Search - Gustav Mahler, Leonard Bernstein, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra :: Mahler: The Symphonies

A box of love letters

Mr John Haueisen | WORTHINGTON, OHIO United States | 04/26/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I consider this the best single Mahler collection available, because it is rehearsed and conducted by Leonard Bernstein, whose life and passion brought about a worldwide appreciation for Mahler's music.



Bernstein appeared transfixed or transported to another world when he was conducting Mahler. He told orchestras that Mahler left the best blueprint--extremely detailed scores--so that all a conductor would need is to follow the score. But Bernstein then added that his display of emotion was to try to persuade the orchestra and audience to love the music as he did.



Special highlights of this collection are a performance of Mahler's 6th that is so transparent that listeners can easily hear the cowbells both in the first and fourth movements. In Mahler's 2nd there is a wonderful pairing of Christa Ludwig and Barbara Hendricks. Ludwig appears again in the 3rd with the plaintive, "O, Mensch!" The 4th features a boy soprano, Helmut Wittek, in an effort to capture what Mahler intended as a simple, guiless, child's view of heaven. The "cast" for the Symphony of a Thousand is likewise impressive and effective.



No one could have poured more of his soul and life into Mahler's music than did Lenny. Because of my love and appreciation for Mahler and for Bernstein, I can't help but believe that Mahler would find Lenny's interpretations inspiring and for all time. This collection is a box of love letters to the listener from Gustav Mahler and from Lenny.



For those who would like a more detailed description of the contents of this collection, here is a listing, all conducted, of course, by Bernstein:



Symphony 1 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra



Symphony 2 New York Philharmonic

Christa Ludwig, contralto

Barbara Hendricks, soprano

Joseph Flummerfelt, chorus master



Symphony 3 New York Philharmonic

New York Choral Artists, Flummerfelt

Christa Ludwig, contralto

Philip Smith, posthorn



Symphony 4 Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra

Tolzer Knabenchor

Helmujt Wittek, boy soprano



Symphony 5 Vienna Philharmonic



Symphony 6 Vienna Philharmonic



Symphony 7 New York Philharmonic



Symphony 8 Konzertvereingung

Wiener Staatsopernchor Walter Hagen-Groll

Wiener Singverein

Wiener Sangerknaben

Wiener Philharmoniker

Rudolf Scholz, organ

Margaret Price, soprano I Magna Peccatrix

Judith Blegen, soprano II Una poenitentium

Gerti Zeumer, soprano III Mater gloriosa

Trudeliese Schmidt, contralto I Mutter Samaritana

Agnes Baltsa, contralto II Maria Aegyptiaca

Kenneth Riegel, tenor, Doctor Marianus

Hermann Prey, baritone, Pater ecstaticus

Jose van Dam, bass, Pater profundus



Symphony 9 Royal Concertgebouw



Symphony 10 Adagio Wiener Philharmoniker





"

Bernstein's Mahler re-considered

Spartro1 | 08/05/2010

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Leonard Bernstein was a pioneering force in having Mahler's monumental symphonies committed to tape. His first cycle (on Sony) was and still is a ground-breaking recording when it first appeared in the late 1960s. His second cycle (on DG) shows some drastic change in the man who was at the leader of the Mahler pack. The standards he set with that set were the ones which almost all subsequent Mahler recordings were held to. I'll compare the two cycles symphony by symphony.



Symphony No. 1- This was the next to last symphony that the orchestra recorded in the first set, and it remains a powerful contender among Mahler 1sts. It has a sense of discovery that is refreshing. Over twenty years later, Bernstein had changed in this work. It has slowed down (including a nearly eight minute Scherzo) and it has more of a lift to it, oddly enough. The Royal Concertgebouw plays much better than their New York counterparts, but the sound that DG gave him cannot compare to Columbia's excellent soundstage for the first recording. I definitely recommend the Sony recording.



Symphony No. 2- Mahler's 2nd symphony was a perfect recording for Bernstein to be over the top, and some days this works well and some days it gets on every last nerve that I posess. In the Somy recording, Bernstein is surprisingly conservative with the work. It is a little in the slow side but always well-paced. The New York Philharmonic plays with aplomb and the work is almost a total success, save for the fact that the recording is sometimes muddy. The DG recording is very.... excessive. This recording has a tremendous sense of occasion to it. It was Bernstein's 1000th concert with the NY Phil, and he lets us know it. The tempi in this recording are sometimes GLACIAL. The 1st movement is almost 26 minutes (!) long. Depending on who you are, this is either emotionally impactful or incredibly boring. Granted, the last coda is very thrilling, but on the whole it is just too slow. I recommend Zubin Mehta's 1975 recording with the Vienna Philharmonic.



Symphony No.3- There really is not much I can say about Bernstein in this work. He connected with it on a level that I think few others did. His blazing 1960s rendition remains the definitive version and the later one from the 1980s is basically the same. Sonically, both are very impressive. NY plays better on the second recording I would not be with out either recording. I recommend both, if you see them anywhere for re-sale.



Symphony No.4- Bernstein's 1st recording is my favorite recording of this work, period. Reri Grist sings very well in the last movement, and Bernstein on the whole is pretty quick throughout the work. I do not like the second recording, mostly because he uses a boy soprano in the last movement. Mahler's 4th is not my favorite work, but the 1st recording here is most excellent.



Symphony No.5- If I were you, I would go ahead and skip the Sony recording all together. Very shoddy playing throughout and altogether too fast. The DG recording is much better. Bernstein has a much better sense of the structure and the Vienna Philharmonic is on form throughout. If you see it for sale anywhere, buy it up quick.



Symphony No.6- I think the same case for the 5th applies here. The DG recording is INCREDIBLE! Bernstein gives the music plenty of room to breathe, and the Vienna Philharmonic gives a very committed performance, all white-hot intensity and fire. The hammer blows are a little underwhelming, but the performance that the orchestra gives more than makes up for it. Bernstein's over the top conducting is most suited to this work of incredible extremes. 10 star performance.



Symphony No.7- I find that the case for the Third also applies here. I slightly prefer the second recording simply because DG's sonics are in a different league and the playing is better. I also really like how the brass sound here, simply because it is a full, American sound.



Symphony No.8- The 1st recording from 1966 with the London Symphony is the better recording here. The organ roars and London's playing is to die for. The DG recording from the 1975 Salzburg festival is... bad. The organ is incredibly underpowered and the recorded sound is very distant. I would stick with the first one. The first movement in particular is exciting.



Symphony No.9- I personally do not like Bernstein in this work, on either recording. He applies his over the top style and the work becomes distorted. I find both to be very weepy and heart on sleeve. Go for Claudio Abbado with Berlin. This was my first recording of the 9th and remains my favorite.



On the whole, I find Bernstein's second cycle to be slightly better. I would pick 1,2,4, and 8 from the first, and 5,6,7 and 7 from the second. For the Ninth, I would get a different recording all together.



Bravi tutti!"