BaL 9.04.22 - Mahler: Symphony no. 9

[Alison]

OK so which Forum member snapped up the VPO/Abbado 9th for £3.95 on Amazon that I’d been eyeing?

Not guilty but wouldn't mind having it at such a price.

[cloughie]

Not guilty but wouldn't mind having it at such a price.

Regrettably it’s more than double that now but Presto have it at £8.50 which is not vastly overpriced - usually judge prices on how much I want something - do I need another Mahler 9th - not at the moment!

[HighlandDougie]

Regrettably it’s more than double that now but Presto have it at £8.50 which is not vastly overpriced - usually judge prices on how much I want something - do I need another Mahler 9th - not at the moment!

Well, if you change your mind, I can - if I can find it - bung you a spare copy when I return to Scotland in a couple of weeks time. I have it in the (Universal Korea) Abbado Mahler Symphonies box so don't really need another one. PM me if interested.

[BBMmk2]

There’s so many great recordings of this work, out there, these days. I’d be hard pressed to choose just one!

[richardfinegold]

There’s so many great recordings of this work, out there, these days. I’d be hard pressed to choose just one!

Quite so. My experience in Rattle/Mahler is confined to the Tenth.

[jonfan]

A life enhancing memorable prom I attended, with Abbado conducting the BPO, and the very long silence of the huge audience at the conclusion was as profound as the music making which had gone before. Anyone remember?

[Wolfram]

A life enhancing memorable prom I attended, with Abbado conducting the BPO, and the very long silence of the huge audience at the conclusion was as profound as the music making which had gone before. Anyone remember?

I remember it very well; I expect that if you were lucky enough to be there for that prom it would be impossible to forget it. As memorable, if not more so, than the Bernstein 5th from the mid 1980s. The other great Mahler 9 I recall from the proms was that given by Bruno Maderna and the BBCSO. A RFH performance with Maderna and the BBCSO was released a while ago on BBC Legends.

[Petrushka]

A life enhancing memorable prom I attended, with Abbado conducting the BPO, and the very long silence of the huge audience at the conclusion was as profound as the music making which had gone before. Anyone remember?

Yes, I was there too, August 25 1994.

[EnemyoftheStoat]

I caught up with this BAL earlier via Soundz. I wasn't convinced that I need to track down the Rattle version, no matter which Fillermonic it features, especially as I have the Haitink BRSO still to listen to. The local Oxfam's latest haul this week included several Haitink Philips Mahlers, but unfortunately not his 9th.

[RichardB]

This morning (it was one of those mornings) I listened all through the Barbirolli and the 1982 Karajan. Both beautiful performances, seemingly by different orchestras! (I wonder how many players there were in common) - and certainly recorded in very different ways. I did prefer the former, as I was expecting to, although it seemed somewhat too fast in a couple of places.

[gradus]

As CBS included a rehearsal disc with the Walter stereo record, I wonder if, given the unusual combination of Barbirolli and the BPO, a rehearsal recording exists?

[cloughie]

As CBS included a rehearsal disc with the Walter stereo record, I wonder if, given the unusual combination of Barbirolli and the BPO, a rehearsal recording exists?

Maybe not as, if I remember correctly, the original LPs of the 9th had a blank side. That would been the ideal place for a rehearsal recording!

[Barbirollians]

I have both Walters, the Barbirolli, the live Karajan, Dudamel. LSO/Solti , Ancerl, Haitink and Mitropoulos .

The 1961 Walter is my favourite .

PS How could I forget the Abbado Lucerne blu-ray - awesome performance.

Glad to hear the Barbirolli did so well - Walter only just shades it for me by a whisker.

[Barbirollians]

As CBS included a rehearsal disc with the Walter stereo record, I wonder if, given the unusual combination of Barbirolli and the BPO, a rehearsal recording exists?

The story as I remember it was that HVK was happy for Barbirolli to be invited to conduct repertoire like Mahler in which in the early 1960s he had little interest . The music was very much new to the BPO and they so enjoyed playing it in concert for Barbirolli that the BPO asked if he would record it for them and HMV agreed.

[Nick Armstrong]

Agreed.

The main interest for me was being directed to the Merry Widow March - thanks to YouTube, for the first time I heard the section quoted in the 9th (I think it’s the third subject of the Léhar march) and listened to it ‘back to back’ with what Mahler made of it. Fascinating. To this extent, I’m glad I heard this BAL.

I’m not sure the Rattle’s for me but there’s some fabulous solo playing in the inner movements

This felt more like a guide to Mahler 9 with excerpts from some of the best recordings. I liked the descriptions of the music.

Comments on the recordings limited by and large to the segments played rather than the performance as a whole.

Not much overview of the library criteria.