Mahler Mania, Rebooted

[eyeresist]

Hey, it works now! I wasn't sure if it was me or not, because I usually browse with a bunch of options turned off, just for speed and lack of visual noise.

[MishaK]

I have (naturlich) both the DG and EMI box.  I think overall the DG box is stronger, and what is best in the EMI box--the well known historical recordings of the song cycles--can be easily obtained as separate CDs.   The only real drawback to the box (which also applies to the EMI version) is that you may already have a few of the recordings they chose to use.   

Other highlights of the DG box include Karajan's 9th and Hampson's recording with Bernstein of the song cycles.

DG did an excellent job at picking actual- and consensus-favorites for this box... the only limitation perhaps being that they insisted on having a different conductor for each symphony -- when here or there one conductor might arguably have offered a "best solution" not just in one but two cases. (I'd like to think Sarge, one of our biggest Mahler-addicts of temperate and sound disposition, will more or less agree with this assessment.)
The only serious draw-back of this box is that Mahler collector's have all, or almost all, the performances therein. You may still not find every performance to your liking (either now or later, after you've been more thoroughly been infected with Mahleria), but that'll be due to subjective preferences, not any objective flaws with any of these recordings. In short: this box really does sound like an excellent pick for you.

Agree with both of these. It's about as good a set you can get for the money. Apart from the very idiosyncratic but apparently universally beloved Bernstein VPO 5, all the choices stand up well to the competition and some are really top choice (well, I might also quibble about the Mehta 2, which I think hasn't aged as well as its supporters think, but that's me). The Kremer and friends take on the quintet movement was a surprising gem for me.

[not edward]

Being somewhat behind the times, I noticed that the Gewandhaus/Neumann Mahler 5 has been reissued on Brilliant Classics. Is this the one that keeps cropping up in people's "best 5ths" lists, or is it a different Neumann recording which does?

[Drasko]

Being somewhat behind the times, I noticed that the Gewandhaus/Neumann Mahler 5 has been reissued on Brilliant Classics. Is this the one that keeps cropping up in people's "best 5ths" lists, or is it a different Neumann recording which does?

That's the one, also had brief appearance on Regis (that's where I have it) and multiple ones on Edel/Berlin Classics (currently very cheap in Germany).

[TheGSMoeller]

Hi everyone,

Mahler's 3, 4, 7 and 9 are ones that at some point have been considered my favorite, although the 3rd will always have the edge, still nothing like it in music, truly a one of a kind.

Funny Mahler story...was at a Dallas Symphony performance of Mahler's 2nd symphony, and about two-thirds through the first movement after the great climax, when it repeats back to the beginning of the movement, the crowd started clapping as if the piece was over!!! Poor Andrew Litten was waving his non-baton hand at the crowd as if to yell, "Stop!Stop! We are still playing!!" Very awkward moment.

[Sergeant Rock]

DG did an excellent job at picking actual- and consensus-favorites for this box... the only limitation perhaps being that they insisted on having a different conductor for each symphony -- when here or there one conductor might arguably have offered a "best solution" not just in one but two cases. (I'd like to think Sarge, one of our biggest Mahler-addicts of temperate and sound disposition, will more or less agree with this assessment.)

I agree with you (and everyone else who's commented with the exception of eyeresist who is resisting the consensus  ) although DG's edge over EMI is not overwhelming (remember the EMI has the Szell Wunderhorn, Klemperer 2 and DLVDE, Barbirolli 6, the DF-D/Furtwängler Wayfarer, the Baker/Barbirolli Rückert). Still, if I were in Karl's place I'd go for the DG: includes some of my favorites: Karajan 9. Solti 8, Boulez 4, Haitink 3, Kubelik 1.

Sarge

[kishnevi]

(remember the EMI has the Szell Wunderhorn, Klemperer 2 and DLVDE, Barbirolli 6, the DF-D/Furtwängler Wayfarer, the Baker/Barbirolli Rückert).
Sarge

But all of those are available as invidual recordings in the GROC series, as well as Barbirolli's 5 and 9, except possibly the DF-D Furtwangler, which I think I've seen on the GAOC series.  In fact,  I have all those individual recordings except for the DF-D Furtwangler and the Ferrier-Walter Kindertotenlieder which is also in the EMI box, and is I think also available in the GAOC series.   Never underestimate EMI's devotion to re-releasing older recordings in as many versions as possible   And I think the Hampson recording of the song cycles, which is in the DG box, is equal to those in the EMI box.

[Scarpia]

Clearly they have the sales numbers to look at and know what sells, but I would have thought Universal would have done better with a box of oddball recordings.

[Sergeant Rock]

Clearly they have the sales numbers to look at and know what sells, but I would have thought Universal would have done better with a box of oddball recordings.

Many of us thought that. We were hoping the "People's Choice" set would have included hard-to-get "oddballs." Alas, most people just voted for the usual suspects. Sad, and a needless reissue.

Sarge

[jlaurson]

Being somewhat behind the times, I noticed that the Gewandhaus/Neumann Mahler 5 has been reissued on Brilliant Classics. Is this the one that keeps cropping up in people's "best 5ths" lists, or is it a different Neumann recording which does?

The same. Very good stuff, indeed. As is his Seventh with the Gewandhaus.
http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=1230

I agree with you ... I'd go for the DG [too]: includes some of my favorites: Karajan 9. Solti 8, Boulez 4, Haitink 3, Kubelik 1.

I don't want to miss this opportunity to dump on Solti's 8th as one of the most overrated, least idiomatic Mahler records of all time.   
http://www.weta.org/fmblog/?p=1375

Clearly they have the sales numbers to look at and know what sells, but I would have thought Universal would have done better with a box of oddball recordings.

This box was the right one to make, methinks. But to allow the "Mahler of the People" box to be a mere copy of this one... that's where they failed. They should just have issued a 'Great Rarities' box.

[Edit: I see, Sergeant was there first.]

[Sergeant Rock]

I don't want to miss this opportunity to dump on Solti's 8th as one of the most overrated, least idiomatic Mahler records of all time.   

I was expecting your backlash   

Sarge

[Scarpia]

This box was the right one to make, methinks. But to allow the "Mahler of the People" box to be a mere copy of this one... that's where they failed. They should just have issued a 'Great Rarities' box.

The people's choice was a good gimmick, but it has the same problem as in our democracy, "the people" tend to be idiots.      Universal should have taken a page from the banana republics, held the election then tampered with the results to make the set they wanted.   Why not, there is no legal mandate for record companies to follow their own polls.   But I can picture Jimmy Carter on CNN, "we have discovered voting irregularities, certainly in the 6th and probably in the 7th and Das Lied von der Erde as well.  Everyone who tried to vote for Karajan was apparently told the server is busy."

[karlhenning]

The people's choice was a good gimmick, but it has the same problem as in our democracy, "the people" tend to be idiots.   

Don't be hatin' on American Idol!

[karlhenning]

Don't be hatin' on American Idol!

(Never watch that bilge, myself . . . .)

[DavidW]

The people's choice was a good gimmick, but it has the same problem as in our democracy, "the people" tend to be idiots.      

This was an amusing reply to Jens because he is one of "the people", his name is on the list!   Well I'll admit that I screwed up buying the people's edition, the big box that Karl got is better.  I'll order it and sell the people's edition.

[jlaurson]

This was an amusing reply to Jens because he is one of "the people", his name is on the list!   Well I'll admit that I screwed up buying the people's edition, the big box that Karl got is better.  I'll order it and sell the people's edition.

These bastards put my name on the list... and I didn't vote for any (well, one -- Chailly's 10th, I think) of the symphonies in the box. In fact, I tried my bit to influence the voting... but my radio station didn't play ball by picking the topic up on the air. :-(

[Scarpia]

This was an amusing reply to Jens because he is one of "the people", his name is on the list!   Well I'll admit that I screwed up buying the people's edition, the big box that Karl got is better.  I'll order it and sell the people's edition.

Well, only "the people" are only idiots in a statistical sense.  Sort of like, "I want to live in San Francisco,"  "I want to live in New York" so lets buy a house in Shawnee Oklahoma. 

[DavidW]

Ah well you tried Jens.   Still I think the concept of a fan choice is interesting... the only problem is since when do classical music listeners represent a uniform front?  If we tried that with say Bach's vocal (non-cantata) works we would end up with a mish-mash of MI, HIP and everything inbetween!  Actually that would be fun...

[Scarpia]

Ah well you tried Jens.   Still I think the concept of a fan choice is interesting... the only problem is since when do classical music listeners represent a uniform front?  If we tried that with say Bach's vocal (non-cantata) works we would end up with a mish-mash of MI, HIP and everything inbetween!  Actually that would be fun...

I remember a story on NPR about a person who circulated a poll about what people like and don't like in a song.  Then they hired composers to write songs which matched for most favorite and least favorite elements.    The song with least favorite elements featured rapping by a soprano opera singer over a polka band and cowboy guitar, or something along those lines.  The most favorite was more boring, something like an Aretha Franklin tune.

[MishaK]

This was an amusing reply to Jens because he is one of "the people", his name is on the list!   Well I'll admit that I screwed up buying the people's edition, the big box that Karl got is better.  I'll order it and sell the people's edition.

Where is that list of names? I voted for a few and was asked whether I wanted my name included and I explicitly told them 'no' and asked to be removed.