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Mahler three Posted by Ian Peake on September 24, 2024, 5:00 am Mr Denham in your review of Boults recordings of Mahler 5,7 and 8 you state that to your knowledge Bruno Walter never conducted Mahler3.In the biography of Bruno Walter by Erik Ryding & Rebecca Pechefsky on pages 76/77 they state that Bruno Walter conducter two performances of the Third Symphony with the Konzertverein orchestra ,also stating that this was the first time in Vienna that the the symphony was not conducted by the composer.I do not have the ability to confirm the accuracy of the information but most of the book appears to be accurate. Ian Peake

Re: Mahler three Posted by Rob McKenzie on September 25, 2024, 10:28 am, in reply to "Mahler three" Indeed, Ian, Ryding and Pechefsky confirm that Walter conducted Mahler's Third Symphony during the European phase of his career. Unfortunately, no recording seems to have been made. He never conducted it in the US but I have never seen any suggestion that he deliberately dropped it from his repertoire. It's more likely that no impresario was willing to finance a performance, given its vast proportions, the need to assemble choral forces in addition to a Mahler-sized orchestra and the public's unfamiliarity with the work.

Re: Mahler three Posted by Chris Howell on September 25, 2024, 11:29 am, in reply to "Mahler three" I'm not sure what the "Konzertverein Orchestra" is, since the Vienna Philharmonic, Vienna Symphony and the Tonkuntsler Orchestras all perform in the Musikverein. The first two have searchable sites showing all their performances. The Tonkuntsler used to as well, but this seems to have been removed. Walter conducted Mahler 3 with the VSO on 25 October 1909, and with the VPO on 6 and 7 April 1935 and on 19 August 1936 in Salzburg. I always understood that the Boult performance, which has survived, was to have been conducted by Walter, who fell ill. The 1909 performance must surely have been among the first anywhere not conducted by Mahler himself. The interesting question is, did he ever conduct no. 6? Of the symphonies of which no recording survives, he conducted no. 7 on 6 March 1920 with the VSO and no. 8 on 14 and 15 March 1912 with the VSO, and again on 12 April 1933 and 16 March 1936. But if he conducted no. 6, it doesn't seem to have been in Vienna. Previous Message Mr Denham in your review of Boults recordings of Mahler 5,7 and 8 you state that to your knowledge Bruno Walter never conducted Mahler3.In the biography of Bruno Walter by Erik Ryding & Rebecca Pechefsky on pages 76/77 they state that Bruno Walter conducter two performances of the Third Symphony with the Konzertverein orchestra ,also stating that this was the first time in Vienna that the the symphony was not conducted by the composer.I do not have the ability to confirm the accuracy of the information but most of the book appears to be accurate. Ian Peake

Re: Mahler three Posted by John Quinn on September 25, 2024, 11:55 am, in reply to "Re: Mahler three" Edited by board administrator September 25, 2024, 1:53 pm Chris Howell's very interesting comments made me look at the notes by Jon Tolansky which accompanied the Testament issue of Boult's 1947 live recording of this symphony (SBT2 1422). There's no indication there - nor in Michael Kennedy's biography of the conductor - that Boult replaced an ailing Bruno Walter; though that's not to say it didn't happen like that. I think I read somewhere years ago - but I can't recall the source - that Walter never conducted the Sixth because he found it too dark

Re: Mahler three Posted by Chris Howell on September 25, 2024, 12:54 pm, in reply to "Re: Mahler three" I can't trace now where I read that Boult was replacing Walter for the performance of Mahler 3. Better not take this too seriously unless something concrete actually turns up Previous Message Chris Howell's very interesting comments made me look at the notes by Jon Tolansky which accompanied the Testament issue of Boult's 1947 live recording of this symphony (SBT2 1422). There's no indication there - nor in Michael Kennedy's biography of the conductor - that Boult replaced an ailing Bruno Walter; though that's not to say it didn't happen like that. I think I read somewhere years ago - but I can't recall the source - that Walter never conducted the Sixth because he fud it too dark

Re: Mahler three Posted by Steve Luciani on September 25, 2024, 1:09 pm, in reply to "Re: Mahler three" Yes. From Ryding and Pechefsky: "One symphony that Walter had avoided through the years was Mahler’s Sixth. The deepest reasons for his avoidance of this powerful work—notwithstanding his statement that the symphony is “bleakly pessimistic” and “ends in hopelessness”—are ultimately shrouded in mystery, yet he claimed to be delighted that Mitropoulos was scheduling the work." Previous Message I think I read somewhere years ago - but I can't recall the source - that Walter never conducted the Sixth because he fud it too dark

Re: Mahler three Posted by Ralph Moore on September 28, 2024, 10:23 am, in reply to "Mahler three" Many thanks, gentlemen all, for your information clarifying the record of Walter's performances of Mahler symphonies; with his permission, I have made some changes to Lee's review to reflect that input. Previous Message Mr Denham in your review of Boults recordings of Mahler 5,7 and 8 you state that to your knowledge Bruno Walter never conducted Mahler3.In the biography of Bruno Walter by Erik Ryding & Rebecca Pechefsky on pages 76/77 they state that Bruno Walter conducter two performances of the Third Symphony with the Konzertverein orchestra ,also stating that this was the first time in Vienna that the the symphony was not conducted by the composer.I do not have the ability to confirm the accuracy of the information but most of the book appears to be accurate. Ian Peake

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