1st and 2nd readings with the LSO and Barenboim's 7th. Oh my goodness, does Solti's 2nd sound incredible. The acoustics IMO are simple fantastic. The engineers at DECCA outdid themselves to my ears.

I also like SOlti M1 and M2, but don't you think the engineers somehow "fortified" the basses at the beginning of M2? They are so much louder than anything else.

 

[Facade19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by pbarach /img/forum/go_quote.gif I also like SOlti M1 and M2, but don't you think the engineers somehow "fortified" the basses at the beginning of M2? They are so much louder than anything else.

I think that is why I love this recording so much.

 

[DarkAngel]

Facade
I think the professional critics usually prefer the Solti/LSO M2 to his later remake with CSO which is part of the complete Solti Mahler set........but the CSO version is my reference M2, I just love it!

That is a great 2CD set Solti/LSO M1, M2 since I think the LSO M1 is a bit better than CSO M1..........and by any measure the LSO M2 is a great performance, so an essential Mahler purchase you have there.

The story goes.........Solti was not impressed enough with first version of CSO M2 for the complete set and insisted Decca record it again at the Medinah Temple this time, can you imagine a conductor today pulling that off. It is even more dramatic and powerful than the LSO version, and the final apocalypse close is just spectacular even by Solti standards! Somehow Solti holds it all together and we are given a glimpse of immortallity

 

[Facade19]

Quote:

Originally Posted by DarkAngel /img/forum/go_quote.gif Facade I think the professional critics usually prefer the Solti/LSO M2 to his later remake with CSO which is part of the complete Solti Mahler set........but the CSO version is my reference M2, I just love it! That is a great 2CD set Solti/LSO M1, M2 since I think the LSO M1 is a bit better than CSO M1..........and by any measure the LSO M2 is a great performance, so an essential Mahler purchase you have there. The story goes.........Solti was not impressed enough with first version of CSO M2 for the complete set and insisted Decca record it again at the Medinah Temple this time, can you imagine a conductor today pulling that off. It is even more dramatic and powerful than the LSO version, and the final apocalypse close is just spectacular even by Solti standards! Somehow Solti holds it all together and we are given a glimpse of immortallity

DarkAngel could you please post a link to that Solti M2 recording please? You have me now intrigued.

Thank you very much!!!

 

[Tyson]

I'm not DA but here you go, one of the top sets, IMO:

Amazon.com: Mahler - The Symphonies / Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Sir Georg Solti: Kiri Te Kanawa,Georg Solti,Gustav Mahler,George Solti,Chicago Symphony Orchestra,Isobel Buchanan,Mira Zakai,Arleen Auger,Heather Harper,Yvonne Minton,Lucia Popp,John S

 

[DarkAngel]

You can also find the CSO M2 used if you only want that, but entire set is well worth getting at cheap used prices.

Tyson prompted me to get out the booklet from Solti set and I was surprised at what I found. The performances are collected together from a long time period for this set
*
M5 1970 (Medinah Temple)
M6 1970 (Medinah Temple)
M7 1971
M8 1971
*
M2 1980 (Medinah Temple)
M9 1982
M3 1982
M4 1983
M1 1983

Almost like Solti set spans two time periods 10 years apart, Solti must have been impressed with sound for M5, M6 and thus wanted M2 also at Medinah Temple.

The LSO Mahler performances date from:
M1 1964
M2 1966