In reading Tony Duggan's review of this performance, he mentions Boulez as "the eye of the lawyer matched to the mind of the alchemist" here, an interesting way to put it. And I generally agree with Duggan's assessment that the first movement is almost dead perfect, but the Rondo needs more of the burlesque element...more raucousness and a bit more of an unbridled approach. The end of the Finale is not quite wistful enough for me, it's a little too clinical...this is where the "get out of the way of the music" doesn't quite give the best result, which is sad because if those two elements were present, this recording could be the gold standard IMO. I think Boulez's approach works almost completely overall, but some who prefer their Mahler a little more rough hewn are probably not very satisfied with this one. I'm not saying you are one of those people, I'm just speaking in generalities For instance, from my perspective I know there are many who just gush over Bernstein's Mahler, he's their absolute favorite interpreter, but mostly I find his Mahler performances overly indulgent, the emotional extremes that are wrung out of the music give it an almost trite sense of balance, in my opinion. Not that they aren't worthwhile or explore some good musical depth, but they're not my favorite. I know they were legendary in their time, but I also chalk this up to my overall view of Bernstein's conducting, which is basically overly indulgent. I don't mean to offend, I just don't ride on the Lenny bandwagon very much.
I LOVE Bernstein’s Mahler and I’m well-aware of the criticisms of his conducting (and not just in Mahler) and I’ve come to the conclusion that if a conductor can make this music speak to me, then they did their job and Bernstein more than did his job here. But, this isn’t to say I don’t like other conductors in Mahler. There’s more than one way to conduct Mahler as we all know. Boulez just strikes me as a dull to be honest when he, otherwise, is such an incredible conductor. To be even more honest, I’d say his earlier conducting on Columbia is where it’s at in terms of excitement, intellectual curiosity and sheer razor sharp focus. Some other favorite Mahlerians: Haitink, Klemperer, Abbado, Chailly, Karajan and Tennstedt.
I think that's one of the unique qualities of Mahler's music, it is so damn difficult to interpret well, and it is so elusive, which is what makes hunting down additional recordings so much worthwhile fun. And I totally agree, when you find a conductor or performance that speaks to you, revel in that experience! I certainly do. Klemperer is a favorite of mine also (Uncle Otto knew what he was doing), and I love Abbado...Abbado's Mahler 2 with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra on DVD is a desert island performance for me. Solti is a favorite too, mostly because the CSO could really give him what he wanted and I'm a huge fan of the CSO, they're my "local" band. I have not heard any of Chailly's Mahler, which I am fixing to correct in the near future I have huge respect for Boulez, his ear for textural difference was astounding both as a composer and conductor, and his unique abilities as a composer allowed him to bring out textures and nuance in other repertoire that most other conductors could not illuminate.
Now playing: Henri Dutilleux - Concertos For Violin & Cello ("tout un monde lontain...") - Pierre Amoyal, Lynn Harrell, Orch. Nat. de France, Charles Dutoit - 1995
Since you haven’t heard any of Chailly’s Mahler, I recommend starting with these recordings: Other than these recordings, Chailly is hit/miss in Mahler generally speaking. His 6th must be counted as one of the worst on record I’ve heard. One of my favorite symphonies brought down by a subpar interpretation. The 1st, 2nd and 5th aren’t favorites either. I’ve read many people talk about how great Chailly’s 5th is and, to be honest, I don’t hear it. I think the performance is missing something --- it’s as if he’s holding back and this only hurts Mahler’s music. There’s no question the command Chailly has over an orchestra and when he’s on, he’s a fantastic Mahlerian, but the performances whose album covers I posted above, are the bee’s knees when it comes to his Mahler and these performances alone make him rank with with some of the finest to ever conduct this music, IMHO.
On the turntable: Johann Sebastian Bach, Charles Rosen – The Last Keyboard Works Columbia – 32 36 0020
First listen to music from the Canadian comtemporary composer Jocelyn Morlock Jocelyn Morlock - Wikipedia
I got the Fritz Reiner CSO Complete RCA Album Collection super cheap on Supraphonline last year and finally got around to cleaning up the tags and getting everything into my Plex server. The sound quality is amazing. Tchaikovsky: Violin Concerto in D major, Op. 35 Fritz Reiner Chicago Symphony Orchestra Jascha Heifetz (violin) - Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 25, in C major, K.503 Mozart: Don Giovanni, K. 527, Act I: Overture Fritz Reiner Chicago Symphony Orchestra André Tchaikowsky (piano)
Ending tonight’s listening session with these performances: Sibelius Symphony No. 5 in E-flat major, Op. 82 Pohjola’s Daughter, Op. 49 New York Philharmonic Bernstein
I’m not much for conductor-centric box sets, but Chailly has done some fine work and I think you’ll enjoy his Mahler.
Recorded 2/9-10/56, Kingsway Hall, London. Producer: James Walker. Engineers: Kenneth Wilkinson (mono) & James Brown (stereo). The London mono LP was issued 11/56 and the stereo had to wait until the STS issue of 3/74. This tape version has a 1979 copyright.
Recorded 11/3-5/61, Severance Hall, Cleveland. The more exact credit is to "Members of The Cleveland Orchestra". Producer: Thomas Frost. These are, of course, Columbia recordings, which seem to have remained unissued until 1965. This CBS reissue dates to 1983.
I have time to start this but will have to finish listening tonight. Recording from April 8, 1984. Incidentally, I have been listening to the old Soviet recordings through my new Stax SRM-007tII and SR-L300 earspeakers ( as Stax calls them). This is a very revealing combo. These recordings sound just fine -mainly live from radio broadcast. You hear the occasional baton on the podium noise( with infrequent audience noise) but well worth the listening, in my opinion.
Listening to CD 1 of 2 from "Le Chant Des Cathedrales" performed by Ensemble Gilles Binchois directed by Dominique Vellard on Cantus. Notre Dame school, 12th-14th centuries
