Search - Gustav Mahler, Herbert Blomstedt, Michael Steinberg :: Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection"

Simply the best!!

Aaron Diestel | St. Joseph, Missouri United States | 11/30/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have been a loyal Mahler listener for years. My first Mahler experiece was hearing the "Urlicht" from the 2nd symphony(Christa Ludwig/Bernstein). I was brought to my knees with this music. I have been a great fan of Mahler ever since. I have studied his life and his compositions extensively. Even after all this time the Mahler 2nd remains my favorite composition.
Needless to say I have collected many recording of this work and been to many performances, from Chicago and St. Louis, to Vienna and Prague. I have about 15 recordings of the Mahler 2 in all. The various Bernstein, Abbado, Klemperer, Metha, etc. I'm a picky listener. If Mahler isn't done just right I let someone know about it. So to say I was hesitant about the Blomstedt recording at first. After I had my first listen, all hesitation was lost and an emmense love for this recording grew.
The sheer precision of this performance is breathtaking. The fenese of the phrasing of the orchestra and choir is the best I've ever heard. Intonnation is dead on, except for a few problems in the antiphional horn parts in the last movement. However, I have never heard an orchestraa play so in tune with each other than I hae heard on this preformance.
Clarity of the recording of the orchestra is the clearest ever. One could hear a pin drop onstage. However don't worry about hearing pages turned or shifting in a chair, none of that is present on the recording.
Chemistry of the vocalists is also a great match. Their voices arent huge, but they are warm and blend amazingly well with each other and the orchestra.
A major point I must make is blomstedt's truness to the score. Almost all marking are followed from tempo to articulation markings. Mahler was a perfrectionist when it came to marking a score. There are more makings in his scores than any other composer of his time. An blomstedt is a master at folowing them.
This recording combines the best of all worlds in my mind.
This is the LAST rocording I'll ever buy of this piece. None could do better. It's a very energetic recording and has the power in all the right places and the right touches to make you cry.
You wont regret buying this recording. Spend the money and go for it. Nothing will be regreted."

Could get 5 Stars

Steve E. Martin | Port Orchard, WA | 01/10/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Why only 4 stars? Because it is not the best of the best in my opinion but it is still great. I own several recordings of Mahler 2 and this recording is an example of a straight ahead Mahler reading. It has been argued that there are 2 approaches to this symmphony the Klemperer style or the Walter syle. Blomstedt avoids excesses of either approach and just tears into the notes in the score. Crystal clear Decca recording makes this one a no brainer."

A superb recording of Mahler 2

jhorro | VA | 05/15/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I came to this version from the Solti version with the Chicago Symphony. The brass playing and singing was phenomenal, almost drawing attention to itself. The Blomstedt version is much more subtle, there are some beautifully delicate passages in the first three movements that are not as well delineated in the Chicago reading. Another drawback of the Chicago version was the use of an electronic organ at the end (which is ever so slightly out of tune).
Blomstedt is not the first person one thinks of for Mahler, but he is within his means as an expert on Strauss and Bruckner. The San Francisco orchestra and chorus surpass themselves, and the final culmination with a real pipe organ (!) is quite overwhelming. The soloists may not be the finest on record (one thinks of Janet Baker and Arleen Auger with Rattle), but they make an admirable, if not distinctive contribution.
I know San Francisco is planning another recording with Michael Tilson Thomas, which real die-hard Mahlerians should probably wait for, but this recording is superb testimony to what Blomstedt did during his tenure. The age of quality studio recordings with big American orchestras is fading away; this is a milestone recording in many ways."