Michael Gielen's Mahler

[Petrushka]

Somewhat to my surprise the current BBC Music Mag recommends the Gielen recording of Mahler 5 above all others calling it 'a balanced powerful recording [which] sets the seal on a magnificent 5th from a definitive cycle'.

I claim to know a thing or two about Mahler cycles but have to confess that I've never heard a note of Gielen's though I do recall broadcasts with the BBC SO many moons ago. 'Definitive cycle' seems a very bold claim to make with the likes of Bernstein, Abbado and Haitink among others readily available.

Has anyone got this 5th or indeed the whole cycle? Am I missing something?

[johnb]

Many years ago I heard the 6th when it was broadcast on CD Masters and was very impressed by it.

Gielen's Mahler might be more popular, or at least gain wider circulation, if the set wasn't so prohibitively expensive.

[Petrushka]

Gielen's Mahler might be more popular, or at least gain wider circulation, if the set wasn't so prohibitively expensive.

Yes, I noticed this as well. £130+ on Amazon whereas you can get Bertini for around £30.

[Mr Pee]

Just had a look on Amazon- some excellent reviews there as well. And the Invisible Hand has informed me that the set is available for 79.07 from Play.com, which works out at 6 pounds per CD. Not so expensive really.

It's not a set that's really registered on my radar so far, but I think it warrants further investigation, especially at Play.com's price.

[Curalach]

Gielen's is an excellent set, well played and well recorded. Like Bertini he gives us Mahler without over-interpreting. Along with Bertini it would be my top recommendation for anyone starting out in Mahler.
The set (Symphonies 1-9) has been at various prices in recent years. I got mine 3 years ago for 35 Euros, delivered, from fnac in France.
The 10th symphony and Das Lied are available separately.

[amateur51]

Just had a look on Amazon- some excellent reviews there as well. And the Invisible Hand has informed me that the set is available for 79.07 from Play.com, which works out at 6 pounds per CD. Not so expensive really.

It's not a set that's really registered on my radar so far, but I think it warrants further investigation, especially at Play.com's price.

That seller is moviemars in the USA so I guess that you may have to pay some fees to HMR&C?

Caveat emptor!

[vinteuil]

Gielen's is an excellent set, well played and well recorded. Like Bertini he gives us Mahler without over-interpreting. Along with Bertini it would be my top recommendation for anyone starting out in Mahler.
The set (Symphonies 1-9) has been at various prices in recent years. .

Yes, I wdn't be without Gielen. I picked the set up pretty cheaply not all that long ago - probably from one of the amazons - certainly for less than £40...
It has a metalllic intensity which can be tiring - but if you're in the right mood, it really delivers.
If I was starting out and looking for a set - then Gielen - Bertini - Tennstedt - Zinman - Kubelik wd certainly be in my top ten...

[Alison]

I have sampled this series and like what I have heard. John is right, the cost has always been prohibitive

and even £85-90 is more than I want to pay for a Mahler cycle. It's Gielens ear for orchestral timbre and texture

for which I chiefly remember the set. To my way of thinking they are excellent 'morning' performances

whereas of an evening I'd prefer the sheer inspiration of (eg) a Tennstedt.

[arcades]

I have sampled this series and like what I have heard. John is right, the cost has always been prohibitive

and even £85-90 is more than I want to pay for a Mahler cycle. It's Gielens ear for orchestral timbre and texture

for which I chiefly remember the set. To my way of thinking they are excellent 'morning' performances

whereas of an evening I'd prefer the sheer inspiration of (eg) a Tennstedt.

A Gielen admirer, here. The ear for orchestral timbre and texture probably fits with how I hear Mahler (I never got on with Tennstedt - sorry!), but I wouldn't say Gielen lacks intensity. The final movement of his recording of the 10th still shocks me, though I've heard it more than a dozen times. I also don't think he neglects the 'archival' material in Mahler to present a 'modernist' version (sorry again for the ''s) - that would be far too simple a description. There are other recordings I'd want of particular symphonies (won't go into those ) and I agree Bertini's is a fascinating set ... but none of Gielen's recordings would be far from my first choice.

I have his Das Lied von der Erde, but haven't listened to it yet.

[StephenO]

Just had a look on Amazon- some excellent reviews there as well. And the Invisible Hand has informed me that the set is available for 79.07 from Play.com, which works out at 6 pounds per CD. Not so expensive really.

Not a conductor I'm familiar with at all and still pricey compared to Bertini or either of the Bernstein sets.

[arcades]

Not a conductor I'm familiar with at all

He's one of the most important conductors of the past 50 years - certainly in terms of the work he's done in Germany performing contemporary music. He was also an important opera conductor at Frankfurt, in one of the most innovative houses in Europe. A great, great musician (also an interesting composer).

[johnb]

He's one of the most important conductors of the past 50 years - certainly in terms of the work he's done in Germany performing contemporary music.

Some of the individual issues of the Mahler Symphonies have interesting couplings, e.g. the Berg Seven Early Songs.

PS Thinking back to the old CD Masters days - I remember Rob or Jonathan playing a *very* nice Gielen recording of Brahms 2.

[Bryn]

I agree absolutely, arcades. Gielen is a quite outstanding conductor, and his Mahler is, to my ears, sans pareil. I got the boxed set a few years ago via Amazon (following Rob Cowan's recommendation). I paid a sensible price (less than £40 IIRC) but it arrived without the programme booklet. The suppliers were entirely unhelpful regarding resolving the omission, but Hänssler Classics sent me the booklet straight away when I referred the problem to them. I got his recording of a Cooke performing version of the sketches for Mahler's 10th on its release. Gielen is one of the very few conductors of note to have the guts and integrity to change his mind re. Cooke's work on the 10th. He originally eschewed it, but then recanted and delivered one of the finest performances of the edition. I have yet to hear his Das Lied von der Erde, but will resolve that situation a.s.a.p.

There's an earlier recording of the 8th on Sony. That's worth getting too.

[Amazon tell me I bought the set in June 2005, but that seems to be too long ago for them to be able to confirm what I paid.]

[Mahlerei]

Agree absolutely with Bryn's assessment. I don't have all the discs in the cycle but those I do have are mighty impressive; very cogent, well-structured readings. That Sony 8 is good too.

Slightly OT, his Gurre-lieder is probably the best in the catalogue, IMO.

[johnb]

If anyone would like to sample Gielen's Mahler his Symphonies 3, 8 and Das Lied are available on Spotify.