Search - Gustav Mahler :: Mahler: Symphony No. 5

Schwarz' superb recording of Mahler's fifth

L. Johan Modée | Earth | 07/07/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This CD incarnates one of the very best interpretations of Mahler's fifth symphony that exist on record. For many years it has been out of print, but now - at last - it is available in a new edition.



The Austrian conductor Rudolf Schwarz (1905-1994) is not widely known today. He studied with Richard Strauss in the twenties and held later a position together with Joseph Krips in Karlsruhe. Because of his Jewish origin, he was arrested, imprisoned and later deported to Auschwitz and Bergen-Belsen during the Nazi regime. Surviving that experience, he spent some time in Sweden after the war, but eventually he ended up in the UK where he took up his baton again. By the end of the 1950s, Schwarz was Chief Conductor of the excellent BBC Symphony Orchestra and he was conducting the City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra as well. From 1964 to 1973 Schwarz was Chief Conductor of the Northern Sinfonia.



This recording shows what a fine Mahler conductor he was. It is a powerful performance, remarkably balanced. For example, the adagietto is perfectly paced.



London Symphony Orchestra was not, however, in their very best shape when this recording was made in the late fifties (1958). But the orchestra plays with inspiration and passion. And even if the recorded stereo sound is somewhat dated, Everest's excellent recording technique provides a natural, spacious, and clear sound, satisfactory for most ears. So these are minor quibbles. Because this is one of the very best interpretations of Mahler's fifth available.



References include Walter (SONY), Barshai (Brilliant), Kubelik (DG), and Neumann (Berlin Classics). But, among these frontrunners, it is an interpretation I don't want to be without. Thus I regard it as a must have.



Warmly recommended!"

At the preceding year of Mahler's 150th anniversary!

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 07/20/2009

(5 out of 5 stars)

"As we are aware, Mahler's Fifth has been probably the most recorded and renown of his corpus of symphonic works.



Countless performances have been recorded, but in honor to the truth no other has been able to capture such level of desperate hopeless and sinister mood like this one.



As we know, Rudolf Schwartz was one of the survivors of a concentration camp and keeping in mind this hellish environment he directed this emblematic symphony.



The Fifties, Sixties and Seventies were for the London Symphony the three most golden decades along its fruitful artistic trajectory. De Sabata, Horenstein, Stokowski, Maag, Furtwangler, Van Beinum, Collins, Coates, Kertesz, Weller consolidated a sumptuous and full rounded sonorous weight.



And so Schwartz made it. A resplendent and beloved version still regarded by connoisseurs and new comers that has become it a cult reverence.

Don't miss it by any reason. This recording must be part of your invaluable collection.

"

I beg to differ

C. David Claris | Chapel Hill, NC | 12/30/2009

(2 out of 5 stars)

"3 stars for the performance, which is rather crude and blaring, essentially lacking in nuance or subtlety.



1 star for the recording which although once "audiophile" has been filtered crudely with what sounds like the old "pumping" version of CEDAR, which opens up in loud parts but shuts down the hiss abruptly in the soft parts, with results jarring to the ear. UGH. If this weren't bad enough, the entire tape is plagued with pre- and post-echo. For those who may not know what this phenomenon is, I'll define it briefly, because it's very audible and annoying. During soft passages you can either hear (pre-echo) a ghost of the approaching LOUD passage; OR similarly (post-echo) the vestige of a loud burst that has just past being repeated softly, caused by the magnetic signal bleeding through the tape to adjacent tape surfaces.



Be that as it may, neither the recording nor the interpretation can hold a candle to such classics as Barbirolli/EMI, Walter/CBS, or even Karajan/DGG. In short, this one is "to be avoided"."