Mahler Mania, Rebooted

[madaboutmahler]

But.... the Boulez is a lot less expensive!
In any case, Amazon Spain has the MTT complete box for 135 € plus delivery:
http://www.amazon.es/Gustav-Mahler-Michael-Tilson-Thomas/dp/B004WSX6DO/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1348607907&sr=1-1

Gergiev has some fans.

Do you know how much the Boulez is yet? It doesn't say on the amazon website....
I have wanted the MTT box for absolutely ages, it just sounds so great! Thanks for letting me know of that, I think that would be the cheapest I've seen it....

[North Star]

Do you know how much the Boulez is yet? It doesn't say on the amazon website....
I have wanted the MTT box for absolutely ages, it just sounds so great! Thanks for letting me know of that, I think that would be the cheapest I've seen it....

Amazon UK: £27.60
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boulez-Conducts-Mahler-Gustav/dp/B004NO5HLG/ref=pd_sim_m_h__1

The Spanish Amazon has very good prices on much of the stuff I've looked for - even some Hyperion offerings (Hamelin DSCH), I've purchased mostly from there since discovering this in May.

[madaboutmahler]

Amazon UK: £27.60
http://www.amazon.co.uk/Boulez-Conducts-Mahler-Gustav/dp/B004NO5HLG/ref=pd_sim_m_h__1

The Spanish Amazon has very good prices on much of the stuff I've looked for - even some Hyperion offerings (Hamelin DSCH), I've purchased mostly from there since discovering this in May.

Thanks for the feedback, Karlo. It's confusing how Amazon lists it as only 1 cd.... it is the whole cycle for that price isn't it?

[North Star]

Thanks for the feedback, Karlo. It's confusing how Amazon lists it as only 1 cd.... it is the whole cycle for that price isn't it?

Well, it's hard to say as it's not released yet, but I can't think what it could be if it isn't, and why it was posted over a year before the release date.

[madaboutmahler]

Well, it's hard to say as it's not released yet, but I can't think what it could be if it isn't, and why it was posted over a year before the release date.

Good point, Karlo. So, let's hope it is a full cycle for that price!!

[trung224]

And some may have forgotten about this one:
This title will be released on March 4, 2013.
[asin]B004NO5HLG[/asin]

Though I'm not Boulez's fan, I'm not hesitate to buy this collections. Boulez always has something special to say about music.

[Lisztianwagner]

And some may have forgotten about this one:
This title will be released on March 4, 2013.
[asin]B004NO5HLG[/asin]

Boulez's interpretation of Mahler's music is quite fine, I think this set could be very interesting! But before the Boulez, I would get the Tennstedt, the MTT or the Bertini.

[North Star]

Boulez's interpretation of Mahler's music is quite fine, I think this set could be very interesting! But before the Boulez, I would get the Tennstedt, the MTT or the Bertini.

Hmm. I probably will get a set at some point (2013 or later). The EMI 150th ann. box has Tennstedt's live 5th, very nice indeed.

[CriticalI]

Collated Gergiev Cycle out late October :

[asin]B0096SLCN6[/asin]

Ignore now to avoid the rush! Can't wait for Santa Fe Listener struggling to justify this effort from the "greatest living conductor".

[kishnevi]

Ignore now to avoid the rush! Can't wait for Santa Fe Listener struggling to justify this effort from the "greatest living conductor".

I think Gergiev did a good job with 1, 3 and 7, and an absolutely horrible job with 4.  The rest for me are meh-meh, so I wouldn't suggest this set to anyone.  But Jens seems to have a moderate enthusiasm for his M5 and M8.  So perhaps there is more to him than meets the ear....

[madaboutmahler]

I think Gergiev did a good job with 1, 3 and 7, and an absolutely horrible job with 4.  The rest for me are meh-meh, so I wouldn't suggest this set to anyone.  But Jens seems to have a moderate enthusiasm for his M5 and M8.  So perhaps there is more to him than meets the ear....

His Mahler 3? I seem to remember his finale being incredibly rushed....

[kishnevi]

His Mahler 3? I seem to remember his finale being incredibly rushed....

It's been a while, I must admit--but in the Third, it's the first movement that sets the tone for me, literally and figuratively, and he did a good job with that,  and I think kept the other movements at a pace that co-ordinated well with the first.

Of course, this is Gergiev, and his "Walking pace" can sometimes be mistaken for a slow jog   

And getting out my copy, I can see why you might think it rushed

I--32'22
II--9'41
III--17'20
IV--8'35
V--3'50
VI--20'22               
Total timing 92'10
Which is about 8 minutes faster overall than most of the others I have--most of them take the last movement in either 22 minutes and odd seconds, or 26 minutes and odd seconds, with one or two at 24 minutes.  But his final movement is about only 20 seconds faster than Tennstedt.  Does Klaus seem rushed to you (as a point of comparison)?

The key is not that a movement have some objectively ideal timing or tempo, but that the tempos within the movement and in relation to the other movements make a coherent structure, and I think Gergiev managed that with the Third (unlike a few others in the cycle).

[DavidRoss]

Hmmm---

I just followed up the link to the Boulez Mahler set above. It's a poor joke.

Release date--Dec. 31, 2020
# of discs--1
Label--Roc-A-Fella

[Opus106]

Hmmm---

I just followed up the link to the Boulez Mahler set above. It's a poor joke.

Release date--Dec. 31, 2020
# of discs--1
Label--Roc-A-Fella

Try the UK store. It's even had a price on it for many months, now. Disc count is still one, though.

[DavidRoss]

Heard MTT/SFS perform Mahler's 5th last night at Mondavi. No longer a member and subscriber (too poor these days  ), made do with front row balcony seats instead of center orchestra as we used to have. Took me awhile to figure out what why I was disappointed a little by the performance. I think hearing it as a distant single source of sound is quite a bit different from hearing it as a wall of sound washing over and around us. Like listening to mono instead or stereo--or, more accurately, like listening to a radio playing in another room when you're accustomed to hearing it in a prime seating position in front of a very good hi fi stereo system.

It was their first performance of the 5th this season and it seemed to start a little fast to me, but they had their groove on by halfway through the first movement, and maintained it throughout. The adagietto was heart-breakingly beautiful, the finale rousing and in the end, exhilarating. Yet I still felt a bit let down by it all and only later decided that the seat location probably had a lot to do with it.

[madaboutmahler]

It's been a while, I must admit--but in the Third, it's the first movement that sets the tone for me, literally and figuratively, and he did a good job with that,  and I think kept the other movements at a pace that co-ordinated well with the first.

Of course, this is Gergiev, and his "Walking pace" can sometimes be mistaken for a slow jog   

And getting out my copy, I can see why you might think it rushed

I--32'22
II--9'41
III--17'20
IV--8'35
V--3'50
VI--20'22               
Total timing 92'10
Which is about 8 minutes faster overall than most of the others I have--most of them take the last movement in either 22 minutes and odd seconds, or 26 minutes and odd seconds, with one or two at 24 minutes.  But his final movement is about only 20 seconds faster than Tennstedt.  Does Klaus seem rushed to you (as a point of comparison)?

The key is not that a movement have some objectively ideal timing or tempo, but that the tempos within the movement and in relation to the other movements make a coherent structure, and I think Gergiev managed that with the Third (unlike a few others in the cycle).

Thanks for the feedback, Jeffrey. Concerning the Tennstedt, I thought it was pretty much perfect. And no, certainly did not think he was rushing, so I am slightly surprised he is only 20 seconds faster than Gergiev. What I think Gergiev does, making the performance sound slightly more rushed, is to form a massive accel towards the very peak of a climax. Just how I remember it....

[Lilas Pastia]

I had high hopes for the Gergiev cycle. What with all these lightning bolts and dramatic skies on the art covers .

So far no cigar. I downloaded  5 of the symphonies and find most of them wanting, sometimes severely. Sound and execution are definitely below standard. No concert hall ambiance, no spatial imaging. Very much a caramel sundae with strawberry coulis type of thing. There's nothing actively wrong with them, but nothing I hear that has not been bettered a few times, sometimes decades ago.

I'll wait and see before downloading some more.

[kishnevi]

I had high hopes for the Gergiev cycle. What with all these lightning bolts and dramatic skies on the art covers .

So far no cigar. I downloaded  5 of the symphonies and find most of them wanting, sometimes severely. Sound and execution are definitely below standard. No concert hall ambiance, no spatial imaging. Very much a caramel sundae with strawberry coulis type of thing. There's nothing actively wrong with them, but nothing I hear that has not been bettered a few times, sometimes decades ago.

I'll wait and see before downloading some more.

I'm curious to know which five you've listened to.  If you read below you'll see which three I like and which one I loathe, which leaves five I find mediocre (but two of those five Jens seems to like).    Part of the problems you refer to may be in the venue--a lot of people seem to think the Barbican is not a good place to record in.  The Eighth was recorded in St. Paul's Cathedral, and the reverb is unmistakeable, especially in the concluding moments of each part

[jlaurson]

I had high hopes for the Gergiev cycle. What with all these lightning bolts and dramatic skies on the art covers .

So far no cigar. I downloaded  5 of the symphonies and find most of them wanting, sometimes severely. Sound and execution are definitely below standard. No concert hall ambiance, no spatial imaging. Very much a caramel sundae with strawberry coulis type of thing. There's nothing actively wrong with them, but nothing I hear that has not been bettered a few times, sometimes decades ago.

I'll wait and see before downloading some more.

5 & 8 jazz my bell... otherwise i'm more or less with the above. 9 i haven't heard yet. or have i and forgotten?

[Brian]

Two and a half years ago I saw Marin Alsop conduct Mahler 1 live and thought the first three movements very good and the finale spectacular. Now here comes Captain Hurwitz reviewing her CD, and he also thinks the finale is spectacular, but is more dismissive of the funeral march. Guess Alsop really does connect with the ending as I thought she did years ago... gotta ask yourself if one excellent movement is worth investing, though. I'll try it on NML, at least.