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Anyone care to recommend a SACD Mahler third symphony?
Thanks
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My personal favorite is not an SACD, but is the Abbado/Lucerne Festival Mahler 3rd on Blu-ray. Not only is it a superb performance by one of the greatest of today's conductors with a hand picked orchestra of many virtuosi from the greatest orchestras, but we get the added video dimension, which I find adds tremendously to the musical enjoyment.
This entire Blu-ray cycle, still not including the 8th, is a treasure. I will leave others to quibble about the sonics of BR vs. SACD, but I am beyond quite happy with the 48k/24 bit sonics of many concert, opera and BRs, including this one. In fact, I prefer BR with the video to SACD without it for the maximum musical experience in the home. It is closer, overall, to the live concert experience.
Thanks Fitzcaraldo. I will give that one a try, even though I do enjoy Macal/Exton (Introduced to me by Chris). Where is the best place to purchase the Abbado Blu-Ray.
Robert C. Lang
I usually just go with either Amazon or their often cheaper reseller partners, with the added $2.95 shipping.
I first bought the Abbado Mahler 3rd as a single to "get my feet wet" with the seres and with concert videos. I quickly realized I had to have the whole set of Nos. 1-7, made over nearly a decade of Lucerne Festivals, which I paid about $85 for. I do think the sonics, always good, gets somewhat better among the later recordings. The Abbado 9th from Lucerne was released separately last year, and is absolutely awesome musically and audibly. Still no Mahler 8th to complete the cycle as yet. It is my "go to" set of Mahler symphonies for maximum musical satisfaction. I cannot tell you how much the video adds to my enjoyment.
Other releases from the Lucerne Festival are also outstanding, with what seems like even better sonics on the recent Abbado Bruckner 5th, and what I find to be a very hauntingly excellent performance of the Shostakovich 8th with the Concertgebouw under Andris Nelsons, also done at the Festival. So, anything from the Lucerne Festival on Blu-ray A/V is an automatic buy for me. They are consistently among the very best concert Blu-rays.
A recording reviewer friend is so taken with these videos and performances that he is planning to go to next year's Lucerne Festival.
Amazon Where else ?
We are in agreement for a change
But I like it a lot. . . Barbican acoustics and all. ;-)
Like the little girl with the curl who could be horrid, every Gergiev release surprises and, very often, disappoints. I think his M3 falls in the latter category and the LSO/Barbican acoustics do not help. IMHO, of course.
I have not heard the Gergiev M3. But, Kal once again, hits the nail on the head about Gergiev. I find him vastly overrated, and unpredictable says it all quite accurately. Witness the recent Haitink Shostakovich 15th vs. the Gergiev with the Mariinsky, although the latter is an excellent recoding, but the Haitink is, too.
And, as far as LSO Live is concerned, I avoid them. There have been far too many sonic disappointments for me on that label. It is not just the sound of the Barbican. It is the mediocre engineering by Classic Sounds Ltd.
Having said all that, I very much admire the Rite of Spring Blu-Ray by Gergiev with the Mariinsky Ballet and Orchestra. I less admire the Firebird on the same disk. Sonics are, however, quite good with engineering by Erdo Groot of Polyhymnia.
Fantastic sound and one of the best performances in his set.
I fell in love with the Bernstein Mahler 3rd and can't get over it. Nice upgrade on multichannel SACD.
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We must be the change we wish to see in the world. -Gandhi
Edits: 08/15/12
I share your opinion and have this recording on both LP (the large box set with the golden medallion bust of Mahler on the spine - talk about a beautiful presentation) and CD, also as part of a set. With my currently limited SACD budget, do you think that the improvement in sound quality is commensurate with the extra $40 or so I would need to spend over the price of the single CD? The only Bernstein Mahler SACD I own is the 1st Symphony and I didn't hear that large of an improvement. Thanks!
I would say the upgrade is worthwhile if you can enjoy the multichannel. If your system is two channel only it may not be worth it. Note many of the other Bernstein Mahler JSACDs are also amazing.
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We must be the change we wish to see in the world. -Gandhi
I think this is a wonderful performance, in a hybrid SACD (but not multichannel). I have Chailly, but I find no added benefit from the multichannel layer compared to the 2-channel SACD layer, and I think Honeck has overall superior sound quality.
You can't find it any more as new, but Zander's multichannel SACD for Telarc is also a worthy version.
To me the ultimate test for any M3 performance is the last movement, all the other movements are there just to get you all prepped up and ready for the intense emotional journey that makes up the fifth movement, among the old timers J. Horenstein produced the ideal performance, I heard a broadcast of this performance over our local FM station some years ago, for the broadcast they used the original Ampex tapes, it brought the house down!
My current favorite SACD is Chailly/RCO, a little tame compared to Horenstein but a good performance, the acoustics of Concertgebouw are ideal for this work.
Vahe
I was very impressed by Zdenek Macal's multi-channel recording on the Exton label.
Mehta and the Bavarian State Orchestra live (in 2004) on Farao is an excellent performance with fine sound (both stereo and surround, I believe). The third is a Mehta specialty. His old third on Decca with Los Angeles is a classic.
. . . I do like his old Decca/LAPO performance that you mention. Also, Mehta's SACD of the Mahler Fifth on Farao is quite a bit better than his earlier recordings with the NYPO and the LAPO in terms of general conception and execution, as well as in engineering - as I mentioned in an old post, third time was the charm for him in that work!
Edits: 08/15/12
Yes, I like this one, too. I'm a Mehta junkie. Austrailian Eloquence has reissued almost all of his Decca recordings, and I like most of them. His Sony era is another story.... :)
Don't know if it is available as an SACD but Bychkov's Mahler 3rd is very special. I have brought it up before on the Asylum but it still seems that I am the only one who has this stupendous performance. Sound is great also.
Alan
But then I go to Amazon and see that $41.27 price for plain old CD tech, and I somehow just can't persuade myself to click that "Add to Cart" button. Maybe I'll see a used copy at Amoeba. ;-)
Chris, Don't know if it is available but try this
http://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/mahler-symphony-no-3-semyon-bychkov/8184516
Alan
That's ok Chris. I wouldn't spend that much either although a lot of guys seem to find no problem spending $60 for SHM SACD's which in many cases don't sound any better than the original releases because they have been poorly remastered. The Bychkov is demonstration quality. I know I did not spend that much but can't remember where I got it
Alan
Unfortunately, I don't believe that the Bychkov is available on SACD. A little surprising, since most of his recordings on that label seem to be available in hybrid SACD form. Great recording, though.
If you must have SACD, the Bernstein/NYPO is available on SACD, but only from Japan, I believe. I haven't done an A:B with the new RBCD remastering, so I'm not sure if it's actually worth the extra $$$...probably not, since you can buy the Bernstein complete set for about $30.
Other choices are Chailly, Zinman, Tilson Thomas, and (I think) Zander. They're all fine performances, but they're all on the bland side, and I think that they pale beside Bernstein and Bychkov. I love the Levine on RCA, but if you're looking for SACD, I don't think that the sonics on this one will do...
I think it is very strange that people would ignore a great performance (in my opinion the greatest every) because it is not available in SACD. I know this is the Hi-Rez forum but in this case the cd is defiantly as good as any hi-rez recording I have ever heard. If you love the Mahler 3rd then you most here this.
Alan
The Bernstein Third is very special. On the SACD the sound is wonderful. As to whether the SACD is worth the extra money, each of us has to judge for himself. To me it was. I have never had a moment's regret about the expenditure.
.
I like the Chailly as well (and I'd say it's probably the best SACD recommendation), but there's something really special about the Gilbert performance--there's a cohesiveness and assuredness there that's really impressive. It's my favorite modern recording of the M3. The sound quality of the 96/24 download (from HDtracks) is incredible.
Russell
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