Originally posted by makropulos
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Mahler 4 - Roth -essential purchase ?
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Originally posted by cloughie View PostA good rustic sound which suits most of this symphony - the only movement I think doesn’t quite come off for me is the 3rd! I also had a sampling listen to the Titan which also has a rustic feel to it and I loved the Blumine movt.
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I wasn't listening under the best of circumstances (a download from Qobuz onto my phone, heard through noise-cancelling headphones on a plane!) but my first impression was very good. The highlight for me first time round was the soprano soloist Sabine Devieilhe, who I'm much more familiar with in 18th century music. Are the first two movements a touch on the slow side? Beautiful playing from Les Siècles as usual.
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I enjoyed Roth's Berlioz and his Mahler with the Gurzenich orchestra, but this is dire. Hurwitz is correct to ask, where are the strings? Portamenti are no problem, they are in the Mahler tradition, as Mengelberg and Barbirolli illustrate. But in the climaxes in movt 1 and especially the adagio the string sound is so thin. Fortunately the source for me hearing this was Youtube so no pennies lost. I listened after watching the Mahler 2 from Rattle and the LSO at the Proms, a performance that soared, so my disappointment with Roth may have been made even greater.
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Originally posted by RichardB View PostI wasn't listening under the best of circumstances (a download from Qobuz onto my phone, heard through noise-cancelling headphones on a plane!) but my first impression was very good. The highlight for me first time round was the soprano soloist Sabine Devieilhe, who I'm much more familiar with in 18th century music. Are the first two movements a touch on the slow side? Beautiful playing from Les Siècles as usual.
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Another way of thinking about the soloist here: her sound is completely integrated with the orchestra, emerging as an extension of it, rather than landing on it from outside as it were. The way this is done is more or less enough to make the recording "essential" as far as I'm concerned. As for the strings:well, FXR could have used a larger string ensemble if he'd wanted to, so let's assume that the string/wind balance here is something intentional. Plenty of commentators have observed that Mahler in his first four symphonies gives the winds a much more prominent role relative to the strings than in most previous music (and also than in his own work from the 5th onwards). The strings are often not used as an independent body of sound, but as a source of timbrally distinct lines that's woven through the texture on an equal footing with all the other timbrally distinct lines. This is a radical innovation in orchestration which FXR's recording brings out very well. Just my two cents' worth! (I haven't seen Hurwitz's review but I venture to say it's worth less than that)
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Originally posted by RichardB View PostAnother way of thinking about the soloist here: her sound is completely integrated with the orchestra, emerging as an extension of it, rather than landing on it from outside as it were. The way this is done is more or less enough to make the recording "essential" as far as I'm concerned. As for the strings:well, FXR could have used a larger string ensemble if he'd wanted to, so let's assume that the string/wind balance here is something intentional. Plenty of commentators have observed that Mahler in his first four symphonies gives the winds a much more prominent role relative to the strings than in most previous music (and also than in his own work from the 5th onwards). The strings are often not used as an independent body of sound, but as a source of timbrally distinct lines that's woven through the texture on an equal footing with all the other timbrally distinct lines. This is a radical innovation in orchestration which FXR's recording brings out very well. Just my two cents' worth! (I haven't seen Hurwitz's review but I venture to say it's worth less than that)
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Originally posted by Ein Heldenleben View PostAt the risk of resurrecting old controversies Roger Norrington’s contention that the excessive vibrato of modern orchestras tends to swamp the all important woodwind detail was borne out for me by a magnificent performance of Mahler 9 at the Proms in approx 2010 . I’ve never heard so much of the woodwind in Mahler before. I can’t remember how many string desks they were though.
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Originally posted by cloughie View PostPresto have 25% off DHM CDs and downloads until 3rd Oct!
Even more of the view ,however, that Hurwitz just way over the top .
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Originally posted by Barbirollians View PostI listened to it this morning admittedly only on You Tube - liked some parts much more than others , thought the soprano was very good . Didn’t like the over the top “ Devil’s violin “ in the second movement and the Ruhevoll …
Even more of the view ,however, that Hurwitz just way over the top .
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Originally posted by Barbirollians View PostI listened to it this morning admittedly only on You Tube - liked some parts much more than others , thought the soprano was very good . Didn’t like the over the top “ Devil’s violin “ in the second movement and the Ruhevoll …
Even more of the view ,however, that Hurwitz just way over the top .
Not at all sure I would want to listen to Roth’s account very often but I found it musically much more interesting than his Symphonie Fantastique.
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Originally posted by Barbirollians View PostI do find the violin tone in the Ruhevoll a bit uncomfortably scrawny but the idea that it is - appalling or disgusting just reflects badly on Hurwitz.
Not at all sure I would want to listen to Roth’s account very often but I found it musically much more interesting than his Symphonie Fantastique.
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