BaL 16.02.13 - Mahler's 6th Symphony in A minor

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

9.30am Building a Library
Julian Johnson with a personal recommendation from recordings of Mahler's 6th Symphony

Available versions:

Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Claudio Abbado
Lucerne Festival Orchestra, Claudio Abbado (CD, DVD & Blu-ray)
Utah Symphony Orchestra, Abravanel
Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Charles Adler
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli
New Philharmonia Orchestra, Sir John Barbirolli (2 versions)
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Leonard Bernstein (CD & DVD)
Kolner Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester, Gary Bertini
Lucerne Festival Academy Orchestra, Pierre Boulez
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Pierre Boulez
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Riccardo Chailly
Duisburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Jonathan Darlington
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Antal Dorati
Philadelphia Orchestra, Christoph Eschenbach
London Symphony Orchestra, Harold Farberman
Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer
London Symphony Orchestra, Valery Gergiev
SWR Sinfonieorchester Bade-Baden und Freiburg, Michael Gielen
La Monnaie Symphony Orchestra, Hartmut Haenchen
Netherlands Philharmonic Orchestra, Hartmut Haenchen
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Bernard Haitink
National Symphony Orchestra, Taiwan, Gunther Herbig
Bournemouth Symphony Orchestra, Jasha Horenstein
Stockholm Philharmonic Orchestra, Jasha Horenstein
Radio-Sinfonieorchester Frankfurt, Eliahu Inbal
London Symphony Orchestra, Mariss Jansons
Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, Mariss Jansons
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Herbert von Karajan
Moscow Philharmonic Orchestra, Kirill Kondrashin
Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden und Freiburg, Kirill Kondrashin
Symphonieorchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Rafael Kubelik
Atlanta Symphony Orchestra, Levi
London Symphony Orchestra, James Levine
Symphonie-Orchester des Bayerischen Rundfunks, Erich Leinsdorf
Vienna Symphony Orchestra, Fabio Luisi
Concertgebouw Orchestra, Lorin Maazel (DVD/Blu-ray)
Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra, Lorin Maazel
Israel Philharmonic Orchestra, Zubin Mehta
New York Philharmonic Orchestra, Dmitri Mitropoulos
WDR Symphony Orchestra, Dmitri Mitropoulos
Czech Philharmonic Orchestra, Vaclav Neumann
Orchestra dell' Accademia Nazionale di Santa Cecilia, Roma, Antonio Pappano
Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
City of Birmingham Symphony Orchestra, Sir Simon Rattle
Philharmonia Orchestra, Esa-Pekka Salonen
Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra, Jukka-Pekka Sarasate
Philharmonia Orchestra, Sinopoli
Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Georg Solti
Russian State Symphony Orchestra, Svetlanov
Cleveland Orchestra, George Szell
Sofia Philharmonic Orchestra, Emil Tabakov
London Philharmonic Orchestra, Klaus Tennstedt (2/3 versions)
San Francisco Symphony Orchestra, Michael Tilson Thomas
Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra, Petr Vronsky
Polish National Radio Symphony Orchestra, Antoni Wit
Hamburg Philharmonic Orchestra, Simone Young
Philharmonia Orchestra, Benjamin Zander
Tonhalle Orchestra Zurich, David Zinman (CD & DVD)

For piano 4 hands:

Piano duo Zenker

[amateur51]

Wonderful list EA - bravo!

Please may I add Stockholm PO/Horenstein (live 1966)

Berlin PO/Rattle - 'live' recording of the their first encounter

LPO/Tennstedt 'live'

Saarbrücken Radio Symphony Orchestra/Herbig

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

Thank you A51. I'll add them when I can get my hands of Frau A's iPad. My laptop refuses to allow me to edit my posts.

In the mid-60s, there was only one recording available (Adler). How things have changed.

[amateur51]

I like what I've heard of Julian Johnson from the Proms and on CD Review. I guess his first task may be to encapsulate the 'Scherzo movement second or third?' debate but I hope that he won't come down on either side. I'm a Scherzo third man myself

Let's hope they can keep Robert Matthew-Walker out of the studio/off the e-mail to Andrew otherwise we could be in afor a long session, if IRR's letters pages recently are anything to go by

[Eine Alpensinfonie]

I hope the scherzo argument will not be used as a way of filtering out otherwise superb readings.

[amateur51]

I hope the scherzo argument will not be used as a way of filtering out otherwise superb readings.

I totally agree

[Alison]

Orchestre Nationale de France/Bernard Haitink

There are of course two live Tennstedt versions at Proms and RFH respectively, both LPO.

Rather pleased this Mahler BaL isn't a Seckerson or the other Johnson job.

[amateur51]

Orchestre Nationale de France/Bernard Haitink

There are of course two live Tennstedt versions at Proms and RFH respectively, both LPO.

Rather pleased this Mahler BaL isn't a Seckerson or the other Johnson job.

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

Rather pleased this Mahler BaL isn't a Seckerson or the other Johnson job.

Oh so am I.

JJohnson did a rather good job of the Mahler #8 in Nov 2011 (I listened to it whilst driving to a concert in Huddersfield) and he's taken part in one of those "discussion"-type chats on CDR about "Recent Mahler Releases". Scrupulously fair, enthusiastic without gushing and aware that it's the Music that matters, not the way he presents his responses to it.

Karajan and both Bernsteins grace my shelves - be nice to have a recording under a quarter of a century old! (Difficult to beat that pair, though.)

[Alison]

I feel moved to give the VPO/Boulez a spin. Maybe BPO/Haitink too.

[Barbirollians]

Barbirolli - trudge , trudge ,trudge . - fantastic .

I shall put in a good word for the recent Pappano - very exciting if not a library version .

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

I feel moved to give the VPO/Boulez a spin.

I have that, too!!! On a cassette tape, so it'll probably get mangled in the machine these days. Excellent performance - received a lot of what struck me as mean-spirited comments. (Usual clichés about Boulez "cold" "precise" "detached" - nonsense! White Hot reading. Maybe I'll just upgrade to CD.)

[Madame Suggia]

There's a Mahler 6 with the Boston Philharmonic, conducted by Zander too.

[BBMmk2]

I have several 6ths of mahler. i just hope one of them gets the trump card!!

[Barbirollians]

Interestingly, and no doubt due to the point that we discussed on here on another thread - that either Bernstein or Barbirolli ruins you for other versions I find I only have Barbirolli's 3 versions and the Pappano - except for the fact that I have bought the amazingly cheap 1960s Bernstein set and not listened to it yet . I have a much bigger spread of other conductors in all the other symphonies bar the Eighth.