BaL 3.03.18 - Mahler: Symphony no. 7

[teamsaint]

How I miss Discovering Music

It seriously ******** baffles me why R3 doesn’t have this any more.


I might stop evading the licence fee if they put it back on.

[BBMmk2]

How I miss Discovering Music

Just shows how Radio 3 is now.

[Alison]

I thought Tennstedt’s was the more imposing start to the symphony. The Abbado seemed less focused, perhaps related to the recording quality others have mentioned.

Totally agreed with SJ on the Solti though.

[visualnickmos]

I thought Tennstedt’s was the more imposing start to the symphony. The Abbado seemed less focused, perhaps related to the recording quality others have mentioned.

Totally agreed with SJ on the Solti though.

He does have his detractors in Mahler - for my money he is one of THE Mahler interpreters. There is an 'edge' and spirit of anticipation in his Mahler - you never quite know what's around the next corner - even when you know what's coming next - if you get my meaning!

I can't remember what SJ said about Solti's Mahler 7th... in fact I haven't listened to Solti's Mahler much at recently. Must pay a return visit.

[Barbirollians]

I liked the opening in the Tennstedt version but the later part of the first movement which SJ seemed to be playing to illustrate how the " alpine vista" passage could be played as slowly but more convincingly than in the DG Bernstein sounded flat compared to the Bernstein ( but that could be because the Bernstein was the first recording of this symphony I owned and am very fond of it )

[gurnemanz]

He does have his detractors in Mahler - for my money he is one of THE Mahler interpreters. There is an 'edge' and spirit of anticipation in his Mahler - you never quite know what's around the next corner - even when you know what's coming next - if you get my meaning!

I can't remember what SJ said about Solti's Mahler 7th... in fact I haven't listened to Solti's Mahler much at recently. Must pay a return visit.

Something like: He felt like he was being nudged in the ribs all the time by Solti adhering over-precisely to the composr's instructions.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Did anyone notice if SJ made clear which "Tennstedt recording" he was using as reference? In addition to the Studio version (which I referred to earlier, and which I presumed was what SJ was using) there's a Live recording from the Edinburgh Festival which I didn't know about. All Tennstedt Live Mahler performances I know sweep his Studio versions into a huddled heap in the corner; if that it what's happened here, no wonder it sounded so good!

[richardfinegold]

A g shame. Some of us like this recording quite a lot, on this forum

[richardfinegold]

HD mentioned Gielen. Did the presenter? I found his recording with SWR lurking on my shelve and spun it. It’s definitely an anti Bernstein approach. The middle three movements come off the best, imo. He sort of blasts through I and V

[Bergonzi]

Something like: He felt like he was being nudged in the ribs all the time by Solti adhering over-precisely to the composr's instructions.

I think he said that Solti was adding accents all over the place which were not called for by Mahler. Haven't heard the recording, but that sounds like Solti.

[BBMmk2]

RFG yes I know. I will certainly be playing Tennstedt recording

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I think he said that Solti was adding accents all over the place which were not called for by Mahler. Haven't heard the recording, but that sounds like Solti.

IIRC, the "accent adder" was Dudamel (or "Gustav O'Doolamel" as I thought he was saying ) - about Solti he said that the accents were all there in the score, but that it felt like (etc - as in gurnemanz's #156).

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

RFG yes I know. I will certainly be playing tennstedt recoerding

Ah ... but which one, Bbm?

[Beef Oven!]

I have just listened to this through on iPlayer and for me it was quite a disappointing BaL. Perhaps I set my expectations too high, given the 'status' of this amazing work. I have the recommended choice, but rarely feel compelled to pick it off the shelf; much preferring Boulez, Gergiev, Abbado's Chicago and the earlier Bernstein on Sony. I'm not sure that I even heard Boulez mentioned. Shame, because his performance really sets out the wonderful clarity of Mahler's orchestration in this complex work.

What did catch my ears though was the Rattle and the Solti. Rattle is something of a dark horse for me. He's not figural, but seems to crop up here and there with some rather excellent performances and the snippet of his M7 sounded super. Solti captured my imagination because it might be interesting to listen to his 'affected' way in this work as an alternative to the Boulez, or even Abbado's Chicago.

[Bergonzi]

I have just listened to this through on iPlayer and for me it was quite a disappointing BaL. Perhaps I set my expectations too high, given the 'status' of this amazing work. I have the recommended choice, but rarely feel compelled to pick it off the shelf; much preferring Boulez, Gergiev, Abbado's Chicago and the earlier Bernstein on Sony. I'm not sure that I even heard Boulez mentioned. Shame, because his performance really sets out the wonderful clarity of Mahler's orchestration in this complex work.

What did catch my ears though was the Rattle and the Solti. Rattle is something of a dark horse for me. He's not figural, but seems to crop up here and there with some rather excellent performances and the snippet of his M7 sounded super. Solti captured my imagination because it might be interesting to listen to his 'affected' way in this work as an alternative to the Boulez, or even Abbado's Chicago.

On reflection I would agree that he missed out some important conductors and only briefly mentioned Haitink, many which i would think might have been very good.