Search - Gustav Mahler, Richard [1] Strauss, John Barbirolli :: Mahler: Symphony No. 6; R. Strauss: Ein Heldenleben

Slow; relentless; well played; well recorded

B. Guerrero | 01/11/2007

(4 out of 5 stars)

"To know if this old Barbirolli Mahler 6th is for you, all you have to do is click on the Windows Media excerpts above. The first movement takes over 21 minutes, and that's without an exposition repeat! Barbirolli was among the first to record the sixth Mahler in andante/scherzo order, which has put him in good standing with today's Mahler "scholars". Since his scherzo is no slower than his first movement, I think this performance works either way: andante/scherzo, or scherzo/andante. The scherzo is a bit over 13 minutes (rather normal), while the slow movement is proportionally correct sounding at 16-something (in other words, not too slow). The finale reaches out to almost 33 minutes. In short, this is one of the slower M6's out there. Yet, the whole thing has a very rhythmic and persistant quality about it. To make matters better, the Philharmonia of old - possibly the best orchestra in Europe in those days - plays exceedingly well, and EMI's sound quality is better than it is on many of their newer digital recordings. If you like the sound and playing on any of the old Walter Legge produced, Philharmonia Orchestra recordings (Klemperer; Maazel; Karajan, etc.), you'll like the sound on this. Considering the fact that EMI also throws in a decent "Ein Heldenleben" (slow but clarified during the famous and dense sounding battle episode), this is an absolute steal at $12.



This wouldn't be my first choice for a Mahler six recording, but it would make a good supplement for those days when you want to hear something truly grim (yet, tonal)."

Magnificent

Good Stuff | 10/30/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"This note is about Barbirolli's account of the Mahler Sixth only. I'll leave the Strauss for another day, perhaps.



But, regarding the Sixth, I had the rare good fortune to see Barbirolli conduct Mahler live (Symphony No. 9) shortly before his death. It was a sublime experience, actually better than his estimable recording of the same work.



His Sixth is, in my opinion, one of the great recorded musical statements of the 20th Century. I have lived with the recording in question here for some four decades. It is not the only great recording of Mahler's Symphony. However, there is absolutely no question in my mind that it belongs in every music lover's library, and should be basic recorded repertoire for Mahlerians everywhere.



It is heart-wrenchingly magnificent."