Mahler Mania, Rebooted

[Daverz]

For No. 7, I usually opt for Bernstein on Sony.  For a long time it was Abbado/Chicago.  I still sort of get lost somewhere in the finale.

[André]

Those I currently have are:

Abravanel
Bernstein Sony
Haitink COA 1971
Inbal
Klemperer
Kubelik
Levine
Macal
Scherchen
Svetlanov

I have ditched Rattle Birmingham and Abbado Chicago a long time ago. If memory serves, the one I was most impressed with was the LP of Haitink's second RCOA version - very hard to find.

[Cato]

Lurking somewhere in the Chicago Symphony Orchestra's archives (and at PBS, which broadcast the concert)  is the full recording, but here is a taste: as good as his DGG effort with the Cleveland Orchestra,

https://www.youtube.com/v/FO7JFVdZJ_w

[Biffo]

Still Bernstein/NYPO (CBS/Sony) after all these years. Neumann/Czech PO would be a winner but for the disastrously slow Nachtmusik II.

[Draško]

At this point I have not really elected a favourite version of the 7th.

What version do GMGers recommend ?

My first choice modern recording, pretty flawless if you ask me is Gielen.



Two other recordings I like, but not without it's problems are Kondrashin/Concertgebouw and Scherchen/VSOO.
Kondrashin drives the orchestra beyond their capabilities at times but it's a thrilling ride. Scherchen's orchestra doesn't have much capabilities to begin with but it's the most atmospheric recording I know.

 

There is also live Gielen recording with Berlin Philharmonic from mid 90s on Testament that's got some great reviews but I haven't heard it.

[André]

I haven't listened to the Scherchen in years but will soon. I remember having been bowled over by its originality. His fifth with the same forces is also quite something.

Gielen and Kondrashin sound interesting. Gielen's second is one of my favourites. So musical. The integral set is on sale at JPC...

Yesterday I sampled clips from 3 Leipzig versions (Masur, Chailly, Neumann). The opening of I and II will test anyone's tolerance for watery/braying/vibrato-laden brass playing. I wasn't tempted to explore further. The finale's opening timpani salvo under Chailly is quite something though.

[Jo498]

There is also a Melodiya studio recording with Kondrashin that is quite impressive. I have not heard the Concertgebouw but the Russian one is also rather different from most others.

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Abbado/CSO has been my No. 1 choice for decades now. I also like Gielen for a "leaner" view.

The super-slow Klemperer is in a class of its own. I don't know if it works, but it's fascinating and deserves at least one listen.

If memory serves, the one I was most impressed with was the LP of Haitink's second RCOA version - very hard to find.

I remember this one. It got good reviews when it came out, but as you say, is hard to find now.

[aukhawk]

Inner movements only (I never listen to the first or last movements) I think Boulez is a very fine recording, but he rushes things a little.  Klemperer is extreme, but it works for me, and his is the only version where I can make any sense at all of the final movement.  Recording is OK but not really competitive with the best modern versions.  I also listen to Gielen (good pace overall, but slightly lack-lustre recording) and Bernstein (DG) (heading back into Klemperer territory and a better recording).
I must listen to Abbado given the comments above.  I don't have a single Abbado recording in my collection.

[springrite]

For Mahler 7, I have listened to Tennstedt (Cleveland, LIVE, on Memories) and Gielen

[LKB]

...the one I was most impressed with was the LP of Haitink's second RCOA version - very hard to find.

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=145325

,

LKB

[André]

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=145325

,

LKB

Duly noted, thanks !

Right now I'm listening to the Scherchen version from this disc:



The first Nachtmusik is playing - cowbells have just sounded. I remember it sounded well, but I didn't think it was that good-sounding. It's impossible to miss the stereo with such wide, deep, clear and well-balanced mono sound. The amount of detail is simply amazing. Even in the thickest passages there is not a hint of peaking or overloading. The notes to the MCA reissue do not specify the venue, but it's either the Konzerthaus (my guess) or the Musikverein. The orchestra is WP-based - the VSOO and the Philharmonic shared most of their players in those days (July 1953).

[SurprisedByBeauty]

cording).
I must listen to Abbado given the comments above.  I don't have a single Abbado recording in my collection.

Do! I've cooled on Abbado's recordings FAST over the last 10 years -- but there was a time where he seemed to be on a run and many of those recordings retain their appeal. And some of his Lucerne/Berlin Mahler is among that - and the Seventh certainly so. (See also: The 13 Best Recordings of Claudio Abbado: A Remembrance

[Archaic Torso of Apollo]

Duly noted, thanks !

Right now I'm listening to the Scherchen version from this disc:

I've been listening to this Scherchen on YouTube. It reminds me how great he was at making music spontaneous, like it's being improvised right in front of you rather than played from a score. The sometimes fallible playing even helps in this respect. An endlessly interesting (if sometimes wayward) conductor.

I wonder what the original LP sounds like - anyone heard it?

[André]

Mahler protégé Oskar Fried gave the Berlin premiere of the 7th in 1911. A young Scherchen played in the viola section on that occasion. When the Westminster recording was made in 1953 it was his first reacquaintance with the work since playing it under Fried. And yes, it sounds as if it's being composed on the spot. The first 2 movements in particular sound totally sui generis.

[Mandryka]

Duly noted, thanks !

Right now I'm listening to the Scherchen version from this disc:



The first Nachtmusik is playing - cowbells have just sounded. I remember it sounded well, but I didn't think it was that good-sounding. It's impossible to miss the stereo with such wide, deep, clear and well-balanced mono sound. The amount of detail is simply amazing. Even in the thickest passages there is not a hint of peaking or overloading. The notes to the MCA reissue do not specify the venue, but it's either the Konzerthaus (my guess) or the Musikverein. The orchestra is WP-based - the VSOO and the Philharmonic shared most of their players in those days (July 1953).

There's another recording of it that he made in Toronto in 1965, well worth catching. There's something small scale about what he does with the music, I'm not sure whether I like it or not.

Mahler protégé Oskar Fried gave the Berlin premiere of the 7th in 1911. A young Scherchen played in the viola section on that occasion. When the Westminster recording was made in 1953 it was his first reacquaintance with the work since playing it under Fried. And yes, it sounds as if it's being composed on the spot. The first 2 movements in particular sound totally sui generis.

Thanks for posting this, I didn't know it, though I had heard he'd studied Mahler with Fried. Where did you get this information from?

[Draško]

The notes to the MCA reissue do not specify the venue, but it's either the Konzerthaus (my guess) or the Musikverein.

Guessed it right: Konzerthaus, Mozartsaal. 

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Guessed it right: Konzerthaus, Mozartsaal. 

How do you fit a Mahler 7 Orchestra into the Mozart Saal??? (Which wasn't even called Mozart Sall back then, I reckon?)

[Draško]

How do you fit a Mahler 7 Orchestra into the Mozart Saal??? (Which wasn't even called Mozart Sall back then, I reckon?)

Ask DG (click on track):

https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4712632?start=10&total=23&SearchString=scherchen

Maybe the chairs weren't fixed back in the day? Or a wooden platform over the chairs? Or judging from the recording Scherchen's orchestra wasn't all that big? Who knows.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Ask DG (click on track):

https://www.deutschegrammophon.com/en/cat/4712632?start=10&total=23&SearchString=scherchen

Maybe the chairs weren't fixed back in the day? Or a wooden platform over the chairs? Or judging from the recording Scherchen's orchestra wasn't all that big? Who knows.

I mean, it's a GREAT hall... just not for a Mahler orchestra, you'd think. Just a bit too small for any orchestral fortissimo. But you can remove the rows of seats even as it is without much hassle... so it's v. possible they used the floor. Or DG mistyped.