Abbado's Mahler: Chicago or Berlin?

[Nick Armstrong]

I certainly prefer the Chicago/Vienna recordings to the Berlin ones which suffer from an unfocused sound and often unfocused playing too, and some quite unfortunate ensemble problems from time to time. But I prefer the Lucerne ones to either.

Interesting - perhaps that's why I never took to the Berlin ones.

There's something about CA's Chicago 6 & 7 that continually takes me back to them in preference to the later versions, however excellent.

[Richard Barrett]

Interesting - perhaps that's why I never took to the Berlin ones.

Listen to the first movement of the Berlin 7th at 3'00" - oops!

[cloughie]

I listened to the Vienna Fourth last night, and the Orchestral playing, particularly in III, is to die for. I watched and listened to the First movement of the Lucerne today during breakfast and it doesn't sound nearly as luxurious, but my Home Theater equipment is a lot more prosaic than my two channel equipment so probably a meaningless comparison I'm at work now, goofing off, but tonight I'll play the Blu Ray in the good system

Pleased you like the VPO fourth - I think if I only had one Mahler recording it would be that one! The Berlin recording has not the same warmth and Flicka does the finale better than Renee, though the latter is not bad!

[richardfinegold]

I don't really understand the problem though - nobody is forced to look at the screen or even have anything on the screen when playing a Blu-Ray. For me the orchestral playing on the Lucerne live recordings sets a new standard in this music. For those who prefer others, I wonder what their grounds for criticism might be.

Listened to the Lucerne Blu Ray of the Fourth for the first time in my 2 channel system (Oppo 105 outputting the PCM layer over HDMI into my Bryston DAC3, which has HDMI inputs). It is superb but I prefer Vienna. The VPO is idiomatic while the Lucerne Orchestra is a more anonymous world class Orchestra. I also prefer FVS in IV, who sounds more childlike than the somewhat more matronly Mrs Simon Rattle. II is better from Lucerne—here Feivel has some bite, where as in the VPO recording he could be a neighborhood waif that stumbled into the Playground—although for a truly malevolent Feivel the Horenstein recording gets my vote.
Surprisingly, the earlier Vienna recording sounds better than 20 years on in Lucerne. I suspect it might be the Blu Ray technology, or rather the less than optimal utilization of it by EuroArt. Compare these Lucerne recordings or indeed any EuroArt Blu Ray to anything on the 2L Label or even the recycling of recordings such as the Karajan Beethoven Sixties cycle and it will be apparent that EuroArt is scraping the surface of the Audio potential of the medium

[verismissimo]

I've never related closely to Mahler 7, but acquisition of Abbado/Chicago has converted me.

It's truly magnificent. And the scherzo positively scary!

[BBMmk2]

Interesting - perhaps that's why I never took to the Berlin ones.

There's something about CA's Chicago 6 & 7 that continually takes me back to them in preference to the later versions, however excellent.

More earthy sound. Even though I rather like the later recordings

[visualnickmos]

I've never related closely to Mahler 7, but acquisition of Abbado/Chicago has converted me.

It's truly magnificent. And the scherzo positively scary!

Exactly my experience, as well. Even Solti didn't manage to 'convert' me !

[Bryn]

Exactly my experience, as well. Even Solti didn't manage to 'convert' me !

One of the first Mahler symphonies I got to know (Abravanel). I took to it like a duck to water. My current favourite is the Berlin Phil/Gielen.

[BBMmk2]

Exactly my experience, as well. Even Solti didn't manage to 'convert' me !

Not even Solti’s LSO recording?

[cloughie]

Not even Solti’s LSO recording?

He only did 1 2 3 and 9 with the LSO BBM!

[BBMmk2]

He only did 1 2 3 and 9 with the LSO BBM!

I actually did mean that one Cloughie, the Double Decca of Nos.1 & 2.

[Richard Barrett]

I've never related closely to Mahler 7, but acquisition of Abbado/Chicago has converted me.

It's truly magnificent. And the scherzo positively scary!

Only thing is that the solo tenor horn in the first movement is mixed a bit too forwardly. It's certainly the best-sounding rendition of this part I know, very distinctive in timbre, but I wish it hadn't been spotlighted so strongly. Not a crucial issue though.

[visualnickmos]

Not even Solti’s LSO recording?

I'll give that one a re-listen - I'm sue I have it, but may actually have never heard it - double4

PS Just checked : I don't have his LSO recording of Mahler 7. Has it ever been released on CD? I'd be keen to know.......

[ferneyhoughgeliebte]

He only did 1 2 3 and 9 with the LSO BBM!

I actually did mean that one Cloughie, the Double Decca of Nos.1 & 2.

Just checked : I don't have his LSO recording of Mahler 7. Has it ever been released on CD? I'd be keen to know.......

Confused? You will be ...

I think what's happened is that Bbm might have understood visnick to mean all of Mahler's Symphonies, not specifically the Seventh? In whatever case, Solti didn't ever record the Seventh with the LSO.



Unless someone knows differently ....

[Bryn]

Confused? You will be ...

I think what's happened is that Bbm might have understood visnick to mean all of Mahler's Symphonies, not specifically the Seventh? In whatever case, Solti didn't ever record the Seventh with the LSO.



Unless someone knows differently ....

What a lot of soft Soap.