Mahler 7

[soileduk]

Hyperion is one label in particular that couldn't seem to get the SACD technology right

They can't with their downloads either. I downloaded the 24/96 version of the recent Stenz Strauss Don Quixote disc and was perplexed to find it inferior to the CD.

Yes, I've bought the Gielen too. Between us we must have almost bought the whole issue. I have kept my Stenz SACD though.

[Karafan]

I'm waiting for the inevitable revelation that Cailban is none other than Stewart Brown, Head of Testament Records, logging in from behind the tinted windows of a 3 litre Bentley!!

[Flosshilde]

He [Rattle] told me they were taking it into the studio the next day. Nothing ever appeared and it wasn't until after the live Aldburgh disc came out that I learnt that Rattle hadn't been satisfied with the studio account. There is, or should be, an unissued CBSO/Rattle recording in the EMI vaults though considering the current EMI/Warner situation it's anybody's guess what will happen to it.

If Rattle hadn't been satisfied with it wouldn't the recording have been destroyed? I can't imagine a conductor approving the issue of what they considered a sub-standard performance, & surely there would be something in their contract with the recording company that no recording could be issued without their approval?

[Petrushka]

I'm waiting for the inevitable revelation that Cailban is none other than Stewart Brown, Head of Testament Records, logging in from behind the tinted windows of a 3 litre Bentley!!

Seriously, though, I love those posts when the author is bursting with enthusiasm for a work/CD. It's inevitably going to cost me money and I might not be quite so enthusiastic but there are those on here whom I trust in matters of this kind just as there are in the pages of the music mags.

[Petrushka]

If Rattle hadn't been satisfied with it wouldn't the recording have been destroyed? I can't imagine a conductor approving the issue of what they considered a sub-standard performance, & surely there would be something in their contract with the recording company that no recording could be issued without their approval?

An interesting point and one which I can't offer an answer. Can anyone versed in the ways of recording contracts venture an opinion?

There have been cases where recordings have lain in the vaults for decades before issue (the Keilberth Ring, for one). Sometimes a conductors opinion of what he considers a sub-standard performance might be plain wrong! In any case, Rattle's eventual release of the Mahler 7 isn't without it's faults and I'm sure he'd feel he could have done much better now.

[Nick Armstrong]

I'm waiting for the inevitable revelation that Cailban is none other than Stewart Brown, Head of Testament Records, logging in from behind the tinted windows of a 3 litre Bentley!!

Moi?

Nah.... but I'm thinking of dropping him a line for a spot of commission, how many's that now on this thread - 4, 5 copies today? (I know LaurieWatt's ordered one too...)

Well, I'm touched by your confidence, and look forward with slight trepidation to purchasers' reactions...

[Roehre]

...... I can't imagine a conductor approving the issue of what they considered a sub-standard performance, & surely there would be something in their contract with the recording company that no recording could be issued without their approval?

I know of an LP which was already in the process of being pressed, when the recorded pianist changed his mind and refused approval for distribution. The recording is still in the vaults of Philips' successors and cannot be destroyed for legal reasons, but apart from two copies, the whole lot of already pressed LPs has been destroyed.
It is unlikely that we will ever hear that particular recording.

[jayne lee wilson]

They can't with their downloads either. I downloaded the 24/96 version of the recent Stenz Strauss Don Quixote disc and was perplexed to find it inferior to the CD.

Yes, I've bought the Gielen too. Between us we must have almost bought the whole issue. I have kept my Stenz SACD though.

This Strauss recording is actually a 24/44.1, so if you are playing it at 96khz it may have reduced the resolution etc.. Is your replay chain (cables & DAC) the same for CD and download? Computer sources can be quite variable in quality - the clocking-out may be less accurate, unless you're using USB asynch. I bought the 24/44.1 of that Stenz Straus and find it one of the best 24-bit efforts I've heard, really lovely. (Didn't feel any need for the CD...). But I've heard some DACs trumping CD on 24-bit files, and some CD transport/DAC combos actually resolve better than the 24-bit file in the upper frequencies.

The 24/48 CPO Manze/Helsingborg Brahms set is a great example of the merits of 24-bit, certainly an advance over lossless. When implemented well, it's marvellous.

My own off-the-beatens for Mahler 7 would include the 1975 Kondrashin/Leningrad Phil on Melodiya, and the Leipzig Gewandhaus/Neumann on Berlin Classics (1968, Haus Auensee). The first for it's colouristic fantasy and sheer character, the Neumann for its forthright drama and sharp attack. (The latter has the Caspar David Friedrich landscape on its cover which at one time graced Sawallisch' Schumann cycle, differently tinted - still there on Toshiba).
Of the classic readings, always a soft spot for Abbado in Chicago, but once I'd heard the later DSD remaster of Bernstein/NYPO from 1965, I felt I needed no other! It's an amazing improvement over the disappointing Bernstein Century CD.

[Alison]

I cut my teeth on Concertgebouw performances of this wonderful symphony. I loved their hues and colours, the fresh open air and atmosphere. By contrast I find the BPO can be glutinous, too indoors, in this music regardless of conductor.

Must dig out the 1969 Haitink again.

Among more recent versions Jonathan Nott's strikes me as an unusually comprehensive account.

In the concert hall Belohlavek and the BBCSO produced a thrilling ride a couple of years back, their finale coming as close as any to the mythical ideal.

[LaurieWatt]

Moi?

Nah.... but I'm thinking of dropping him a line for a spot of commission, how many's that now on this thread - 4, 5 copies today? (I know LaurieWatt's ordered one too...)

Well, I'm touched by your confidence, and look forward with slight trepidation to purchasers' reactions...

[amateur51]

I cut my teeth on Concertgebouw performances of this wonderful symphony. I loved their hues and colours, the fresh open air and atmosphere. By contrast I find the BPO can be glutinous, too indoors, in this music regardless of conductor.

Must dig out the 1969 Haitink again.

Among more recent versions Jonathan Nott's strikes me as an unusually comprehensive account.

In the concert hall Belohlavek and the BBCSO produced a thrilling ride a couple of years back, their finale coming as close as any to the mythical ideal.

Thanks for reminding me about the Belohlavek/BBCSO performance at the Barbican (I assume) Alison - it was outstanding.

Any chance of its appearing as a BBC MM coverdisc, I wonder

[Bryn]

Thanks for reminding me about the Belohlavek/BBCSO performance at the Barbican (I assume) Alison - it was outstanding.

http://www.classicalsource.com/db_control/db_concert_review.php?id=10011

Have searched out the .aac file.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Thanks for reminding me about the Belohlavek/BBCSO performance at the Barbican (I assume) Alison - it was outstanding.
Any chance of its appearing as a BBC MM coverdisc, I wonder

Unlikely, alas - Noseda's (excellent) performance with the BBCPhil was a cover disc a couple of years ago. (Sadly bringing to a close my hope that Ilan Volkov's Prom performance from about ten years ago would make it to CD.)

It's a terrific work - Mahler's Midsummer Night's Dream: a little scary, a little spooky, and with lots of magic and humour (including the "Tongs and Bones" bit in the Finale). It was the best performance in Abravenal's Utah Mahler cycle, Horenstein's Live recording with the NPO is phenomenal (some particularly fine Horn playing here) - and Bernstein in New York is a cause fro rejoicing. I also treasure Boulez in Cleveland (wry humour and soaring lyricism together with PB's intense understanding of how details relate to overall structure) - and shall order the Gielen/BPO, too.

Dislikes? Klemperer with the NPO and (the performance with which I got to know the work) Haitink's '60s Concertgebeouw recording, which has been greatly praised by many people whose views I admire and respect here. Following with the score, there was so much that Haitink missed: the notes glued to the paper - I preferred the performance my imagination heard from the score.

[Nick Armstrong]

"Tongs and Bones"

There's a great 'rattling bones' bit in the second movement when after the horn calls, the twittering woodwind are sent scattering by the sudden rattle of the 'rute' (I think it's called - that switch that's rapped against the drum rim) - so vivid in the Gielen that I jumped out of my skin and thought someone was battering on the front door...

and shall order the Gielen/BPO, too.

Another one in the bag!

[Bryn]

...
Another one in the bag!

I knew I had intended to place an order before heading for work yesterday morning, but thought I had better check that I had indeed done so. I had. Estimated delivery date range is 21st to 23rd this month. I got Hänssler Classic boxed set (as recommended by Mr. Cowan) 8 years ago. The Gielen Mahler 8 on Sony is also worth having, as is his Mahler/Cooke 10 (issued after the boxed set, which only had the opening Adagio).