Mahler Mania, Rebooted

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Thanks, Klingsor, for the Leinsdorf Sixth.

[Marc]

If anyone is interested in the somewhat rare and wonderful Mahler 6 from Leinsdorf and the Boston Symphony (CD rip), I have it upped here:

https://rapidshare.com/files/219662767/Mahler_-_Symphony_6-_BSO-Leinsdorf.part1.rar
https://rapidshare.com/files/219678420/Mahler_-_Symphony_6-_BSO-Leinsdorf.part2.rar
https://rapidshare.com/files/219682352/Mahler_-_Symphony_6-_BSO-Leinsdorf.part3.rar

Thanks for these links!
Resulting in the first listening to Mahler for ages ....

When was it recorded? Around 1964/1965?

[klingsor]

Thanks for these links!
Resulting in the first listening to Mahler for ages ....

When was it recorded? Around 1964/1965?

Yes, 1964 I'm pretty sure. Leinsdorf does not take the repeat in the First Movement. I love the way percussion sounds in this recording, you can really hear all of it, even the cowbells . Let us know what you think after hearing it

[Marc]

Yes, 1964 I'm pretty sure. Leinsdorf does not take the repeat in the First Movement. I love the way percussion sounds in this recording, you can really hear all of it, even the cowbells . Let us know what you think after hearing it

I finished listening just now and I really liked this performance. But I haven't been listening to Mahler that much for the last three or four years. So, it's not easy to compare this one to other recordings.
I didn't mind about the mainly swift tempi used by Leinsdorf, even though I sometimes had the feeling that things went a (tiny) bit 'messy'. IMO, such small problematic moments give the listener the idea of a live performance, which I generally like in Mahler.
As far as I'm concerned, Leinsdorf and the orchestra really manage to maintain the tension throughout the entire work, even in the long Finale.
And, like you, I also appreciate the 'open' recording quality.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Just listened to the first movement. And I like it! Remember - in those days the Mahler revival had only just started and the Sixth was still considered a dark and obscure work. So Leinsdorf didn't have much of a performance tradition to fall back on. Taking that into consideration, his interpretation - of that first movement at least - is very assured and convincing. I like his tempi, I like the exciting drive. I don't listen to Mahler that often anymore (he was the main composer of my adolescent years), but listening to this I know again exactly what I like(d) about him.

[klingsor]

Just listened to the first movement. And I like it! Remember - in those days the Mahler revival had only just started and the Sixth was still considered a dark and obscure work. So Leinsdorf didn't have much of a performance tradition to fall back on. Taking that into consideration, his interpretation - of that first movement at least - is very assured and convincing. I like his tempi, I like the exciting drive. I don't listen to Mahler that often anymore (he was the main composer of my adolescent years), but listening to this I know again exactly what I like(d) about him.

I am pretty certain this was the first stereo recording of M6. I have an aircheck somewhere of the first live perf in Boston, essentially the same perf, but mono.

Like some of you, I have gone in and out of Mahler enthusiasm. He tends to inspire obsessive devotion, then after a while you need a break from it. But when I went back to Mahler a couple of years ago, it was full throttle  . I still feel like I can't get enough of this man's music.

I have some other Mahler rarities and oddities I can share in future

[klingsor]

Here's an excellent Mahler 7, Boulez and Chicago Sym from 2006

https://rapidshare.com/files/425966544/Mahler_Sym_7_-_Chicago_-_Boulez__2006_.rar

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

Thanks for that new link, Klingsor! The Seventh, especially the opening movement, has been a favourite of mine since my teens.


Re the Leinsdorf Sixth - my judgment remains very positive. Though there are some slight blotches in the Finale, the performance as a whole is very compelling and the sound nicely up close.

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

I agree, Klingsor: that Mahler 7 with Boulez is excellent. The 'problematic' Finale - where you don't know whether the jubilation is ironic or serious -  is especially well done.

[klingsor]

I agree, Klingsor: that Mahler 7 with Boulez is excellent. The 'problematic' Finale - where you don't know whether the jubilation is ironic or serious -  is especially well done.

My thoughts exactly. The finale of M7 is the only movement of his I don't like much,but Boulez redeems it in this perf

glad you like it

[eyeresist]

I think I've posted this elsewhere, but here are my thoughts on the 7th:

I think it's about a child's dreams at night.

I. Child is restless in bed but finally enters dreamland
II. Exterior nightscape
III. Bad dreams
IV. Exterior nightscape
V. Dream of a grand parade!

Note the structure was reused for the 10th, which I believe is about coping with the death of his daughter Maria.

[klingsor]

I think I've posted this elsewhere, but here are my thoughts on the 7th:

I think it's about a child's dreams at night.

I. Child is restless in bed but finally enters dreamland
II. Exterior nightscape
III. Bad dreams
IV. Exterior nightscape
V. Dream of a grand parade!

Note the structure was reused for the 10th, which I believe is about coping with the death of his daughter Maria.

If you have ever seen the Ken Russell film MAHLER, the best scene is a nightmare the young composer has in which he encounters a white horse in the forest. The music you hear is from the 7th.

So in your layout, the finale is exorcising the fears of the other movements?

[eyeresist]

No, I wouldn't say the finale exorcises anything (or arrives at any capital-C Conclusion), it just chooses to end on a positive aspect. It's like a suite or serenade in that respect, but I don't think that makes it a lesser work.

Haven't seen the Russell film. Is there nudity?  0:)

[cilgwyn]

Probably!

[not edward]

I don't think the finale even needs to be positive. (Scherchen in Toronto is perhaps the most extreme example of this, where the light at the end of the tunnel is definitely a train, but he's hardly the only conductor to view the finale in a far-from-joyous light.)

What I like best about M7 is how much ambiguity there is in it--there are so many interpretations of this work which all seem entirely valid and convincing. Anyway, thanks for this Boulez version that's been linked--I'll be taking a listen to it when I can.

[klingsor]

I don't think the finale even needs to be positive. (Scherchen in Toronto is perhaps the most extreme example of this, where the light at the end of the tunnel is definitely a train, but he's hardly the only conductor to view the finale in a far-from-joyous light.)

What I like best about M7 is how much ambiguity there is in it--there are so many interpretations of this work which all seem entirely valid and convincing. Anyway, thanks for this Boulez version that's been linked--I'll be taking a listen to it when I can.

Not be argumentative, but I always experience the finale of M7 as positive. Mahler was going for an upbeat, joyful conclusion, in my opinion (I only used the word 'exorcise' based on eyeresist's suggest titles for the other movements). The finale makes reference to the Meistersinger overture and to the Merry Widow waltz, and I think its rondo form is first-cousin to the finale of M5, as is the overall spirit of the music. Perhaps after so much ambiguity, as you say, Mahler felt he wanted an unambiguous conclusion. But knowing how much trouble he had getting started on this symphony, I have suspected the Seventh never formed as fully in his mind the way his others did. The result is a work open to numerous interpretations, mine being only one among them.

let us know what you think of the Boulez/Chicago

[J.Z. Herrenberg]

After listening to the symphony for almost 35 years (on and off, of course!) I must say I agree with Edward's view - that the Finale is the ambiguous close to an ambiguous work. I also agree with Klingsor's remark that it's first-cousin to the one in the Fifth. The difference between these two works, though, is that No. 5 follows the Beethovenian battle-and-victory scheme in a highly original manner, whereas No. 7 is much more like a kaleidoscopic exploration of moods and landscapes. I liked eyeresist's idea of a child's dreams at night. My own childhood was marked by very vivid dreams and nightmares, so for me to like this work so much makes sense...

[jlaurson]

Ionarts-at-Large: Jansons' Mahler Six

http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2011/05/ionarts-at-large-jansons-mahler-six.html

[klingsor]

thanks for that link to the Jansons  , jlaurson

[eyeresist]

Grrrrrrr, andante FIRST, godamit.