Search - Mahler, Brahms, Walter :: Symphony 1 / Variations on a Theme By Haydn

Mahler played the way it should be played

Santa Fe Listener | 10/29/1998

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Bruno Walter was a student of Mahler, and also a disciple. This performance is vintage Bruno Walter...thoughtful, eloquent. Many conductors, faced with the wide range of dynamics and colors used by Mahler, tend to exaggerate tempos, both slow and fast. Walter avoids this completely and delivers a gorgeous performance, devoid of excess which gets right to the heart of Mahler. The NY Philharmonic, which had a love relationship with Walter for many years, plays brilliantly. Even the recording, though old by modern standards does justice to the crisp brilliance of the NY Phil of the fifties. If you are new to Mahler, this is a recording that is a MUST in your library."

A colossal, vigorous and mercurial performance!

Hiram Gomez Pardo | Valencia, Venezuela | 09/22/2006

(5 out of 5 stars)

"All of us are aware of the close ties among Bruno Walter and Gustav Mahler. One could state that Walter was conceptually, an artist imbued into the spirit of XIX Century, that is why his art as conductor was multidimensional and like him Furtwangler, Casals, Toscanini, Weingartner, Walter Damsroch, Jasha Horenstein were men that grew up according the precepts of the art conceived as the final expression of an artistic journey where all the rest of artistic disciplines were melted.



Hence, Walter understood the intrinsic value of musical phrase, as part of a superior conceptual unity. That explains the fact his readings about Mahler owned personality and conviction.



This first belongs to that reduced genre of anthological performances. The New York philharmonic and Walter reached such level of mutual support and total rapport, due that spiritual chemistry so vital and demanded to achieve such kind of approach.



A fundamental issue to collect.

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Out of print but a treasured Walter document

Santa Fe Listener | Santa Fe, NM USA | 12/17/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Before the classical CD market deflated, Sony was releasing superbly remastered historical recordings accompanied by lavish photos and notes. This Mahler First from 1954 with Walter and the NY Phil. sounds great, the best mono I've heard from that era. The reading, as noted by the Amazon reviewer, is more energetic and far better played than the stereo remake from Los Angeles in 1961. It's fair to say that it's in a class of its own.



The highlight of the performance, unexpectedly, is the movement most conductors slough over, the Scherzo. Walter's is light-footed, not a peasant stomp, quick, and utterly musical in its phrasing. You will wonder why it's never done this well by others. The first movement, though fine, lacks the finesse and ultimate virtuosity of Abbado, Bernstein, Boulez, etc. No doubt Walter wanted the rustic touches not to be refined away.



The lugubrious slow movement begins with a thin, whiny double bass solo, just as Mahler intended (not the full, songful tone most bassists strive for) before it continues drolly onward to the cemetery. The finale doesn't open with an apocalyptic crash; the excitement is a bit muted, in keeping with Walter's view of Mahler as a humane nature composer. Still, it's energetic and extremely well played, with more inner life than one usually encounters. Instead of sitting on the edge of our seats, Walter takes us soaring.



I'm not sure anyone really needs Brahms after these thrills, but the Haydn Variations from 1953, again in excellent mono and again recorded in Carnegie Hall, are as wonderfully alive as the Mahler. This is one of the triumphant reissues in the entire CD catalog."