Mahler 2 vinyl

bonzo75 said:

Hi any recommendations for a good quality LP off Mahler 2? I want one for demo purposes.

Is there a good LP of Bernstein's performances?

Thanks in advance

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bonzo75 said:

Thanks Tima. For audition purposes I use the first movement. If you can, please listen to the Bernstein NY and let me know how the quality is, since I know the performance and like it. Thanks

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Jazzhead said:

Very nice Tima ! Have been meaning to give the Bruno Walter reading a go . How's the general sound quality of the recording , other than the crackly viynl mentioned . How you on the 9th , any favourtites ? My preference is 9,4,1,2 ... In that order . Getting better acquainted with 3 at present . HNY !

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bonzo75 said:

How is the tone and texture of instruments, also the air

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tima said:

As with all things Mahler each of these will yield a range of opinions. From my perspective each is one of the great 2nds. I don't have enough experience to give suggestions on pressings. Invariably the Resurrection Symphony is a 2 LP release.

Mahler's 2nd was a signature piece for Otto Klemperer. His 1963 recording from EMI/Angel made in Kingsway Hall London with the Philharmonia Orchestra features Elisabeth Schwarzkopf and Hilde Rossl-Majdan and continues since that day as a thriller. My copy is from Pathe Marconi (French EMI). 2C181-00570/1

This is an essential recording for any collection: the greatest interpretation of Mahler's Second ever placed before the public, made under ideal studio conditions "
The Klemperer is more frequently found with a cover similar to this below. The branding across the top may be Columbia or Angel - 2 albums. I've seen the packaging with two separate covers or as one. COLUMBIA SAX 2473 2474, ANGEL 3634. There is also an EMI UK release as a box with a picture of Klemperer smoking a cigar on the cover. ASD 2691-92 or SLS-806.

Then there is Bruno Walter on Columbia with the New York Philharmonic. I find this an extraordinarily power-filled/gripping/compelling performance and it could be my regular favorite but for the typically crackly vinyl that seems more the rule than the exception for Columbia classical issuances. (Their jazz always seemed to fair better - don't know why.) For optimal sound it really should be played using the Columbia playback curve. M2S 601 (stereo) M2L 256 (mono 6 eye). Truly an unforgettable performance from a man who knew GM personally.

Thanks for the summary! You've hit most all of my favorites. The Klemperer reissue was done on the EMI ASD/SLS series, I believe, about the time that Walter Legge left EMI, around 1963. He had resusicitated Klemperer's career after the war, and Klemperer had essentially become the house conductor for Legge's Philharmonia Orchestra on the EMI Columbia label, which Legge essentially ran in parallel to the other EMI HMV ASD label. After Legge left (his wife Elizabeth Schwarzkopf continued to record for EMI and Legge would produce her recordings) the Columbia label was discontinued and everything got merged into the EMI HMV labels. Schwarzkopf not coincidentally appears on the Mahler 2. I have the Columbia SAX pressing.

The EMI Columbia records have become quite expensive in the used market and one can find the EMI ASD/SLS reissues from the mid '60's at much more reasonable prices. The complete Beethoven and Brahms symphonies are just a few of the reissues, along with many of the Callas recordings (another Legge discovery).

I learned the Mahler 2nd on the Walter recording from the late 50's or early 60's. Very fine performance indeed. Walter was assistant conductor to Mahler and he conducted the premiere of Das Lied von der Erde and Mahler's Ninth symphony. The second half of the concert with "Das Lied" was Mahler's 2nd! BTW, one of the TAS Superdiscs is Walter conducting Mahler's 1st.

One very interesting story about Mahler's 2nd is that of Gilbert Kaplan, an American investment publisher and Mahler aficionado who passed away on this past New Year's day. He was not a trained musician, but after he sold his publishing business, he learned how to conduct, particularly Mahler's 2nd. He recorded it twice, once with the LSO and then the Vienna Phil. He performed it 50 times with major orchestras and his performances were generally very well regarded. You can read more about him in wiki.

Larry

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astrotoy said:

One very interesting story about Mahler's 2nd is that of Gilbert Kaplan, an American investment publisher and Mahler aficionado who passed away on this past New Year's day. He was not a trained musician, but after he sold his publishing business, he learned how to conduct, particularly Mahler's 2nd. He recorded it twice, once with the LSO and then the Vienna Phil. He performed it 50 times with major orchestras and his performances were generally very well regarded. You can read more about him in wiki.

Larry

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marty said:

There have been a number of Mahler discussions on several threads. The most recent has been on Steve’s Listening room thread (#1523-1536)

http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...om-Of-Steve-Williams/page154&highlight=mahler

#1536 has prompted several PMs. One of the discussion items that came up is the interesting topic of whether one would prefer an LP version to a CD version of the same work. Obviously this conversation can get charged as it delves into philosophy as well as musical taste. Discussions of whether one prefers content over format are obvious topics for lively debate.

Personally, while I acknowledge the general superiority of a good LP over a digital performance, there are no hard and fast rules for a recorded body of work as deep as Mahler’s. In general, I prefer content over format, but that’s just a personal bias. Good recording of both can be easy to enjoy whereas bad recordings of either format are best avoided like the plague.

I thought it might be best to move any additional discussion of the Mahler “format? topic to a Mahler thread rather than to continue to commandeer Steve’s systems thread.

What I have done below therefore, it to review Tony Duggan’s excellent and yeoman synoptic review of Mahler’s works and sort of summarized mostly what he thinks are the best available versions on both LP and CD.


Mahler 1
CD Bernstein ConcertgebouwDG, Chailly Concertgebouw, Decca
LP Kubelik Audite (average sound) Kubelik , Vienna Decca (apparently not good sound?); Horenstein Unicorn

Mahler 2
CD Kemperer EMI 1965 Live Munich
SACD Fischer, Budapest
LP Kubelik, DGG, 139 332/33 SLPM? Or 413 524-1
LP Mehta Decca ?– SXL 6744-5

Of course, this was the topic of the OP so there are lots of additional opinions to be gained by reading earlier posts in this thread

Mahler 3
LP Bernstein NY Phil 1962 Columbia/CBS
LP Horenstein LSO Unicorn

Mahler 4
LP Fritz Reiner RCA living stereo
CD Tilson Thomas SACD

Mahler 5
Bernstein 62 Columbia NY Phil
Barshai Junge Deutsche Philharmonie on Laurel and Brilliant Classics (93719)

The notes below duplicate my comments from the post of Steve’s thread above, (#1536) that started the rash of PMs that followed. Mahler’s Fifth is considered the first of Mahler’s mature works and as such it is a masterpiece of enormous proportions, Musical polar opposites are presented side by side - tragedy and joy, depression and mania, pain and pleasure, despair and hope, etc. In the words of Tony Duggan “It is such a supreme test for conductor and orchestra because it challenges them to explore extremes of expression whilst maintaining a unity of purpose that ultimately leads to satisfaction”. Of all his symphonies, the 5th probably travels the most emotional distance of all his works. As Herbert Von Karajan once observed: "When you get to the end you find you have forgotten what age you were when you started." It’s a tall order to conduct this well and cover all the emotional bases therefore it really separates the real Mahlerites from the wannabe’s. Most are good at the dramatic/tragic/dark end of the work but fewer appreciate the need to bring out the fantastic/joyful/light end that balances the piece across the whole range. Even less can balance the two perfectly.

That said, I have two favorites. Bernstein’s Fifth with the Vienna is a performance of thrilling power and eloquence. The huge dynamic range of the recording in the opening pages is indicative of what is to come. This is a performance that storms the heights and depths of this work like no other. It is no accident that Bernstein is single-handedly responsible for the dramatic rise in Mahler’s popularity as a composer in the latter part of the 20th century as he championed him vigorously throughout his career. Bernstein has an affinity for Mahler that is palpable and in this recording, it is as obvious as it gets. Simply put, Lenny owns this piece flat out. (Everyone probably knows that Mahler was a tormented Jew who lost his position as the conductor of the Vienna due to anti-semitism and then conducted the NY Philharmonic in the early 1900s; whereas Bernstein was tormented, Jewish and the conductor of the NY Phil in the mid 1900’s. That here, Bernstein is conducting the band that threw Mahler out is an irony which I have always appreciated).

However, Tony Duggan thinks that perhaps the greatest Mahler 5th is by a lesser known conductor Rudolf Barshai with the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie on Laurel and Brilliant Classics (93719). It is a live, one-off performance in 1999 where what the audience heard is what we hear. This may go some way towards making it the exceptional recording it is because the challenges of "live" performance often bring a sense of drama that no studio production can match. Now, ordinarily, you would not put a relatively unknown student orchestra in the same league with best orchestras to play Mahler, such as the Concertgebouw, the Vienna and the Berlin no matter how gifted. But one listen to this and you won’t care, the performance here is simply stunning. Whatever the reasons, it is a perfectly balanced rendition; powerful when it needs to be yet beautifully contemplative throughout as well.

My preference between these two probably depends more on the mood I am in when I listen than anything I can point to specifically in these equally fantastic versions.


Mahler 6
CD Sanderling; St Petersburg, unavailable?
CD Jansons LSO live
LP Horenstein BBCL 4051-2


Mahler 7
LP Sony Columbia/Sony 61/66 NYPhil
CD Tilson Thomas London Symphony Orchestra on RCA 09026 63510 2


Mahler 8
CD Abbado DG (445 843-2)
CD Horenstein BBC Legends (BBCL 4001-7) mono

Mahler 9
CD Rattle Birmingham 2007 EMI
LP Haitink Concertgebouw Philips


It is important to keep in mind a few things when reading th notes above. Fiorst, I am no expert in what are considered the best Mahler performances although I have my preferences. But mostly, if you buy one of these and think the sonic quality is less than good, please don’t confuse the messenger with the message. I’m merely relaying Tony Duggan’s recommendations. I then went to Discogs and when one of his topics appears to be available as an LP, I simply listed it as such. Tony has said that he doesn’t perseverate about sound quality, but only that he will not list a recommendation if the sound quality is poor. That doesn’t mean all of his picks (either CD or LP) will be sonic masterpieces. That is for us to assess individually. If however, you have some personal experience with any of his choices, by all means, please share them with us (as many have already done for Mahler 2 earlier in the thread).

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