Mahler Mania, Rebooted

[TheGSMoeller]

Mitropoulos (NY or Cologne whatever is easier to find). He is on the slow and bleak side.
The opposite is Kondrashin/Melodiya who is (too) fast and brutalist.

Thanks!

If you like a slow 6th then I suggest hearing Chailly...very slow and very grim.

Sarge

I do have Chailly conducting the 3rd, 5th, and 8th and all are very good, so I'll definitely check out the 6th.

I can't think of a 6th as heavy and trudging as Barbirolli. Boulez and Abbado are both generally solid choices. I don't rate Bernstein's Mahler much these days, I think he hams it up way too much—great for Tchaikovsky, not so much here. My personal favourite is Eschenbach, but I don't know how readily available it is currently.

Just found a few from Eschenbach/Philly to stream online, will give them a spin. Thanks!

Benjamin Zander's Telarc version is quite fantastic IMO. Still, Barbirolli rules the roost.

I knew I may have peaked too early. 

[SurprisedByBeauty]

I can't think of a 6th as heavy and trudging as Barbirolli. Boulez and Abbado are both generally solid choices. I don't rate Bernstein's Mahler much these days, I think he hams it up way too much—great for Tchaikovsky, not so much here. My personal favourite is Eschenbach, but I don't know how readily available it is currently.

Boulez/VPhil is an excellent choice; mainstream in the best sense, and with real bite. (I also have a recording of him doing it with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, and that's just about as good. (Although not appreciably better for being rare.  ) Abbado/Berlin is dull as dishwater and flaccid. Perhaps his Chicago version is better (the orchestra would lend itself to it, although that's not saying much in and of itself), but if it is, I don't remember it. And Eschenbach/Philadelphia (Ondine; still readily available) is a real sleeper (in the good sense). Another slow-burning type of 6th and nicely coupled with the Quintet.

That said, I'm still a sucker for some other versions, including the Zander II (out of 3), Gielen (the standard issue one, not the early mainstream recording or the noodling late effort; also: Love the couplings there!), and Fischer Ivan, which might be the most successful 'soft' interpretation of the 6th that I know. Oh, and there's something oddly noncommittal about Karajan, in the way he opts for an interpretation (or doesn't), but the result is mechanically compelling in such a way, that I would rank his also among the Top 10 of recordings of the Sixth.

[Crudblud]

Boulez/VPhil is an excellent choice; mainstream in the best sense, and with real bite. (I also have a recording of him doing it with the Gustav Mahler Youth Orchestra, and that's just about as good. (Although not appreciably better for being rare.  ) Abbado/Berlin is dull as dishwater and flaccid. Perhaps his Chicago version is better (the orchestra would lend itself to it, although that's not saying much in and of itself), but if it is, I don't remember it. And Eschenbach/Philadelphia (Ondine; still readily available) is a real sleeper (in the good sense). Another slow-burning type of 6th and nicely coupled with the Quintet.

That said, I'm still a sucker for some other versions, including the Zander II (out of 3), Gielen (the standard issue one, not the early mainstream recording or the noodling late effort; also: Love the couplings there!), and Fischer Ivan, which might be the most successful 'soft' interpretation of the 6th that I know.

Abbado isn't entirely convincing. I do think the finale is very well done, though the first three movements are merely okay, and in structural/narrative terms I find Andante-Scherzo less convincing than the more common ordering. Boulez is certainly more consistent; I think his only "mistake", for want of a better word, is to undermine climaxes in the finale a little too much.

Is that Gielen the same one as on the Hänssler box set? The individual releases with the "filler" pieces from other composers seem to be hard to find these days, had some of them out from the library at one time but have never actually seen them available for purchase anywhere. I enjoy Gielen's Mahler quite a lot, his 7th is by far my favourite recording of that work, and he is excellent in the 2nd, 5th, and 9th.

[Jo498]

You can get it used (I am not sure if the Schubert "10th" fragment was available in any other way.

[asin]B01K8N5ZK8[/asin]

If you go to German amazon there are cheap copies, even with s&h they should be affordable.

https://www.amazon.de/Mahler-Symphony-Sinfonieorchester-Baden-Baden-Freiburg-2001-08-20/dp/B01K8N5ZK8/ref=sr_1_4?dchild=1&keywords=gielen+mahler+6&link_code=qs&qid=1592641065&sourceid=Mozilla-search&sr=8-4&tag=firefox-de-21

[Madiel]

Is that Gielen the same one as on the Hänssler box set? The individual releases with the "filler" pieces from other composers seem to be hard to find these days, had some of them out from the library at one time but have never actually seen them available for purchase anywhere. I enjoy Gielen's Mahler quite a lot, his 7th is by far my favourite recording of that work, and he is excellent in the 2nd, 5th, and 9th.

Based on the timings Amazon shows on that link, it would be the same as the one in the SWR Music box set (which I have).

[aukhawk]

I'm no expert on this piece, and I'm sure I'll get schooled on this thread regarding this and other recordings of the 6th, but this one from Barbirolli/Philharmonia really perked up my ears more than ever. I just ordered a copy, the first image I posted, but there seems to be four different covers available.

Barbirolli came out top in the Mahler 6 Blind Comparison - out of 24 runners and riders.  The whole thread is a great read, to get a handle on some of the other well-respected recordings out there.  (Of course it pre-dates Currentzis and Vanska by several years.)

I have no idea why I'm butting in, since the 6th is music I don't like and never listen to 

But I do like that Giacometti cover image though - never seen that one before.

[Crudblud]

Thanks to Jo and Madiel for suggestions/confirmations above.

All this 6th talk put me in mind of a memorable recording I heard recently: Harold Farberman conducting the London Symphony Orchestra. Memorable in ways both good and bad. He obviously has ideas about how the music should sound, and his Scherzo is absolutely killer, I've never heard anyone take the tempi so vigorously, he's practically in Mengelberg 4 territory with the decelerandi and sudden returns to tempo. However, the LSO brass is often criminally bad, sounding overloud, out of tune, and off-beat in many many places throughout. I was surprised to hear such a renowned orchestra playing so badly*, but I recalled that around the same time as this recording was made, Kent Nagano was recording two volumes of Frank Zappa's orchestral music with the LSO, and Zappa was not shy about decrying a lack of professionalism especially among the brass players. Anyway, the recording, while I don't think of it as being great in any sense, has impressed me on some level, and I think it is this sense of a battle between conductor and orchestra that is felt throughout. It makes me think of Scherchen struggling with the Toronto Symphony to get his 7th (one of my favourite Mahler recordings in all its bizarreness), although here that drama is less compelling since overall the reading leans more toward the ordinary than anything else.

*in fairness, the strings are brilliant and elevate the generous Andante, but that brass... mein Gott!

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Based on the timings Amazon shows on that link, it would be the same as the one in the SWR Music box set (which I have).

That's the one. The two others have been released in a more recent commemorative issue; the 70s recording having also made appearances under fictional conductors on budget labels like Pilz.

[MusicTurner]

For recordings of the 6th Symphony, check out Currentzis also. Probably the single one I'd choose. A good mixture of lyricism and tragedy, very good, transparent sound, and a suitable sense of line or broadness.

I've likewise got
CD   Tennstedt,LPO/emi 99 572 941-2
CD   Scherchen,LeipRSO/tahra mono 60-96 4cd 147 & membran documents 10cd 600452
CD   Gielen,SwFunk/swr 17cd 17swr19042
CD   Bertini,soli,KölnRSO/emi 11cd 0946 3402382
CD   Kondrashin,MoscowRSO/melodiya 1972-xx, no number
LP    Kubelik,BayRSO/dg 14 lp 2720 033
CD   Bernstein,NYPO/cbs 12cd 8869 7943 332
LP    Levine,LSO/rca 2lp rl 03213
LP    Barbirolli,NewPO/emi 82 cfp 41 4424 3
LP    Karajan,BPO/dg 2lp 2707 106
LP    F.C.Adler,WienO/spa mono 2lp spa59-60
LP    Horenstein,StPO/nones 2lp HB73029 (cover: Brautigam)
DWL Bernstein/VPO/DG

[relm1]

What is your favorite version of the completed No. 10? I haven't yet heard this but it looks very interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=WKMlG5czgks&feature=emb_logo

[TheGSMoeller]

What is your favorite version of the completed No. 10? I haven't yet heard this but it looks very interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=WKMlG5czgks&feature=emb_logo

For Cooke's version I've always liked Rattle/Berlin on EMI, but I've been spinning the new Seattle/Dausgaard a ton lately. It boasts better sound which is perfect for hearing all of the harmonies and its instrumentation.

And for Mazzetti's version I like the Slatkin/St.Louis, which was my first intro to the work more than 20 years ago. And the only other recording I have of Mazzetti's is from Lopez-Cobos/Cincinnati which is actually just as fine, and with that Telarc digital boom!

I also own the Sanderling/Berlin SO recording of the 10th which is Cooke.

[relm1]

For Cooke's version I've always liked Rattle/Berlin on EMI, but I've been spinning the new Seattle/Dausgaard a ton lately. It boasts better sound which is perfect for hearing all of the harmonies and its instrumentation.

And for Mazzetti's version I like the Slatkin/St.Louis, which was my first intro to the work more than 20 years ago. And the only other recording I have of Mazzetti's is from Lopez-Cobos/Cincinnati which is actually just as fine, and with that Telarc digital boom!

I also own the Sanderling/Berlin SO recording of the 10th which is Cooke.

I always felt Cooke was too safe.  I preferred Mazzetti's version but didn't like Slatkins recording (it wasn't close to as good to his live recording version of it).  So I'm preferring the version I liked to.

[Mahlerian]

I didn't like Rattle's very much. For Cooke I preferred Harding. The Lopez-Cobos using Mazetti's version is also very enjoyable.

But my answer to most Mahler 10 questions is: anything but Carpenter!

[SurprisedByBeauty]

What is your favorite version of the completed No. 10? I haven't yet heard this but it looks very interesting.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=7&v=WKMlG5czgks&feature=emb_logo

Barshai, by a mile. But any good Cooke II or III version will do the trick (Chailly, for example; Gielen most of all); most conductors add their own little touches, anyway, as they should. I don't mind Wheeler, I have to say. It's a good spartan counter to the busier version.

https://ionarts.blogspot.com/2011/06/gustav-mahler-symphony-no10-part-1.html

https://ionarts.blogspot.com/2011/06/gustav-mahler-symphony-no10-part-2.html

[Crudblud]

Has anyone besides Barshai himself recorded his version? My recollection is that Barshai's recording has an over-loud, blown-out sound quality with a lot of clipping, which for me makes it quite difficult to listen to. It's a shame because the 5th it comes packaged with is surely one of the best on record and has great sound to match.

[SurprisedByBeauty]

Has anyone besides Barshai himself recorded his version? My recollection is that Barshai's recording has an over-loud, blown-out sound quality with a lot of clipping, which for me makes it quite difficult to listen to. It's a shame because the 5th it comes packaged with is surely one of the best on record and has great sound to match.

Not that I know of. Unfortunately. It might simply be too expensive? (UE holding the rights.)

At least the score can be read through on their site. https://www.universaledition.com/gustav-mahler-448/works/10-symphonie-7112

[JBS]

But my answer to most Mahler 10 questions is: anything but Carpenter!

Amen!

I have the Slatkin recording, and thought it went overboard way too much with the drum, so I guess I don't like Mazetti.

[Mahlerian]

Amen!

I have the Slatkin recording, and thought it went overboard way too much with the drum, so I guess I don't like Mazetti.

The Lopez-Cobos is actually a revised Mazetti that's much less interventionist than the earlier one, but still more so than Cooke.

[André]

I didn't like Rattle's very much. For Cooke I preferred Harding. The Lopez-Cobos using Mazetti's version is also very enjoyable.

But my answer to most Mahler 10 questions is: anything but Carpenter!

Who are the carpenters (carpenterites?). Sorting the various versions is rather tricky.

[JBS]

Who are the carpenters (carpenterites?). Sorting the various versions is rather tricky.

Zinman. It's lousy.  IIRC no one else.