Mahler Mania, Rebooted

[relm1]

There are three Barbirolli recordings of Mahler 6 available. The EMI studio recording, originally issued with Scherzo-Andante against Barbirolli's wishes: I have it in a two-disc format making it difficult to play in the correct order. There are two live performances, both on Testament, with the Berlin Philharmonic (1966) and the New Philharmonia (1967).  Both are brisker than the studio performance which I find preferable and there is nothing to choose between them except the NPO recording is in stereo.

I believe Mahler recordings are best when they are from a single concert.  The nature of the music and its meticulous phrasing is such that even the same conductor with the same orchestra can have different results on different days.  I know the MTT/SFO cycle recorded several days of concerts of a given work and edited them to provide a cleaned up listening experience but at the cost of spontaneity.  I don't mind if 90% of the audio is from a single performance and the orchestra does a patch up of flubs and coughs, etc., since the that's like patching holes on the wall without interfering with the architecture, but when they use bar 1 to 23 from Friday's concert, bar 24 to 30 from Saturday's, Bar 31 to 33 from Sunday's, bar 34 to 41 from Friday, etc., etc., you don't really get a homogeneous performance even though it might be more correct and Mahler suffers from the result more than other composers.

[5against4]

(cross-posting this from the Great Recordings and Reviews thread, in the hope one of you can help!)

i've recently finished journeying through Simon Rattle's EMI box set of all the Mahler Symphonies, and was struck by an oddity that occurs on one of the final discs. Tagged onto the end of the Das Klagende Lied disc, there's a 3-minute 'extract' from Der Abschied featuring Anne Sofie von Otter. The complete version of Das Lied Von Der Erde is on the next disc and features Thomas Hampson and Peter Seiffert, so it's left me wondering about that tantalising 3-minute recording.

The same extract is included on one of Simon Rattle's 'Leaving Home' discs (accompanying the TV series), but that's all i can find. There doesn't appear to have ever been a complete release of Das Lied Von Der Erde featuring von Otter with the CBSO and Simon Rattle.

Does anyone know anything more about this - perhaps a recording i've missed? Or maybe that extract was recorded specifically for the TV series?
It's such a gorgeous 3-minute clip that it left me gagging to hear them do a complete performance!

[Biffo]

(cross-posting this from the Great Recordings and Reviews thread, in the hope one of you can help!)

i've recently finished journeying through Simon Rattle's EMI box set of all the Mahler Symphonies, and was struck by an oddity that occurs on one of the final discs. Tagged onto the end of the Das Klagende Lied disc, there's a 3-minute 'extract' from Der Abschied featuring Anne Sofie von Otter. The complete version of Das Lied Von Der Erde is on the next disc and features Thomas Hampson and Peter Seiffert, so it's left me wondering about that tantalising 3-minute recording.

The same extract is included on one of Simon Rattle's 'Leaving Home' discs (accompanying the TV series), but that's all i can find. There doesn't appear to have ever been a complete release of Das Lied Von Der Erde featuring von Otter with the CBSO and Simon Rattle.

Does anyone know anything more about this - perhaps a recording i've missed? Or maybe that extract was recorded specifically for the TV series?
It's such a gorgeous 3-minute clip that it left me gagging to hear them do a complete performance!

That is interesting. I have the Rattle/CBSO recording of DKL as a separate disc and it has no extras.

[5against4]

That is interesting. I have the Rattle/CBSO recording of DKL as a separate disc and it has no extras.

i'm guessing they included it in the box set to be as 'complete' as possible as regards to recordings by Rattle. But it's kind of odd to have just three minutes of a 30-minute song! And, as i say, it's gorgeous - so it just leaves you desperate to hear the whole thing!

[Biffo]

i'm guessing they included it in the box set to be as 'complete' as possible as regards to recordings by Rattle. But it's kind of odd to have just three minutes of a 30-minute song! And, as i say, it's gorgeous - so it just leaves you desperate to hear the whole thing!

As far as I can determine von Otter hasn't recorded Das Lied von der Erde with anybody. A pity as she has recorded quite a lot of Mahler.

[5against4]

As far as I can determine von Otter hasn't recorded Das Lied von der Erde with anybody. A pity as she has recorded quite a lot of Mahler.

Blimey, it didn't occur to me that she would never have recorded Das Lied with anyone!

But it looks like you're right. Apart from two performances of Das Lied featuring her in the Berlin Phil Digital Concert Hall (one with Abbado, the other with Rattle), i can't find any other recordings listed.

Which only makes that 3-minute extract all the more puzzling!

[Biffo]

Blimey, it didn't occur to me that she would never have recorded Das Lied with anyone!

But it looks like you're right. Apart from two performances of Das Lied featuring her in the Berlin Phil Digital Concert Hall (one with Abbado, the other with Rattle), i can't find any other recordings listed.

Which only makes that 3-minute extract all the more puzzling!

I recently had a free subscription to the BPO Digital Concert Hall but didn't notice those performances in the archive. I will have to remember to look up those performances if I get the chance.

[Mirror Image]

Blimey, it didn't occur to me that she would never have recorded Das Lied with anyone!

But it looks like you're right. Apart from two performances of Das Lied featuring her in the Berlin Phil Digital Concert Hall (one with Abbado, the other with Rattle), i can't find any other recordings listed.

Which only makes that 3-minute extract all the more puzzling!

Yeah, to my knowledge, she's never been a featured soloist in Das Lied on record, which is a shame, because I do admire her voice and musicality.

[relm1]

Yeah, to my knowledge, she's never been a featured soloist in Das Lied on record, which is a shame, because I do admire her voice and musicality.

Why would you say that if there is a link to a video of her performing as soloist with Berlin/Rattle above? 

[5against4]

Why would you say that if there is a link to a video of her performing as soloist with Berlin/Rattle above?

Well of course, the key word here is record (i.e. not video), and in any case my query was about her performing with the CBSO, not Berlin. Strange she never recorded an album of this piece.

[Mirror Image]

Why would you say that if there is a link to a video of her performing as soloist with Berlin/Rattle above?

Record not video.

[Biffo]

Why would you say that if there is a link to a video of her performing as soloist with Berlin/Rattle above?

There isn't a link. To access the concert you have to subscribe to the Digital Concert Hall.

https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/home

[Cato]

This is different, even unexpected!

The U.S. Navy Concert Band:


https://www.youtube.com/v/Dcua8t6J7bE

[Biffo]

This is different, even unexpected!

The U.S. Navy Concert Band:


https://www.youtube.com/v/Dcua8t6J7bE

But nearer to what Mahler wanted than we usually hear. He used a chamber orchestra though slightly larger than the one here. Also he had this song sung by a baritone, Friedrich Weidermann.

[Cato]

But nearer to what Mahler wanted than we usually. hear. He used a chamber orchestra though slightly larger than the one here. Also he had this song sung by a baritone, Friedrich Weidermann.

True, and I found my own impression of this rather interesting, for I was reminded more and more of the Schoenberg of the Second String Quartet.

[bhodges]

Haven't thought about getting a new Mahler recording in awhile, but I'm definitely thinking about this one. Coming in June, Gustavo Dudamel and the Los Angeles Philharmonic in Mahler 8, recorded at Walt Disney Concert Hall in May 2019 as the season finale. Sounds like the sonics could be excellent. More info here:

https://www.udiscovermusic.com/classical-news/gustavo-dudamel-mahler-symphony-8/



--Bruce

[Herman]

Weird the soloist singers aren't named.

[Karl Henning]

Weird the soloist singers aren't named.

As if the only name of any importance is Dudamel's

[Herman]

It's one of those Eighths that goes for the maximum largest choir, which isn't necessarily better.

[Karl Henning]

It's one of those Eighths that goes for the maximum largest choir, which isn't necessarily better.

Truly.