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Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Terence on December 22, 2020, 10:08 pm
Exceptional. It'll take me months to get through all this material, but I am very much indebted to Mr Denham's patience and persistence. Thank you. Already looking forward to the Resurrection survey.
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Lee Denham on December 22, 2020, 11:53 pm, in reply to "Mahler 1 Denham"
Many thanks for your kind words, Terence. I’m genuinely looking forward to reading your own, as well as other people’s thoughts on the recordings discussed and how we can improve the next one (which will take a little while to appear !). Warmest regards,
Lee
Previous Message
Exceptional. It'll take me months to get through all this material, but I am very much indebted to Mr Denham's patience and persistence. Thank you. Already looking forward to the Resurrection survey.
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Andrew Tham on July 31, 2022, 2:06 pm, in reply to "Re: Mahler 1 Denham"
Hi Lee
I am most grateful for your excellent and comprehensive review of Mahler 1. However, a Naxos recording by Halasz seems to be missing.If you have heard it, may I know your opinion of it? Thanks.
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Lee Denham on July 31, 2022, 10:52 pm, in reply to "Re: Mahler 1 Denham"
Strangely enough, Andrew, I had noticed that only very recently - when reviewing Michael Hálasz's recording of Mahler's Seventh Symphony for a soon to be published Conspectus of that work.
My good friend Ralph Moore is forever reminding me that I have also missed out Hans Urbanek's recording too, plus Terence on here has pointed out the omission of Gabriel Feltz as well. There is also a new Jonathan Nott from Japan, so perhaps a revisit is due soon !
That said, thank you very much for your kind comments and glad you enjoyed the survey !
Best,
lee
there is a new recording by Jonathan Nott from Japan,
Previous Message
Hi Lee
I am most grateful for your excellent and comprehensive review of Mahler 1. However, a Naxos recording by Halasz seems to be missing.If you have heard it, may I know your opinion of it? Thanks.
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Ralph Moore on August 1, 2022, 9:02 am, in reply to "Re: Mahler 1 Denham"
Strangely enough, Andrew, I had noticed that only very recently - when reviewing Michael Hálasz's recording of Mahler's Seventh Symphony for a soon to be published Conspectus of that work.
My good friend Ralph Moore is forever reminding me that I have also missed out Hans Urbanek's recording too, plus Terence on here has pointed out the omission of Gabriel Feltz as well. There is also a new Jonathan Nott from Japan, so perhaps a revisit is due soon !
That said, thank you very much for your kind comments and glad you enjoyed the survey !
Best,
lee
there is a new recording by Jonathan Nott from Japan,
Previous Message
Hi Lee
I am most grateful for your excellent and comprehensive review of Mahler 1. However, a Naxos recording by Halasz seems to be missing.If you have heard it, may I know your opinion of it? Thanks.
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by :Lee Denham on August 2, 2022, 9:36 pm, in reply to "Re: Mahler 1 Denham"
Thanks Ralph - when you get to my age, you too will be getting your Urbaneks mixed up !
Strangely enough, Andrew, I had noticed that only very recently - when reviewing Michael Hálasz's recording of Mahler's Seventh Symphony for a soon to be published Conspectus of that work.
My good friend Ralph Moore is forever reminding me that I have also missed out Hans Urbanek's recording too, plus Terence on here has pointed out the omission of Gabriel Feltz as well. There is also a new Jonathan Nott from Japan, so perhaps a revisit is due soon !
That said, thank you very much for your kind comments and glad you enjoyed the survey !
Best,
lee
there is a new recording by Jonathan Nott from Japan,
Previous Message
Hi Lee
I am most grateful for your excellent and comprehensive review of Mahler 1. However, a Naxos recording by Halasz seems to be missing.If you have heard it, may I know your opinion of it? Thanks.
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Terence on December 23, 2020, 4:10 pm, in reply to "Mahler 1 Denham"
Patriotism aside, I really do believe that the best Mahler 1 is Yannick Nezet-Seguin's. It's hard to beat!
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Lee Denham on December 24, 2020, 6:24 pm, in reply to "Re: Mahler 1 Denham"
Hi Terence
Yes, YNS is terrific in that live Mahler 1 with the BRSO - quite possibly a contender for "only recording needed", as you really cannot beat it, even if others (IMHO!) do match it !
lee
Previous Message
Patriotism aside, I really do believe that the best Mahler 1 is Yannick Nezet-Seguin's. It's hard to beat!
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Andrew Tham on February 13, 2023, 5:45 pm, in reply to "Mahler 1 Denham"
Hi Lee
I really enjoyed your Surveys of Mahler 1 & 7. I'm hoping for a survey of Mahler 5 in the near future. This is my favourite Mahler symphony. Meanwhile, may I request your rating for the versions by Bernstein, Barbirolli, Barshai, Shipway, Kubelik and Karajan? Any short comments would be much appreciated!
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Lee Denham on February 14, 2023, 9:37 am, in reply to "Re: Mahler 1 Denham"
Hi Andrew
Many thanks for your kind words on the Mahler Surveys. It's a pity you have requested comments on the Fifth Symphony, since I am aware my distinguished MWI colleague Marc Bridle is nearly finished the surveys on the Sixth and Tenth Symphonies.
Just a small bit of background - it took two years to do the Mahler VII survey ! Admittedly, the First Symphony (an easier listen) took a little less time, but while the aim is to have similar surveys on all the Mahler Symphonies in due course, they are going to take a while.
As for the Fifth, many years ago I did a short survey on a long forgotten forum, but my concluding paragraph does perhaps (partially) answer your question:
So, conclusions. From the ones I had originally, I especially rated Karajan and Shipway, as well as to a slightly lesser extent, Bertini. To these I would add Tennstedt (live 1988) and Kubelik (live 1981). And certainly if I could slip back into the burning house and Siegfried-like battle through the flames, I'd also grab Bernstein 1, Schwarz and Levine to add to my pile. Eight Mahler Fives - that should be enough for anyone.
Of course, as everyone knows, my conclusions may be different if I were to do the survey today. And to clarify, I admired Barbirolli's famous recording on EMI but felt it was badly let down by a flat-footed final movement.
Hope this is of interest and prompts further discussion !
Lee
Hi Lee
I really enjoyed your Surveys of Mahler 1 & 7. I'm hoping for a survey of Mahler 5 in the near future. This is my favourite Mahler symphony. Meanwhile, may I request your rating for the versions by Bernstein, Barbirolli, Barshai, Shipway, Kubelik and Karajan? Any short comments would be much appreciated!
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Andrew Tham on February 14, 2023, 4:49 pm, in reply to "Re: Mahler 1 Denham"
Hi Lee!
Thanks for your quick reply. I'm glad you reviewed Mahler 7. It is a much misunderstood symphony. Indeed, Walter and Karajan never played it. Barbirolli and Berstein 1 are my favourites too! On Mahler 5, I notice that you did not mention Barshai and Bernstein 3 (VPO 1988). Other Fifths I have listened to recently include Boulez, Zander, Gatti and Roth. Any comments on these? Thanks in advance!
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Lee Denham on February 14, 2023, 5:31 pm, in reply to "Re: Mahler 1 Denham"
Hi Andrew
Indeed, the Seventh Symphony is very hard to understand. I thought I had it nailed and then listened to Tennstedt's final recording and had all my beliefs upended!
As for the Mahler Fifth, I am sure you know of MWI's distinguished late contributor Tony Duggan's survey thereon (if not, here it is: http://www.musicweb-international.com/Mahler/mahler5.htm ), but I will dust off my old forum survey later for you and post it here (it is too brief and selective in its choice to be published fully on MWI), which I hope you will find of interest and covers nearly all of your own choices.
Best wishes,
Lee
Previous Message
Hi Lee!
Thanks for your quick reply. I'm glad you reviewed Mahler 7. It is a much misunderstood symphony. Indeed, Walter and Karajan never played it. Barbirolli and Berstein 1 are my favourites too! On Mahler 5, I notice that you did not mention Barshai and Bernstein 3 (VPO 1988). Other Fifths I have listened to recently include Boulez, Zander, Gatti and Roth. Any comments on these? Thanks in advance!
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by LEE DENHAM on February 14, 2023, 8:34 pm, in reply to "Re: Mahler 1 Denham"
Here you go Andrew - I hope you find the following, rough around the edges it may be, of some interest. I will leave it to other more knowledgeable contributors to comment on the other recordings you mention, since I haven't heard them (yet):
Mahler 5
"Some say" (to paraphrase a former infamous BBC presenter) that Mahler's Fifth Symphony is his most popular - indeed, perhaps the fourth movement Adagietto is his most famous piece of all; however it is a work I've always struggled to truly understand. Perhaps the reason for this has been my first encounter with it as a callow youth, for like many UK listeners I guess, I was sagely told by those "who knew" that the best recording was Barbirolli's with the New Philharmonia on EMI. Now I am a huge fan of much of what Glorious John recorded, but I have always struggled with JB's slow tempos in this symphony and (especially) his flat-footed final movement. Of course, it has its moments unmatched elsewhere (the second movement's climax, with harps to the fore, for example), but it is still a way off being my first choice. The following then is a short survey on other recordings that I have auditioned recently, with comments thereon:
Bernstein/NYPO – my younger self’s ambivalence towards Mahler's Fifth also led me to decline the opportunity to see it performed by Lenny and the VPO at The Proms in the late 1980's! My reasoning at the time (wrong as ever) was that since Bernstein had only just turned 70 and had restarted his relationship with the LSO (albeit just conducting his own works at that point), that there was plenty of time left to see him ... Bernstein's VPO recording of the work had at that time also just been released on DG, a reading I remember finding (and still do) rather larger than life, often dangerously close to going over the top, but still one of the finer instalments of his later cycle. However, I have long wanted to hear his earlier account with the NYPO from 1963, not least since its Adagietto was featured on a Gramophone Cover CD some years ago, for some commemorative reason. Whatever the reason, it has historical significance, since up until then (on record), the Adagietto had been taken nine minutes and under, whereas Lenny clocks in at over eleven .... (mention should be made that earlier, live, tapings by Mitropoulos show a similar lengthy timing). More controversy follows with the opening trumpet fanfare, which apparently is played on a bugle, the instrument that would normally have been used in a funeral march during Mahler's time. As for the remainder of the performance, I found it very convincing and enjoyable, with the first movement benefitting from being far less self-conscious than it was in the later Vienna/DG version. Okay, the sound isn't quite state of the art, but as Bernstein steers the symphony towards its closing bars all is forgiven with the sheer exuberance of the playing and conducting. 8/10
Walter/NYPO - Bernstein's wasn't the first time the New York Phil recorded the work, since they were present with Bruno Walter in 1946 in, I think, the first studio recording of the symphony. As such much tolerance needs to be given to the sound; it's somewhat boxy with the brass occasionally sounding brazen - the coda of the last movement takes on an almost "barbaric" sound as a consequence. Credit needs to be given to the orchestra though, who play very well, especially at the conductor's faster than usual speeds which, with a seven minute Adagietto, makes this one of the fastest readings of all. I would say this is mandatory listening for the Mahlerian still, for Walter's most idiomatic phrasing and balancing, but it can never be anything other than a historical curiosity and makes it all the more sad that he died shortly before he was due to re-record the piece: 7/10
Schwarz/LSO - this is a studio recording made in 1958 for Everest. The sound is in decent stereo, lightyears better than Walter some ten years before, perhaps a bit close to the orchestra with the benefit that the woodwinds come out of the sound-picture with more presence than usual; those rumbles from the timpani at the end of the first movement are also very close, and produce a greater sense of dread than perhaps any other. Rudolf Schwarz was not a name that I was very familiar with before encountering this recording; Jewish, he started his career in Austria/Germany in the 1930's and needed to be plucked out of Auschwitz at the intervention of Furtwangler's first wife, Zitla. From all accounts he doesn't seem to have been a very good conductor, but this is a very fine reading indeed, although dark rumours circulate that the orchestra was actually prepared for this recording by Horenstein .... Either way, there's much that is special here - I mentioned above the sense of dread at the end of the first movement and this cascades into the second with tremendous effect. This then offers a very good contrast with the third movement, which emerges all the more fresher, bright-eyed and bushy tailed and leads into a seven minute, thirty second Adagietto ! There is evidence that Mahler actually wanted the movement to be more flowing, rather than a Death in Venice dirge, although I have to confess to slightly preferring the latter approach. Schwarz does actually pull it off as well as he can and this leads onto a slightly slower than usual final movement, but one that is carried along by the orchestra's burning sense of discovery of music they probably were not that familiar with and maybe as a result, is more successful than Barbirolli at a similar tempo. In short, this is all very good indeed - a small word of warning that there are some very dodgy, unofficial CD transfers of this one, but you if you can find a genuine Everest issue, it is hugely enjoyable - and a big surprise. 8/10
Abbado/CSO and BPO - two for the price of one here, since there is so little difference between these two recordings. Both were made by DG, both are superbly recorded and superbly played, the trumpets in Chicago more gleaming, the timpanist in Berlin more assertive, being minor points of difference; both reveal Abbado's concern for clarity of sound, sometimes at the expense of panache, but never with the excesses of later Bernstein, nor the individuality of Tennstedt or Kubelik (see below). There is though one crucial difference - the Adagietto in Chicago lasts eleven minutes; Berlin nine minutes. So if Abbado is your man, there is a clear choice as to which one you may wish to have. However, Claudio is a bit too anonymous for me, so these aren't keepers. 6.5/10 for them both.
Haitink/BPO - this one started hugely promisingly, the first two movements are dark, powerful and glowering. The problems begin though with the third movement which inhabits the same mood, as do the fourth and fifth movements. For those who contend Haitink is a bit of a dull-dog and dour, there is plenty of ammunition here - he was better in the earlier recording with the Concertgebouw, much better in the live Kerstmatinees live concert relay: 5/10
Kubelik/BavRSO (Audite) - not to be confused with the earlier (slightly less satisfactory) DG studio account, this is a live performance from 1981, captured in very fine sound by German radio. I thought this was a marvellous performance, Kubelik's trademark transparent sound is enhanced by the warmth of the Bavarian orchestra's powerful playing; everything is achieved very naturally without the micro-management of today's Podium Poseurs. So whilst I thought that the third movement was perhaps marginally faster than usual, likewise the opening of the last, it all sounds very persuasive. I enjoyed this hugely. 8.5/10
(readers may like to know that there is yet another Kubelik Mahler 5, this time with the Concertgebouw in a live performance from 1951 at the same Mahler festival where the slightly more famous Klemperer Mahler 2 [with Ferrier] was taped. The sound is better than on the latter - probably an easier symphony to record - and the performance is very good, but I do prefer the one from 1981)
Rattle/BPO - I'm sure many people will remember this 2002 concert, the occasion of Rattle's annointing as the BPO's Principal Conductor and maybe some saw it on TV (it was broadcast live in the UK). This was the final installment of Rattle's multi-orchestral Mahler cycle and it is therefore somewhat disappointing to report that EMI didn't exactly furnish him with decent sound - I found the brass very backward and the whole thing needed a good boost. Overall, I didn't think it was a bad performance - my notes show the bass pizzicato at end of first movement was played gently, rather than the "thonk" as usual, whilst the third movement's second subject is sleazily overdone, making Bernstein look like a model of restraint. In the broadcast, Rattle brought Stefan Dohr, the orchestra's principal horn. to the front of the orchestra for the scherzo as if it was a horn concerto - it isn't and the effect (in the recording, if not the concert hall) sounded unnatural. This is okay, without being special 7/10
Tennstedt/LP0 (live 1988 - EMI) - in spite of my mutterings above, the first Mahler I saw in concert was actually the Fifth Symphony conducted by Tennstedt with his LPO; that would have been in 1984, whereas this one is from a few years later. Both were pretty similar to the earlier studio recording in conception, if perhaps this one having the greater electricity and fluidity of a live performance. I was very taken with the way Tennstedt took the first movement, slow, yes, very obviously a funeral dirge, but it all hung together superbly well - and much better than with Barbirolli, above. Actually the whole performance is fascinating from beginning to end, hugely convincing, involving and enjoyable, captured in better-than- you-would-think sound from the Royal Festival Hall. 9/10
Levine/Philadelphia - switching from Tennstedt to Levine was a real culture shock. Whereas Tennstedt's first two movements were mournful and tragic, Levine's were intensely dramatic, red of tooth and claw, the sound in-yer-face, the playing larger than life. It is reigned in of course for an intensely beautiful Adagietto, but one is struck elsewhere by the intensity of the music making and the very fine playing of the Philadelphians. I suspect in concert, this would have been tremendously exciting and indeed it is on CD as well, although I felt both Tennstedt and Kubelik find more in the music. Still a very fine 7.5/10
Solti/CSO - Sir Georg actually made three recordings of this work, a piece that clearly meant much to him. It was with some poetic irony then that his final performance of all was with the Mahler 5, with the Tonhalle Orchestra in Zurich, the same place as his first recordings made as a piano accompanist some half a century before. If you read reviews of this later performance, you will find them referring to a reading somewhat "tamer" than the ones made in Chicago - certainly it couldn't have been any wilder, especially the early 1970's performance, which makes Levine's reading above sound positively shy and retiring in comparison. Actually I quite enjoyed it, was surprised at the warmth in the Adagietto, passionately played, although slightly disappointed by the finale which flies along like a tornado destroying all in its wake; hardly a joyful rondo. For the Zurich performance, the booklet notes tells us that the 86 year old Solti was in the process of "reconsidering" his interpretation of the Fifth - he was due to go on tour with the piece later that year with the orchestra, so as such it is more a momento of a great conductor, rather than representative of a great symphony since it is very much a not too convincing reading "in transition" here. Which leaves us with the 1990 performance, again live (in Vienna) and once more with the Chicago SO, that somewhat predictably falls somewhere between the other two. Sometimes Solti's Mahler is accused of being a mere "concerto for orchestra", an impression I certainly felt on this evidence, especially during the first two movements; powerfully played they both are, but do the notes actually mean anything in Solti's hands ? That said, he captures the high spirits of the central Scherzo rather well and doesn't bludgeon you to death in the final rondo as he did before, but overall, this is merely good, rather than very good - and certainly not excellent. For me, the first recording is more representative of Solti's extrovert way with Mahler, even if the 1990 one is more easily recommendable. All three, 6.5/10
Gatti/RPO - this recording has excited quite a bit of interest; it's true that it is fairly unique in conception. The opening fanfare and orchestral response is slower than usual, not unconvincingly so, but when the trumpet fanfare reappears again in the middle of the first movement, uniquely, it is faster and more urgent than before. This sums up Gatti's approach, which is somewhat impetuous; very often he takes the slower sections very slowly and the fast ones very fast - even in the Adagietto there are some real extreme fluctuations of tempo. This all might make Gatti's conception sound rather unpromising, but I actually found the approach quite "refreshing", although I was a bit more troubled by the somewhat lightweight orchestral response. Gatti is to succeed Jansons at the Concertgebouw, so I'm pretty sure we will be getting a lot more Mahler from him in the future, but for now 7/10
Wyn Morris/Symphonica of London - As far as I can make out, Wyn Morris’s Mahler symphony recordings are no longer available, apart from at eye-watering prices on Amazon; thank goodness, for Youtube then from which I was able to hear this recording. Morris was supposed to be a hugely temperamental conductor and quite a character, much to the frustration of orchestras and their management, so it is not surprising to find this is a performance of huge character too, as evidenced by all his movements being rather slow - except his Adagietto which clocks in at eight minutes ! I'm not quite so sure how to rate this one - it's very unique, thought provoking, but still involving, so 7/10
Summary
The above are all new recordings (to me) that I have listened to, so the following are just comments on the ones I have in my collection already. On EMI, in a complete box, I have Gary Bertini's exceptionally fine account, very well recorded, very well played by the Cologne RSO in a reading that is very similar to Levine's, sounding less aggressive maybe due to the warmer and more realistic results obtained by the engineers; highly recommended. Slightly cooler in execution maybe, but in the best sound of all in this survey, is Riccardo Chailly with the Concertgebouw, who for me just falls short of a Champions League place, for all the textual revelations obtained by the engineers, orchestra and the podium (especially in the first two movements). The 1973 recording by Herbert von Karajan and the Berlin PO was their first stab at a Mahler symphony, although conductor and orchestra had been performing (and recorded) Das Lied for some years prior; as such it documents a great conductor and a great orchestra responding to great music that whilst they may been aware of, were certainly not overfamiliar with. Like Schwarz and the LSO above, there is freshness and excitement about much here that is very impressive; there is even an (unmarked) accelerando to the finishing line after the great brass chorale of the final movement which brings the whole thing home more excitingly than anyone and, predictably, the Adagietto is more beautiful than any (unless you must have it a flowing speed). It is a remarkable achievement, but even better is a live taping from Berlin in 1978, which has the stamp of greatness upon it – but may be very hard to find. Apparently, Frank Shipway also studied with Karajan, but alas he never had the career his talent deserved, perhaps for similar reasons to Wyn Morris. His RPO recording of the Fifth though is much heralded in some quarters and can be bought very cheaply on the Orchestra's own label. I was extremely impressed with the same team's recording of the Shostakovich Tenth and have to say this Mahler 5 is also very fine - in both cases, Shipway gets the RPO playing out of their skins, delivering an absolutely world class response. As far as the interpretation here is concerned, it is abound with insights - for example at the close of the first movement, the repeated trumpet fanfares are played muted, as if in despair - very effective, I thought. Indeed, the hushed intensity he brings to the quieter moments of the first two movements is almost as impressive as the savagery he unleashes in the louder parts. In short, this is very good indeed. My final recording is also a dark horse - Rudolf Barshai's. This is coupled with this conductor's fascinating completion of the Tenth, more flamoyant than the Cooke, a fascinating listen. Both are played by the Junge Deutsche Philharmonie, who yield little or nothing to their professional colleages and is available on a finely recorded Brilliant Classics bargain priced double CD set. This recording of the Fifth has prompted a lot of excitement from some quarters - I remember Gramophone giving it a very complimentary review (Richard Osborne, I think) and this is what Dave Hurwitz on Classics Today had to say: "It’s exactly the performance that, say, Otto Klemperer would have given in his prime: tough, gritty, unsentimental, uncompromisingly truthful, and ultimately triumphant." Credit where credit due - this is a live performance, although you probably wouldn't suspect such until the end with the applause such is the quality of the playing and the quiet audience. Barshai's reading is notable for a very leisurely scherzo, followed by an eight minute Adagietto, which I have to say makes an awful lot of sense; I was also very impressed with the way they closed the second movement, with a mighty tam tam crash. However, in spite of the postives, I found myself more admiring than enjoying this one.
So, conclusions. From the ones I own already, very pleased with Karajan, Bertini and Shipway, to which I have kept Tennstedt (live 1988) and Kubelik (live 1981). And certainly if I could slip back into the burning house and Siegfried-like battle through the flames, I'd also grab Bernstein 1, Schwarz and Levine to add to my pile. Eight Mahler Fives - that should be enough for anyone.
Previous Message
Hi Lee!
Thanks for your quick reply. I'm glad you reviewed Mahler 7. It is a much misunderstood symphony. Indeed, Walter and Karajan never played it. Barbirolli and Berstein 1 are my favourites too! On Mahler 5, I notice that you did not mention Barshai and Bernstein 3 (VPO 1988). Other Fifths I have listened to recently include Boulez, Zander, Gatti and Roth. Any comments on these? Thanks in advance!
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Andrew Tham on February 16, 2023, 10:43 am, in reply to "Re: Mahler 1 Denham"
Thanks Lee !
Your reply was above my expectations. Took me a few days to digest. The Fifth by Karajan and Shipway are among my favourites too. Don't know why so many reviewers dislike them. On another note, I wrote to the Mahler Foundation on a 1971 Live Bernstein Mahler 3 with the IPO that I have and they missed (Helicon 02-9682) and they never replied! Do they reply to e-mails? Regards, Andrew Tham, Malaysia
Re: Mahler 1 Denham
Posted by Lee Denham on February 16, 2023, 12:41 pm, in reply to "Re: Mahler 1 Denham"
Always happy to exceed people's expectations, Andrew - hope my mini survey suitably provoked thoughts too.
I cannot speak for the Mahler Foundation, except to say I have had similar experiences in the past. That said, they do a sterling job, presumably with little funding, so maybe resources are occasionally stretched.
I believe Bernstein was extremely fond of Mahler's Third Symphony - it was of course the work he selected to be performed at his final concert as the NYPO's principal conductor. That must have been some concert !
Best wishes,
lee
Previous Message
Thanks Lee !
Your reply was above my expectations. Took me a few days to digest. The Fifth by Karajan and Shipway are among my favourites too. Don't know why so many reviewers dislike them. On another note, I wrote to the Mahler Foundation on a 1971 Live Bernstein Mahler 3 with the IPO that I have and they missed (Helicon 02-9682) and they never replied! Do they reply to e-mails? Regards, Andrew Tham, Malaysia