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Could resist after reading all the positive comments/awards this release has received.I have to admit though: I was very disappointed at the outset. The orchestra's playing is a bit tentative at the beginning, and the horns take awhile to settle in, to put it politely. The presumably multi-mic'd recording doesn't help, even though a sense of hall and space is blessedly preserved. Mahler's dreamworld comes close to disappearing in a poof, as they say. Almost....
Kubelik and his Bavarians seem completely warmed-up by the 2nd mov't. Such endearing winds.
It's the 3rd and 4th mov'ts which really astound. Kubelik mines such *sadness* from the central section of Mahler's famously cold and creepy 3rd mov't. The Jewish dance music sounds so lovely and _endearing_ but ghostly and arthritic as well. And old person's fleeting dream. I was quite moved.
In the 4th mov't, Kubelik pays particular attention the connective tissue separating the sturm and drang music, the yearning "Alma" theme (IIRC) and the victory fanfares. I found myself once again sitting up and wondering what was going to happen next.
Like most people, I know the classic Kubelik Mahler 1st very well. What I remember most about it is the roof-raising final measures, because the conductor was careful to balance all forces--making sure that the chugging strings can be heard over all the fanfares. If the strings are buried by the brass, the last pages can sound pretty bare.
Kubelik is once again careful to balance all departments in the 4th mov't coda, though I'm not sure I felt the same amount of sheer physicality and "electricity" in this newer version.
Worth a listen, and fit and finish of Gatefold sleeve and Lp's was very impressive.
Edits: 12/21/14Follow Ups:
I have that one and like it. For sheer sound, I like Slatkin on Telarc. One of their early recordings beautifully done with no harshness. I really don't feel equipped to comment on performance though.
Don't have it anymore, but have fun and do a shoot-out sometime, comparing 3rd mov'ts.
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