Symphony No. 1 in D major ('Titan'): Langsam. Schleppend. Wie ein Naturlaut. Im Anfang sehr gemächlich
Symphony No. 1 in D major ('Titan'): Kräftig bewegt, doch nicht zu schnell
Symphony No. 1 in D major ('Titan'): Feierlich und gemessen, ohne zu schleppen
Symphony No. 1 in D major ('Titan'): Stürmisch bewegt - Energisch
Symphony No. 2 in C minor ('Resurrection'): Allegro maestoso
Track Listings (8) - Disc #2
Symphony No. 2 in C minor ('Resurrection'): Andante moderato
Symphony No. 2 in C minor ('Resurrection'): [Scherzo]. In ruhig fließender Bewegung
Symphony No. 2 in C minor ('Resurrection'): Urlicht. Sehr feierlich, aber schlicht
Symphony No. 2 in C minor ('Resurrection'): Im Tempo des Scherzos. Wild herausfahrend
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, song cycle for voice & piano (or orchestra): Wenn mein Schatz Hochzeit macht
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, song cycle for voice & piano (or orchestra): Ging heut morgen übers Feld
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, song cycle for voice & piano (or orchestra): Ich hab ein glühend Messer
Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen, song cycle for voice & piano (or orchestra): Die zwei blauen Augen
Oh baby, this is really good! Bruno Walter was a disciple of Big Man Gustav himself, and at the very end of his life, in the early 1960s, he recorded these two stereo performances that have come up sounding magnificent i... more »n this new digital transfer. Anyone who had those grotty-sounding old Odyssey LPs will be shocked by the vividness and depth of sound on these old master tapes. In particular, someone has come up with an amazing organ presence at the end of the Resurrection Symphony that outclasses most modern digital recordings. Where has it been all these years? You simply can't like Mahler and not own these recordings. At midprice, why wait? --David Hurwitz« less
Oh baby, this is really good! Bruno Walter was a disciple of Big Man Gustav himself, and at the very end of his life, in the early 1960s, he recorded these two stereo performances that have come up sounding magnificent in this new digital transfer. Anyone who had those grotty-sounding old Odyssey LPs will be shocked by the vividness and depth of sound on these old master tapes. In particular, someone has come up with an amazing organ presence at the end of the Resurrection Symphony that outclasses most modern digital recordings. Where has it been all these years? You simply can't like Mahler and not own these recordings. At midprice, why wait? --David Hurwitz
John Austin | Kangaroo Ground, Australia | 12/23/2000
(5 out of 5 stars)
"It's good to read so many favourable reviews of this 2 CD set. Bruno Walter's association with Mahler was perhaps as close as any conductor ever had with a composer. To the young Bruno Walter in 1907, Mahler wrote, "I know no-one who understands me so well". These recordings, made in the last years of Bruno Walter's life immortalise this special understanding. Inspiration is evident everywhere. By all accounts, the freelance musicians involved felt compelled to give these recording sessions top priority. The technicians ensured that the best recording techniques were used. Subsequent transfer and restoration processes have improved things still further. Gone are the deep rumble and the high hiss that were all too audible before the pianissimo entrance of the choir in the last movement of the Second Symphony. A reviewer writes of the failure to observe repeat in the First Symphony. Bruno Walter disliked repeats and, so far as I know, never observed them in any of his recordings.In his 1947 autobiography, Bruno Walter wrote, "As long as I can lift a baton, I shall continue to conduct the works of Mahler and Bruckner. I consider it one of my life's tasks to uncover the sources of exultation flowing from their music."There is plenty of exultation uncovered in these great performances."
One of the best recordings of Mahler's 2nd
pm444 | Okemos, MI USA | 01/31/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Bruno Walter first met Mahler in 1894 when Walter was 17 years old, and later began a professional relationship that allowed him to observe Mahler's performance practices first-hand. He remained a champion of Mahler's works throughout his long career as a conductor. This set includes a recording of Mahler's 2nd Symphony that I consider to be one of the essential recordings of this work (along with Klemperer's on EMI, Bernstein's with the NY Philharmonic on Sony, and Mehta's on Decca). What struck me most about Walter's recording was the way he handled the finale of the 2nd Symphony, surely among the most beautiful and stirring music ever composed. The sheer power of the music is reminiscent of the finale of Beethoven's 9th, with the same tendency for everything to blend together in one overpowering fortissimo even in the best recordings or live performances. But with Walter, you hear the soloists' voices, the orchestra, and the organ with equal clarity. In every other recording I have heard, the soloists can scarcely be heard above the orchestra and the organ is reduced to a vague sort of thumping sound. To hear these elements in greater balance, without losing any of the intensity of the finale, is revelatory and makes the recording indispensible. Though it dates from the late 1950's, the stereo sound is quite good, and tape hiss, while audible in the quiet passages, does not detract from the beauty of the music. The 1st Symphony is conducted in a lyrical and affectionate way, though by no means without passion, as some have said. This set is essential listening for anyone who loves this music!"
I grew up with these recordings - absolutely great!
Craig Matteson | Ann Arbor, MI | 07/09/2002
(5 out of 5 stars)
"These are two historically great recordings of favorite Mahler symphonies. A lot is made of Walter's relationship with Mahler and I suppose that this is important, but if he had known Mahler and come up with mediocre interpretations who would care?The point is that you can find several (almost too many) quite fine to great recordings of these two symphonies. It is good to take time to hear a wide range of interpretations. However, I believe that though you will find some with better recorded sound, you won't find any better interpreations than these (feel free to disagree with me). The whole range of emotion from the tender, to the melancholy, to great power and even the destruction of the whole world, well, they are all here. Walter doesn't lose any of the poetry or narrative for the sake of flash nor does he lack for almost frightening intensity and drama.I have to admit that I suffer from youthful bias, I was imprinted with these recordings as a teenager and that may shade my judgement, but I don't think that is the complete reason I revere these recordings so much.."
The Mellow Essence of Mahler
The Aeolian | 02/05/2006
(5 out of 5 stars)
"These recordings are for two sorts of listeners: those who are just becoming interested in Mahler's music and those who are thoroughly familiar with Mahler's music. The former will have a fine introduction to Mahler's musical world without the sometimes distorting tendencies of conductors competing for attention in a now-crowded interpretive field; the latter will be able to enjoy again the direct, unforced beauty of Walter's conducting.
Famously a protege of Mahler's, Walter brought to his recordings the authority of having been present at the creation of the works, combined with his sure hand in guiding the musical line and his knack of communicating a transcendent spiritual experience. Straddling the symphonic traditions up to the end of the nineteenth century and the incipient modernist trends, Mahler's music is so ample in both its scale and inventiveness that it can bear a wide range of interpretive approaches without being pulled utterly out of shape. With Walter the listener gets the music as close as possible to a "no-frills" approach, yet with a radiance that can, if you let it, transport you to an emotional plane that lies beyond words, which the best music does. There are always the many other ways to be guided through Mahler's great musical lands -- the crackling intensity of Mitropoulos, the wrenching emotion of Bernstein, the grandeur of Karajan, the clarity of Boulez -- but Walter gives you the mellow essence of the music, where the tumult and the anguish give way to a hard-won tranquility and the triumphant moment is tempered with a sense of its transitory nature."
Walter sure knew his Mahler...
The Aeolian | 05/31/1999
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Bruno Walter conducted Mahler in a way that has not been surpassed. He brought out the power of the work, the little sub-themes in the work others neglect, and above all, the wild spirit of Mahler's music. This set showcased Mahler's early - and perhaps best - first and second symphonies."
Track Listings (5) - Disc #1
