BaL 22.04.17 - Mahler: Symphony no. 2

[gurnemanz]

... or for a little more you could get that plus a lot more -

http://amzn.eu/c6frPem

Good point....

[Barbirollians]

Good point....

A marvellous set -two very different but marvellous Mahler 1s , the legendary 1947 Mahler 5 and that fabulous stereo Mahler 9 for a start.

[Barbirollians]

Also if you want Urlicht Ferrier in 1951 live with Klemperer unsurpassed for me . What a recording she might have made with Walter or Barbirolli .

[Barbirollians]

I have to agree, particularly for this symphony which needs every minute of the limited time in relevant discussion! Mival loves the Rattle/CBSO for all its risk taking and involvement etc. I remember buying this all those years ago and just couldn't get into it and disposing of it. This was odd because Rattle did all the things with it I liked and in many ways it does indeed sound wonderful. It just, to me, felt uninvolving and anonymous and I couldn't think why until I learnt that in the first movement alone there were over 200 edits. Also, he dismisses Tennstedt for being too 'in your face', not to quote him - cannot remember his exact words, but which Tennstedt? The old EMI or the LPO label one, which is completely different?

Thanks for that Laurie may explain also why I never felt it catch fire.

[DracoM]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BwRPYijLygA

Rattle live with CBSO. Big sounds!

[Stanfordian]

I have to agree, particularly for this symphony which needs every minute of the limited time in relevant discussion! Mival loves the Rattle/CBSO for all its risk taking and involvement etc. I remember buying this all those years ago and just couldn't get into it and disposing of it. This was odd because Rattle did all the things with it I liked and in many ways it does indeed sound wonderful. It just, to me, felt uninvolving and anonymous and I couldn't think why until I learnt that in the first movement alone there were over 200 edits. Also, he dismisses Tennstedt for being too 'in your face', not to quote him - cannot remember his exact words, but which Tennstedt? The old EMI or the LPO label one, which is completely different?

200 edits; no way!

[Ein Heldenleben]

200 edits - That's not so much a Resurrection as a Dissection . A first movement with two hundred edits is not a performance but a collage. I would love to know how they got a blade - or more properly its digital equivalent , in between the notes of that.

[Barbirollians]

Ferrier in the Urlicht

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2BYvvhznAI0

[techniquest]

With 200 edits in the first movement alone, I suspect that's why the CBSO / Rattle recording, sonically good as it is, somehow doesn't quite hit it with some of the contributors here (me included). I've never heard his Berlin recording, but I have the CBSO 'farewell' performance on dvd recorded from the TV and it is superb (despite the final tamtam fluff).
I was very disappointed with this edition of BaL and it has nothing to do with change. I agree that the twofer format really doesn't work if you have to squeeze considerations and comparisons of this huge work into an hour. Most alarming was the dismissal of Tennestedt's recordings completely and the apparent gushing over the live Barbirolli one despite such dreadful sound. Also notable for it's absence was the Fischer / Budapest recording which seems to be a preferred recording for many that I've noted over the years on various forums.

[Stanfordian]

200 edits - That's not so much a Resurrection as a Dissection . A first movement with two hundred edits is not a performance but a collage. I would love to know how they got a blade - or more properly its digital equivalent , in between the notes of that.

Surely all this surgery must be conspicuous. I'll have to listen to it more intently.

[Maclintick]

Also if you want Urlicht Ferrier in 1951 live with Klemperer unsurpassed for me . What a recording she might have made with Walter or Barbirolli .

Indeed -- the same thought struck me hearing the BAL extract of the excellent Maureen Forrester on the Walter 1958 (?) recording -- Bill Mival drew attention to her direct & unaffected but by no means affectless delivery which brought KF to mind.

[seabright]

Indeed -- the same thought struck me hearing the BAL extract of the excellent Maureen Forrester on the Walter 1958 (?) recording -- Bill Mival drew attention to her direct & unaffected but by no means affectless delivery which brought KF to mind.

Needless to say, the Walter is complete on You Tube at the click of a key ...

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Kjoi96o8Y7A

[BBMmk2]

I like the Rattle/CBSO recording but after hearing about how many edits the first movement had alone,, have to agree that it's more of a collage, than a performance!Solti, still sounds quite a natural performance to me.

[LeMartinPecheur]

Solti still sounds quite a natural performance to me.

BBM: LSO or CSO? I have a long liking for the former (though perhaps 'natural' wouldn't be my very first choice of adjective!). I don't know the latter.

[visualnickmos]

BBM: LSO or CSO? I have a long liking for the former (though perhaps 'natural' wouldn't be my very first choice of adjective!). I don't know the latter.

Yes - there is a certain heightened sense of awe, here, although the CSO is very bracing..... I love them both. The choice is in the moment.

I am very tempted to investigate Gergiev in this work. From the - all too brief - extracts played, I thought - wow! This is good...