Mahler Mania, Rebooted

[Madiel]

No, l don't. But l do think that the orchestral weight, emotional intensity and audience investment associated with those late works make them less amenable to " binging "... when I've heard a successful DLvdE, l want to cogitate on it for a bit, and not hear another performance of the work anytime soon.

This makes sense to me. Some of my favourite music is stuff I listen to very rarely.

[vers la flamme]

No, l don't. But l do think that the orchestral weight, emotional intensity and audience investment associated with those late works make them less amenable to " binging "... when I've heard a successful DLvdE, l want to cogitate on it for a bit, and not hear another performance of the work anytime soon.

True. DLvdE might be my favorite work of his, though it is by far the one I've heard the least (excepting perhaps the 3rd, which is great, but I seldom listen to it due to its unwieldiness.)

[LKB]

To clarify my answer a bit: When I'm learning an unfamiliar piece, l actually do binge on it, and will listen repeatedly to its entirety for as long as it takes to commit it to memory. This is the case with both large and small forms, whether simple or complex.

Once memorized, l won't listen to any recordings of the work for an extended period ( frequently years ) so that l can incorporate the internalized version into my daily life without interpretive conflicts.

Once the music is utterly familiar in this internalized form I'll be open to other approaches, and will usually seek out recommended recordings to study. The imprint usually remains the favorite, but not invariably, so l can feel at least somewhat open to new interpretations.

[Brian]

Hurwitz calls Vanska one of the best conducted, best played, best recorded Mahler 8s ever.

[DavidW]

Well I'm in alignment with Hurwitz (mostly) on Mahler, and I like Vanska's M10 so I might give this M8 a try.

[vers la flamme]

Hurwitz calls Vanska one of the best conducted, best played, best recorded Mahler 8s ever.

How odd, I've never heard him say a positive thing about Vänskä. Then again, I don't recall him ever saying a positive thing about Mahler's 8th, either. Two negatives make a positive, I guess.

[Brian]

How odd, I've never heard him say a positive thing about Vänskä. Then again, I don't recall him ever saying a positive thing about Mahler's 8th, either. Two negatives make a positive, I guess.

He gave a 10/10 to Vanska's Beethoven cycle and Wit's Mahler 8...

[DavidW]

How odd, I've never heard him say a positive thing about Vänskä. Then again, I don't recall him ever saying a positive thing about Mahler's 8th, either. Two negatives make a positive, I guess.

Well actually Vanska's first Sibelius cycle is one of the reference gold standard sets for Hurwitz.  And I think he generally was a fan of his style pre-Minnesota.

To me Vanska's Mahler sounds like if you took the volume and dynamics of Solti with the transparency of Boulez.  If you're into it, it is a real tour-de-force.  Else it will leave you cold.  I've listened to several of his entries in his Mahler cycle.

[Leo K.]

The Vanska Mahler 8 is a winner for me. The best sounding Mahler 8 possibly. The performance itself is really direct and flows nicely. No strange quirks. Powerful in the forte passages.

[vers la flamme]

He gave a 10/10 to Vanska's Beethoven cycle and Wit's Mahler 8...

I knew he liked Wit's Mahler 8; it was one of the few he discussed in his Mahler 8th video, but his comments about the symphony in general seemed to indicate that it was not one of his favorites. I have definitely heard him disparage Vänskä's Minnesota recordings in his videos. I believe he described his conducting as fussy and micromanaging. Didn't know he liked that Beethoven cycle, but I'll take your word for it.

I would love to hear the new Mahler 8, but I've got like 12 recordings of that symphony already

[Madiel]

You have heard him disparage Vanska in Minnesota, but somehow missed all of his praise of Vanska in Lahti?

Because the 2 frequently went together. Part of the reason he bemoans the Minnesota Sibelius for example is precisely because he thinks the Lahti Sibelius is excellent.

[vers la flamme]

You have heard him disparage Vanska in Minnesota, but somehow missed all of his praise of Vanska in Lahti?

Because the 2 frequently went together. Part of the reason he bemoans the Minnesota Sibelius for example is precisely because he thinks the Lahti Sibelius is excellent.

Maybe instead of "I've never heard him say a positive thing about Vänskä" what I should have said is that the reason this comes as a surprise is I that have heard him say extremely negative things about Vänskä.

[Madiel]

Maybe instead of "I've never heard him say a positive thing about Vänskä" what I should have said is that the reason this comes as a surprise is I that have heard him say extremely negative things about Vänskä.

Yes, but my point was that almost every time I've heard him say extremely negative things about Vanska, it's been in the vein of "Vanska used to be so great".

[vers la flamme]

Yes, but my point was that almost every time I've heard him say extremely negative things about Vanska, it's been in the vein of "Vanska used to be so great".

I concede that.

[DavidW]

I would love to hear the new Mahler 8, but I've got like 12 recordings of that symphony already

Oh you're just starting then!

[Atriod]

Mahler 8 is my holy grail in finding the best performances because of seeing a concert with Rattle (a top five music memory) which moved the symphony from like to love.

As for best sounding Mahler 8 I don't doubt BIS will take the award, this one also sounds really good. Hurwitz and I seem to differ in what we look for in a performance.

[AnotherSpin]

Hurwitz calls Vanska one of the best conducted, best played, best recorded Mahler 8s ever.

Mahler is one of the composers whose music I used to love 20 or 30 years ago, and whom I hardly listen to now. Of all Mahler's symphonies, the 8th was behind by a wide margin as the least interesting. Even in the best Mahler years I hardly ever listened to it. So I tried Vänskä's recording today. Well. I liked it very much. You could say I heard Mahler's 8th for the first time, finally.

[DavidW]

Mahler 8 is my holy grail in finding the best performances because of seeing a concert with Rattle (a top five music memory) which moved the symphony from like to love.

For me I didn't really get into Mahler's 8th until I heard Horenstein live at the Albert Hall on BBC legends.  That is what turned it from like to love.

[vers la flamme]

For me I didn't really get into Mahler's 8th until I heard Horenstein live at the Albert Hall on BBC legends.  That is what turned it from like to love.

How's the sound?

[DavidW]

How's the sound?

A symphony of coughs and so so sound, audiophiles would not be blown away!  No my choice that has a great performance AND great sound is Nagano.