Search - Edith Mathis, Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra :: Mahler: Symphony No. 4

Very rare masterpiece by Karajan

Roberto Pippalada | La Crescenta, CA | 02/06/2008

(5 out of 5 stars)

"GOLD STANDARD for Mahler 4th.

Well, I must admit, that I am a Furtwangler and Celibidache aficionado.

How come then that I am writing a review on Karajan performance?

Some explanation is in order indeed: especially to my fellow Furtwangler fanatics.



Once one of my dear friends and fellow Furtwangler fans asked me what I think about Karajan. Her expectation was to hear that Karajan is a bon-bon, sweet conductor with no understanding of music.



My answer was this:

Furtwangler is a revolutionary: not in a defiled bourgeois sense, but in a sense of Beethoven: he perceives the music as a shear force of nature, not beholden to any RULES. That's why he is the perennial interpreter of Beethoven.



Karajan on the other hand is the antithesis of revolutionary, subsequently the enemy of all real Beethoven and Furtwangler. He is the ARISTOCRAT. In many pieces of music that he performs he might seem not to have the insight. But what he invariably has he performs everything BEAUTIFULLY, even if it goes against the nature of the piece of music that he performs.



In short, Karajan is one of the conductors I am always interested to hear, because even if I don't agree with his interpretation, it is never dull, and always is beautiful.



Now, I advised my friend to hear this very performance with my Sennheiser and let me know what she thinks. She was stunned!



This is absolutely the best Mahler 4th ever, by anybody, ANYTIME. Anyone, that doesn't appreciate Mahler, even after hearing Adagietto from 5th, I give this recording to hear. It works every time to gain to converts.





One of the reviewers is absolutely right! And I hope this partly explains his assertion.



The same way that I would say that the Beethoven 9th apogee is the Furtwangler performance with Berliner Philharmoniker, the most ecstatic Mahler 4th is this one!



"

Up there with the best

Alan | New York, NY | 12/20/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Karajan's Mahler is not universally beloved. I feel, though, that Karajan tended to be at or near his best in Mahler. I've been intrigued to find that some people who otherwise don't like Karajan's Mahler like this recording. What I find surprising about this is that Karajan is at his most . . . Karajan here, clearly reveling in the beautiful sounds that the Berlin Philharmonic can produceIf you're looking for a recording that emphasizes the rougher, more bumptious aspects of this music, you probably won't care for this one. Yes, it's all very smoothly played. Every detail is tended to so that it will all sound as exquisite as possible. But if you're not put off by Karajan's love for legato and sheer beauty of sound, I think you will find that he charts a real emotional journey in this performance. Just to hear every moment in this hourlong performance with every instrument in perfect balance is revelatory in itself, but I find this performance also has real power. And Edith Mathis is pretty close to ideal in the final movement, which has an almost hallucinatory feel in this performance.I think that Barbirolli is still my favorite for this symphony, but Karajan runs a close second, which is not to discount Szell, Britten, and (though still not issued on CD) van Beinum."

Most Beautiful Orchestral Music

Scott Varland | Louisville, KY USA | 07/18/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"In this recording, the Berlin Philharmonic produces the most beautiful orchestral music that I have ever heard. Notice the evocative sleigh bells at the beginning, the hypnotic third movement, and the rapt singing in the fourth.



I could go on and on."