Any piece that you have lots of recordings of but still not completely happy?

[PerfectWagnerite]

Maybe the fault is in Mahler's scoring? 

Don't think so...Mahler, much like Beethoven, was not interested in technical shortcomings of his performers

[dtwilbanks]

Maybe the fault is in Mahler's scoring? 

"Later I came to feel that the ordinary man who fails to realize what lies in the music beyond the printed indication is just...an ordinary man." -- Harold Bauer   0:)

[rubio]

Mahler 5th is the difficult one to bring off for me; especially I think many conductors loose momentum in the final movement. I think Chailly is the best one in this movement, but I prefer many other conductors in the other movements  .

Anyway, I enjoy listening to a lot of different recordings! 

[Steve]

Mahler's 7th.

I own several recordings, Thomas/Abbado/Bernstein/Barrenboim/Boulez, and I still feel as though the superlative is stilll out there.

[PerfectWagnerite]

Mahler's 7th.

I own several recordings, Thomas/Abbado/Bernstein/Barrenboim/Boulez, and I still feel as though the superlative is stilll out there.

Look no further than Bertini, althought Barenboim is pretty damn good already !

[Sergeant Rock]

Mahler's 7th.

I own several recordings, Thomas/Abbado/Bernstein/Barrenboim/Boulez, and I still feel as though the superlative is stilll out there.

I keep telling youse guys, Klemperer, man, Klemperer.

Sarge

[karlhenning]

Don't make Sarge come out there and bust heads! 

[Sergeant Rock]

Mahler 5th is the difficult one to bring off for me

Yep, that's my problem piece, and the primary reason I own so many recordings of it.

Sarge

[Harry Collier]

Has to be Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. Everything somehow is not always right.

[prémont]

Has to be Beethoven's Pastoral Symphony. Everything somehow is not always right.

"I keep telling youse guys, Klemperer, man, Klemperer".
(excuse my shameless quote, Sarge, but these are true words, usable in many contexts)

[prémont]

For Bach's WTC I have over 20 recordings that are in this category.

Would you mind to list those >20 recordings?

[Mark]

This thread has opened some old wounds for me. It's brought back memories of trying to find a Beethoven Symphony No. 9 that satisfied (only to return, a dozen recordings later, to Sanderling conducting the Philharmonia & Chorus in 1981 - still my stand-out recommendation to date), and the excitement, then disappointment, that accompanied every new purchase of a version of Rachmaninov's All-night Vigil ... until, that is, I hit the absolute jackpot (rough acoustic aside) with the immortal 1965 USSR State Choir/Sveshnikov recording. What a true gem. And still, with 15 or so recordings on my shelves, I can't fully commit to awarding Metha and the LPO the top prize in Saint-Saens' Third Symphony.

But the one that's really troubling me is Brahms' A German Requiem. Now, before anyone glibly chimes in with the obvious 'top' recommendation of Klemperer with the Philharmonia & Chorus, let me stop you. Yes, I grant you that this recording has earned its classic status. Yes, it has real orchestral energy, powerful soloists and a well-drilled choir. But what kills it for me isn't the peak distortion when everything gets louder (I'm sooooooo over that problem, you'll be pleased to hear), it's the - IMO, undue - prominence that the recording seems to give to the orchestra. To these ears, this sounds as though it comes at the price of sacrificing the very reason for listening to this work in the first place: the words. True, you can catch almost every vocal nuance when the soloists let forth. But once the massed vocal chords are put to work, I can't help feeling they're fighting a losing battle against their instrumental co-musicians.

So, that's Klemperer dispatched. What about Blomstedt and the San Francisco Symphony Orchestra & Chorus? First observation, exceptional soloists: Norberg-Schulz and Holzmair give performances to treasure. And the choir as a whole make for an enjoyable listen. And, unlike the Klemperer recording, the Blomstedt boasts a much better vocal/instrumental balance. You can hear the words, you can hear the orchestra, and it makes for a pleasing recording. Only, not quite. It's all a bit safe, frankly. A bit tame. Where's the passion? Where's the humanity? I listen to this CD and every time I ask myself: 'When it's really going to get going?' It doesn't, and that's its problem. And then, every few minutes or so, you hear something in the performance that catches you off-guard, and you go, 'Christ! That was good!' In short, infuriating.

Do Norrington and his London Classical Players/Schutz Choir of London put in a more compelling performance? At times, yes. Tempi are brisker, textures cleaner, and the signing is, at times, pin sharp. As for the soloists, Olaf Bar impresses, Lynne Dawson disappoints (a shame, as I really love her in French song). In fact, Dawson almost keeps me from playing this recording, so irritating does she become at times. But what keeps me going back is this: Norrington gives us a performance that communicates the work's drama, without any of the melodrama ... the latter being something I feel is more than a little evident in the Klemperer. So then, that's a no to Norrington.

A real surprise pleasure of a performance for me is Haitink with the VPO/Vienna State Opera Chorus. Tempi in the first two parts are almost painfully slow, and Haitink only just manages to bring them off. Then everything really improves. The acoustic is very fine, nicely resonant, and the singing from choir and soloists is often very good. But somehow, there's something missing, and I can't nail what it is. This makes Haitink another miss overall.

Previn/LSO & Chorus. Nothing particularly wrong with it. Nothing particularly remarkable about it. Not what I want from such a massive, emotionally powerful work. Not likely to reign supreme for me any day soon.

Rahbari/CSR Symphony Orchestra & Chorus. You'll laugh, but for an early Naxos recording, it really holds its own. Nothing to write home about, but a valiant (and in places, mildly compelling) effort.

And so to Maazel. I have misgivings about this recording. I always have had. Not the performance - it has real magic at times. Many times. More the generally 'cloudy' acoustic and slightly 'thick' recording balance. Yet, it's this recording with the New Philharmonia & Chorus that I return to until 'better' (IMO) can be found. I actually get goosebumps whenever I play this CD ... then a moment happens that seems better in another performance, and I start wishing I could splice together different bits and pieces. Always so close, yet so far away ...

What next? Hickcox on Chandos? The new EMI Rattle with the BPO? A N Other?

Anyone?

[Sergeant Rock]

"I keep telling youse guys, Klemperer, man, Klemperer".
(excuse my shameless quote, Sarge, but these are true words, usable in many contexts)

Glad you stepped in, Premont. After reading Harry C's post I was about to repeat myself. Now I don't have to 

Sarge

[Don]

Would you mind to list those >20 recordings?

No problem:

Leonhardt
Gilbert
Wilson
van Asperen
Ross
Dantone
Suzuki
Jaccottet
Kirkpatrick
Koopman
Landowska
Parmentier
Verlet
Walcha
Levin
Gould
Gulda
Tureck (twice)
Richter
Fischer
Fellner
Aldwell
Schiff
Schepkin
Crochet
Feinberg
Horszowski
Martins
Vieru

[Sergeant Rock]

But once the massed vocal chords are put to work, I can't help feeling they're fighting a losing battle against their instrumental co-musicians....So, that's Klemperer dispatched.

What next? Hickcox on Chandos? The new EMI Rattle with the BPO? A N Other?

Anyone?

You might consider Karajan's '77 Berlin recording. It was a Grand Prix du Disque winner and comes highly recommended by several British critics, including Ivan March who says, "Both soloists sing with eloquence. What is especially appealing is the beautifully recorded contribution of the Vienna Singverein, full and well focused (just sample the grave 'Denn alles Fleisch, es ist wie Gras' – so well balanced with the orchestra)."

It's budget priced too: check it out here at Amazon.UK

Sarge

[BachQ]

LvB's Missa Solemnis . . . . . . . . Klemperer is pretty damn close . . . . . . . but not quite tout à fait au point . . . . . .

[Drasko]

What next? Hickcox on Chandos? The new EMI Rattle with the BPO? A N Other?
Anyone?

You could try this. At least price is right.

http://www.good-music-guide.com/forum/index.php/topic,12629.msg377885.html#msg377885

[Mark]

Sarge, thank you - it's ordered. (I added the Boulez Stravinsky Rite Of Spring on DG to my order, too.)

Drasko, I've just downloaded your recommendation. Thanks.

[Drasko]

Drasko, I've just downloaded your recommendation. Thanks.

Information, not recommendation. I'm generaly clueless about that piece.

[Mark]

Information, not recommendation. I'm generaly clueless about that piece.

My apologies.

Very good so far, incidentally ...