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Genre: Classical Music
Media Format: Compact Disk
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Release Date: 9-SEP-2003
CD Reviews
Majestic might be the right word
Larry VanDeSande | Mason, Michigan United States | 03/10/2004
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Before Gilbert Kaplan came along and showed everyone how this symphony should be played, we only had the ancient Oskar Fried recording (approved by the composer, I have read) and the 1961 vision by Mahler protege Bruno Walter that were connected to the composer and thought to project Mahler's thinking relative to performance.
Then along came Kaplan, a rich businessman that used scrupulous research, a concentrated understanding of the score, and his own fortune to come up with something a little different. His 1984 recording was a landmark that outsold all other Mahler 2 recordings.
Does this recording equal that monument to this music? I think so but I didn't think so after I listened to it the first couple times. Kaplan's vision of the music has expanded to 85 minutes, going beyond the 83-minute traversal from 1984. When you listen to the two recordings side-by-side, it sounds like Kaplan is taking twice as long to get where he wants to go this time, especially in the 23-minute opening movement and the 35-minute finale. Time seems to stand still as he scales peaks, moves around mountains and finally reaches Elysium in the finale.
What may put off some listeners is the pastoral nature of the first movement, a not altogether allegro moderato. Sometimes it appears to be allegro largo. Sometimes allegro sostenuto. Sometimes allegro but pretty damn still and silent.
I don't think this is the way most people come to recordings of Mahler 2. It took time for me to come to it, as well, after years of exposure to this music. But I can tell you I came to it and now think I understand what Kaplan is doing. His approach seems to have aged, like wine, and broadened, like understanding but not like waistline.
The broad approach reminds me of the religious affect of Bruckner, especially in the opening movement. Is this a good thing in Mahler? I think so.
There are a lot of other Mahler 2's I've enjoyed over the years. The Mehta-Vienna, Neumann, Klemperer and, especially, Abravanel have all been favorites of mine at one time or another. I have not enjoyed any of Bernstein's recordings, finding them too wanton for my taste. The recent re-release of Stokowski and new Abbado recordings are also good ones.
This one has a lot going for it besides the later Kaplan conception. The soloists and orchestra seem to do well most of the time and the chorus, the Vienna Singverein, is a muscial miracle. The sound on this CD is miraculous; it is the best sounding recording I have ever heard. The sound stage is deep, resonant and detailed with not an ounce of distortion or congestion in even the greatest choral fortissimo.
If you are an audiophile this is for you. If you want to know something more about Mahler 2 and its possibilites, this is for you, too. If you are stuck on Mahler 2 beling delivered a certain way, you may want to ignore this."
BY A SPECIALIST FOR SPECIALISTS
DAVID BRYSON | Glossop Derbyshire England | 12/31/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Using the criterion - if this had been a concert performance would I have been pleased to have attended it? - the answer is an unqualified affirmative. It is a beautiful account of the symphony, it is a sympathetic and insightful one, and it is an accomplished and professional one. When it comes to building a record collection the criteria are a little different. Either one is a Mahler specialist accumulating a large variety of different performances, or one is a general music-lover looking for only one version or perhaps a couple of versions of this particular work. For the specialist this set is probably indispensable. It incorporates (apparently) the most up-to-date research into Mahler's final intentions for the symphony. Mahler was, to put it a little plainly, a right old fusspot. He larded his scores with minute directions for their expression in performance, something he did not trust other conductors with. On top of that, he kept changing his mind anyway, and the objective of this particular account is expressly to present the score as he last amended it. Taking Kaplan's claims on faith, as I am very happy to do, numerous outright errors have been corrected, and that must be an unqualified good thing from any point of view at all, although not even Kaplan claims that the differences will be very noticeable. I'm not sure whether he goes so far as to imply that the final version is necessarily the best version, (something that does not follow by any means although it may actually be the case), but whether he does or not it seems right and logical to me to reproduce as coherent a view of the composer's intentions at some particular time as can be established. As an aid to the scholar and the student, the two discs are divided into a very large number of different tracks (the third movement, not even 11 minutes long, is chopped into no fewer than 9 of them) with bar-# references, an admirable device as it gives no problems to the general listener who has no interest in so much detail. For the general record-collector the choice is obviously determined by what other versions are available. Good as this issue is, it does not come up to my ancient (1951) version by Klemperer and the Concertgebouw with Ferrier and Jo Vincent as soloists, which still sounds very good for its age. Kaplan undoubtedly has the measure of the huge piece and there is never any danger even in the very long first and last movements that they will lose coherency, but Klemperer is simply a lot cleverer in finessing the changes of tempo so as to provide light and shade. The orchestral tone and individual playing of the Vienna Philharmonic are as accomplished as you would expect, but there is a lean, spare quality about Mahler's orchestration that sets him apart from his great contemporaries Strauss, Elgar and Ravel as well as his predecessors Tchaikovsky and Rimsky in that respect, and if this set has a besetting fault it is a certain blandness in that matter as well as in respect of the tempo variations. In addition Nadja Michael is too low-key in Urlicht. Comparison with Ferrier is probably a bit unreasonable, but Nadja Michael could have made things easier for herself just by giving a simpler and more outgoing account of the movement, as Ferrier does. And nicely as Kaplan handles the rhythm in the second movement, he doesn't hold a candle to Klemperer there. If I had been looking for a new version, I think I would still be looking. I am grateful for the Christmas gift of this one, but at least as much for its scholarly as for its musical virtues.Kaplan supplies a lengthy and moderately helpful liner note in a rather conventional liner-note idiom. The issue is generously spread over two cd's (85 minutes' playing time) for the price of one."
The suspense, depth, and nuance needed for a great Mahler 2
Jamie R. Kember | La Crosse, WI USA | 11/01/2003
(5 out of 5 stars)
"Immediately the bass introduction to the symphony pulls the listener in completely. It provides the presence and suspense to create the absolute perfect atmosphere for this symphony. Kaplan's sense of direction, extreme attention to detail, and great picture of the symphony as a whole makes this recording a must have. Not to mention the amazing performance of the instrumentalists. The Wiener Philharmoniker is able to create such texture and mood. It is clear there is a unified intension in the orchestra throughout this epic symphony. There is an incredible display of explosiveness and introspect in the first movement. The second Movement goes back and forth between the opening playfulness and child like quality to the sudden contrast at the Nicht Eilen with great conviction. The clarinet has a fantastic sneering and mocking quality in the 3rd. The 4th perhaps the most beautiful movement in all of music is reinforced once again on this recording. The brass choral is stunning and Nadja Michael's voice is rich and beautiful and provides great nuance, however, I don't know if anyone can beat Baker's performance with Sir Simon Rattle. The massive 5th is grandiose and the judgment day has in fact come. Bravo to the brass, especially to the trombones in making the most beautiful choral written for trombone exactly that. Latonia Moore and the choruses' performances are gorgeous and incredibly pure. The ending leaves the listener numb from head to toe and forces you to look at life in a new light. Mahler demands a huge amount of emotional commitment from the conductor, the musicians, and from the listener because of the continuous existence of overpowering joy and exaltation, to the deepest expression of sadness and contemplation of an individuals meaning to life. Mahler encompasses the world and this recording opens the world up to the listener enabling the listener to have an amazing interactive listening experience."
Cannot displace his previous recording
MartinP | Nijmegen, The Netherlands | 11/29/2003
(4 out of 5 stars)
"Always having considered Kaplan's 1988 recording of this work the best one overall, I'm happy to find that his untiring love for it has won him access to the Walhalla of Mahler performance. Of course, by now he can hardly be called an amateur any more, and backed by the authority of the Vienna Philharmonic even professional music critics are compelled to take this recording very seriously. And so they should.
It is quite different from the earlier one. Having, I suppose, become more of a conductor, Kaplan is much more free in his use of rubato, more liberal in the placement of accents - but as before, everything fits comfortably within the boundaries set by the score. The same analytical precision of the previous version is in evidence here, helped by a recording of remarkable directness and clarity. In the first movement I was often reminded of Sinopoli's Bruckner 5, which has the same kind of total transparency. Bass instruments are spectacularly well-defined, making for a suitably violent opening of the first movement. Further on, the series of dissonances on which the climax grinds to a stop makes even Rattle sound like a slouch. Throughout this and other movements you hear a wealth of details that go unnoticed in other recordings. The second movement is infused with unusual ruggedness, so that for once it sounds of a piece with the surrounding movements rather than being just a charming intermezzo. The stormy middle part acquires tragic import. In the third movement the sardonic sneers of the clarinets, somewhat underplayed in the previous recording, are much in evidence here, realised even more effectively and yet through subtler means than with Bernstein. Yet, at the end of this movement some drawbacks make themselves felt for the first time. The up-front recording takes away the mystery of the final bars, which then lead over into a less than ideal performance of "Urlicht". It is a kind gesture of Kaplan to allow young, unknown soloists the opportunity to perform with these forces, but in the case of Nadje Michael it doesn't pay him any dividends. Hers is undoubtedly a beautiful, sympathetic voice, but it is marred by an intrusive, wobbly vibrato that is completely out of style with the simplicity of the song. Here, Petra Lang on Chailly's recent recording has set new standards. Then the finale bursts in - and tension sags. Throughout the weird marching episodes I had the feeling Kaplan didn't really know what to make of it. The famous percussion crescendo's are too short and quite flaccid, and much else is mainly just loud. The high-level, highly detailed recording starts to work against itself; it becomes tiring, and precludes that extra ounce of energy that ought to have been in reserve for this finale. Also, it is ruthless in revealing a surprising number of instances where players simply aren't together. The off stage ensembles, however, are realised to perfection, producing an uncanny sense of wide open spaces. Needless to say the contributions of the expert chorus are beyond reproach as well, but tension levels remain stuck some way below white heat. And then at the end, where is the organ, where are the bells?? True, in these pages Kaplan went completely over the top in his Conifer/IMP version, but the effect was dazzling and unforgettable, and much to be preferred over this matter-of-fact conclusion to the proceedings.
This certainly is a rewarding, often impressive and very often extremely beautiful version of this symphony. But its felicities are in momentary details rather than the overall picture. In the end it may just have the edge over Chailly's recent soft-core reading, but it certainly does not replace Kaplan's own earlier version, which shares with this one the scrupulous attention to detail, but is less self-consciously "interpreted". Also, it has a far more natural sound perspective allowing an inexorable build-up of tension producing a mind-blowing release at the end."
The best of the best
Linda McDougall | Guanajuato, Mexico | 09/23/2005
(5 out of 5 stars)
"As an obsessive Mahler addict, I've heard and examined and blissed out over every possible recording ever made of his work, and I want to say, without going into the wonderful details already pointed out by your learned aficionados, that Kaplan has done it. There are so many great versions of the 2nd Symphony and none are less for Kaplan's brilliant interpretation. I just can't explain why I felt explosion after explosion, of both fear and rapture, with this version.
At times I felt as if Mahler himself was conducting...yet how would I know? I can only be grateful for the day, in the little CD store in el Teatro de Belles Artes, Mexico City, when the owner stuck the set in my hand with an expression so profound, that I had to buy it."
Track Listings (14) - Disc #1