Search - Mahler, Nyp, Vpo :: Symphonies 3 & 8: Live Recordings 1956/1960

Great Mahler 8, Heavily cut Mahler 3

Paul E. Hartman | Los Angeles | 10/31/2006

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Just to inform the readers about the reviews below: This performance of the Mahler 3 has a heavily cut first movement, somehow ignored or not noticed by any of the reviewers (!). For that reason, despite the magnificent playing, it is not to be recommended (since he cuts the more meditative sections of the first movement, leaving almost a succession of "band music" climaxes by impression as a result).



DON'T BUY THIS ONE---instead, get the excellent UNCUT COMPLETE Mahler 3 on the Tahra label, recorded in 1960 the day before Mitropoulos died, in Cologne.



The Mahler 8 is justly famous, a wonderful performance with a few singing and orchestral playing flaws, but better sounding on the more recent reissue on the Orfeo label.



So, in summary: Don't buy this one, but get the Tahra and Orfeo versions instead."

"Incredible 3rd?" . . . afraid not!

J. A. Connolly | Oak Park, IL USA | 08/25/2004

(3 out of 5 stars)

"Wow! M&M: my favorite Mahler Symphony and Dmitri Mitropoulos, one of my favorite conductors -- together! Oops...not so fast...or perhaps I should say waaaaay too fast! Tempi (on the Third) are awful, strings too strident, brass too closely miked, audience noise anything but "innocuous" -- in short, the worst overall performance of this work I've heard (on record, anyway). Obviously someone's out for a buck; this should never have been released. What a disappointment!



The Eighth, on the other hand, is quite a different story. My faith in Maestro M is (almost) restored. In a word: marvelous. It is interesting, I suppose, to think of this set as a study in contrasts. The Third shows how even a master of Mahler such as Mitropoulos can have an off performance; the Eighth demonstrates the M (&M) we remember.



1 star for the Third -- 4 stars for the Eighth.

"

An Incredible #3

Timothy Dougal | Madison, Wi United States | 11/30/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I have only heard Mitropoulos' Third which I have on a Hunt CD, but it is so extraordinary I have to review it. First, I'll list its problems: this is a live recording from 1956, so it contains some relatively innocuous coughing, and it is mono. That being said, the quality of the performance overwhelms every other consideration. I understand that Mahler's Third holds the record as the longest symphony. This, however, is the record holder as the shortest performance of that work. Most performances clock in at between 90 and 108 minutes. This one is 78 minutes long. I don't know what Mitropoulos may have cut in the way of repeats, but nothing seems to be missing. What Mitropoulos does do is radically rephrase the work, bringing out every element of this immense structure with clarity and vigor. If the average Third is like a dreamy, mystical walk in the woods, this is an intense peak experience, revealing the majesty of creation to the nth degree. Indeed, it is very hard to remain seated during the finale so stirring is the interpretation. Don't pass up this experience!"