Lorin Maazel (1930-2014)

[lordlance]

I have been on a Maazel kick (see my playlist of his live performances). I have to say, he's actually rather enjoyable. I found it somewhat amusing that critics have stated that he was so prodigiously talented that his performances could become perverse just from sheer boredom (contrast that with Mehta/Masur who could be... plain dull.)

There is an entire live Beethoven cycle from Japan in 2010. I have so far heard only 1 and 3 but I enjoyed the First. The Third... well, he takes the outer movements at a good pace but the Marcia funebre... aye ye ye... Truly perversely slow. The contrast in tempi itself is just puzzling. 

I found his BRSO Bruckner 2 a bit... too "stately" - I imagine some might like it (not Celibidichan by any stretch.)

Also generally energetic were his live performances of the Tchaikovsky and Sibelius VCs.

It would appear that he had an affinity for Tchaikovksy - hence aside from the VPO cycle, he conducted a cycle during his NYP tenure which, notably, included Manfred. I have to say that Tchaikovsky might get flak for being overblown - I would characterize it as being Romantic - even for someone such as myself who loves Capriccio Italien and Marche Slave - Manfred is too much. Christ, it really does feel crass. One's ears get tired after a point. 

A Brahms Fourth from the late 90s with BRSO is a bit of an acquired taste. He seems to elongate phrases - wanting to relish them perhaps. Not a performance I would go to regularly but I can appreciate what he was going for.

He - much like Klemperer, Weingartner and Walter - took composing seriously. I tried his Farewell and all I can say is that... it sounds impenetrable. Perhaps there are others who will warm up to it. I recall Dave saying how no one cared about his compositions so I do not know if they were ever really acclaimed. He did adapt 1984 into an opera for those interested. 

I would be curious to know others thoughts on Maazel. I would be curious to know thoughts from those who attended his live performance during his various tenures (NYP/BRSO/Cleveland.) 

[hopefullytrusting]

Maazel's Mahler 1 (with the WP) was actually the first classical music cd that I bought on my own when I was a kid, and I still think it is my favorite version of it.

He was also a great transcriber, in a compositional sense, as his The Ring without Words is awesome (it uses the Mahler hammer!): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BlL-MY-kAyI

[Jo498]

The earlyish (mostly DG) recordings from the late 1950s to the mid-60s are usually excellent, e.g. early Schubert symphonies, Beethoven's 5+6, some Stravinsky, Ravel etc.
I have not much later Maazel, as his typical repertoire is either well covered by many others or doesn't interest me very much.

[AnotherSpin]

There was a moment when I was deeply impressed by a recording of Sibelius's Second Symphony, Maazel with the Vienna Philharmonic.

[pjme]

He did write some ... quirky.....and

serious music ....

I like his Debussy recordings with Cleveland  a lot!

[brewski]

My first experiences with Maazel were with some of his Cleveland recordings, e.g., Respighi, Stravinsky, Gershwin, and all excellent. With the New York Philharmonic, I heard him live a good bit, including most of his Mahler performances, which were generally on the sleek side. While I don't often return to the recordings of those, that's just personal taste, since they're quite good.

I also like his recording of Ravel's L'enfant et les sortilèges with the Chœur et Maîtrise de l'O.R.T.F. and the Orchestre National. He did the piece with the New York Philharmonic, too, which was my first time hearing it live.

[Florestan]

Besides the recordings already mentioned, this is also very good:

[SimonNZ]

Francesco Rosi's film of Carmen with Placido Domingo and Julia Migenes was conducted by Maazel. Its a great film and a recording I played often in my younger years.



His album of Mendelssohn symphonies is still my preferred recording for the "Italian" and "Reformation":



And along with the Ravel mentioned above would also recommend this:

[Daverz]

A couple great recordings that come to mind:

Prokofiev: Romeo & Juliet with Cleveland.  Still one of the best recordings of the complete ballet.
Mahler: Symphony No. 4 with the Vienna Philharmonic and Kathleen Battle.