Mahler Mania, Rebooted

[Madiel]

Well, ignorance is bliss, or so they say... 

What would they know?

[brewski]

Everyone, currently, what is your favorite Mahler symphony (including dLvdE)?

Mine is still the 9th, though I've listened to it so much in recent years that I turn to the 7th instead. My current favorite recording of the 9th is Chailly, and my current favorite recording of the 7th is Bernstein I.

As usual, "the last one I heard" sometimes wins, and in this case, I spent the last few days with two performances of No. 3, with Yannick and the Philadelphians. The sprawling scale, coupled with the endless moments for every instrument, will be sticking with me for some time.

I'm tempted to say "No. 2," only because as others have said, it is quite overwhelming in its impact. Assembling the forces required means that a performance is an event, even if now and then, expectations aren't always met. Ditto No. 8, for the same reason.

The Ninth has an extraordinary gentleness, a different kind of "high" from the blazing radiance of some of the others. But since you mention No. 7, it sometimes seems like the most Mahlerian of all, because of its vivid colors and occasional craziness. And too many great recordings to recall, including Bernstein 1.

-Bruce

[krummholz]

Odd that no one has mentioned the 6th... until now. An extraordinarily powerful and cogent symphony, even for Mahler - though I have to admit, I imprinted on Bernstein/NYPO and the order Scherzo-Andante, which we know now was NOT Mahler's final choice. (I still think it makes more sense musically and dramatically that way - particularly the descent into the relative minor after the Andante, and then the effect of A major/minor coming out of left field in the opening bars of the Finale.)

[André]

6, 9, 9, 6, depends on the moment. I can launch a recording of the 6th anytime without prompting, but listening to the 9th is like a religious experience. I must be in the mood for something special. Exactly like Bruckner 8 and 9.

[ritter]

Well, someone had to be the odd man out, and that'll be me (the one who's distanced himself from Mahler lately): my favourite, by a wide margin, is the Fourth! 

[VonStupp]

As usual, "the last one I heard" sometimes wins, [...]

-Bruce

I am in a similar boat. I spent a lot of time with Mahler 2 prepping to hear it in Chicago at the start of this past summer, so for now I am loath to say it sits with me the strongest currently.
VS

[calyptorhynchus]

My favourite... the 9th, the first time I heard it I thought it sounded like music from outside time, and I still do; there's nothing like it...

Then DLvdE, 10, 6, 5...

[LKB]

Well, someone had to be the odd man out, and that'll be me (the one who's distanced himself from Mahler lately): my favourite, by a wide margin, is the Fourth! 

The Fourth is lovely, and an interesting reduction in scale after the sprawling soundscape of the Third. It's almost as if Mahler, having created an entire world in orchestral ( and a little vocal ) colour, is telling a specific story which happened earlier, a sort of conceptual flashback.

( Note - this is only my perception, I don't recall ever coming across any sources indicating that this was actually Mahler's intent. )

[LKB]

My favourite... the 9th, the first time I heard it I thought it sounded like music from outside time, and I still do; there's nothing like it...

Then DLvdE, 10, 6, 5...

The bolded text is my emphasis. This comment seems as relevant to M9 as anything I've seen anywhere, as it pertains to the closing bars of the Finale. ( I can't think of anything more timeless then contemplation of one's end... or, the feeling of loss for a daughter taken too soon. )

[Lisztianwagner]

My favourite is the 6th Symphony, it is such a passionate, overwhelming composition, absolutely impressive. Provably because I'm used to Karajan/BPO and Bernstein/VPO, I prefer the version with the Scherzo placed in position of second movement, its demoniac and grotesque atmosphere works perfectly after the tempestuous Allegro energico, giving just an apparent moment of peace before the powerfully dramatic, struggling Finale.

[LKB]

My favourite is the 6th Symphony, it is such a passionate, overwhelming composition, absolutely impressive. Provably because I'm used to Karajan/BPO and Bernstein/VPO, I prefer the version with the Scherzo placed in position of second movement, its demoniac and grotesque atmosphere works perfectly after the tempestuous Allegro energico, giving just an apparent moment of peace before the powerfully dramatic, struggling Finale.

You have some company, for sure. Iirc correctly, Michael Kennedy regarded the Sixth as Mahler's most impressively constructed work from a structural standpoint. I myself was obsessed with it, once I heard von Karajan's recording after it was released in 1978. I listened to nothing else - not just no other Mahler, but no other music - for at least a month.

I also prefer the Scherzo as a second movement. It makes sense harmonically, and allows the Adagio to serve as an excellent " deep breath " before the plunge into the chaotic Finale.

[André]

Well, someone had to be the odd man out, and that'll be me (the one who's distanced himself from Mahler lately): my favourite, by a wide margin, is the Fourth! 

The 4th would have been my #3 choice !

[Valentino]

I haven't heard the Karajan Mahler 6, and since Rainer Maillard of EBS has said that it's in the pipeline for a DG TOS* release I can wait.

*AAA 8 ch downmix direct to lacquer. To be released as a double LP.  I'm a hopeless audiophile.

My fave is the Resurrection these days. I heard it at the Norwegian Opera about a month ago. They had the Opera chorus and the Oslo Philharmonic Chorus, and their new conductor Edward Gardner was conducting. Made me go scavenging Discogs for a German OR Kubelik. (Now I have German ORs of Kubelik 1, 2 and 4...). I listened to the Ozawa Saito Kinen M2 most recently. Very good, but the rise of the dead march in the finale is very swift, like the Dead Army bearing down on the orchs in the last of the Lord of the Rings movies.
The «new» Klemperer CD box is incoming. Looking forward to it!

[NumberSix]

The «new» Klemperer CD box is incoming. Looking forward to it!

Who is that lady in your avatar?

[Ganondorf]

My favorite is Das Lied von der Erde. However, pretty much all of his symphonies are masterful to me. He's the most magnificent symphonist who ever lived.

[Florestan]

Not much of a Mahlerian here but my favorite is the very first I ever heard: the Third, this vinyl recording:

Christa Ludwig, Prague Philharmonic Choir
Vaclav Neumann, Prague Philharmonic Orchestra

Back then (I must have been 17, I think) my favorite composer hands down was Beethoven but after listening to that recording, I said to myself: This is far above Beethoven.

I'll turn 52 coming December and neither Beethoven nor Mahler are in my Top Ten anymore but I'd rather listen to Mahler's Third than to any of Beethoven's symphonies.

[brewski]

Just found out that the Mahler Eighth from Andris Nelsons and the Boston Symphony Orchestra (Oct. 5) is available on CRB for your listening pleasure here.

-Bruce

[Valentino]

Who is that lady in your avatar?

Juliette Binoche.

[NumberSix]

Juliette Binoche.

I feel like I have asked before. 

Thanks!

[Brian]

I have still been thinking about the "favorite" question but then moved on to thinking about my Mahler listening habits in general. I only listen to each symphony about once a year. They're such "Big Events," after hearing one I think about it and go over it for days afterwards. Right now I'm still replaying last Friday's listen to 4 in my head. I feel like if I play them frequently enough they wouldn't be as special.

Looking at the log, so far this year I've played 1 three times and 4, 5, and 8 once. Last year 2 and 4 once and 7 twice (six months apart). It's also a mark of how intense and total-focus a Mahler symphony listening experience is that I've heard 7 just three times but, thinking about 7, already have several passages that come to mind with vivid clarity.

(Phone autocorrected vivid to covid, hah)