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Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
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Music Lane It's all about the music, dude! Sit down, relax and listen to some tunes. |
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In Reply to: Mahler's 9th Symphony posted by John C. - Aussie on March 17, 2008 at 17:35:59:
The Mahler 9th is one of my very favorite works, so much so that I've collected a preposterous number of recordings, a surprisingly high percentage of which are very good. Many conductors and orchestras seem to feel as I do, that this is one of the pinnacles of not just Mahler's career but of the symphonic repertoire and of 20th c music, because it seems to have brought out the best in many musicians.
Here are some I can heartily recommend:
The Cream of the Crop:
Maderna/BBC: Almost perfect interpretation, tending toward the modernist side but erupting in emotion in all the right places. Fabulous work in the middle movements, which is where many versions fall short. (Almost everyone seems to do well in i and iv.) Only drawback, if it is one, is that this is a true live recording with all the blemishes that occur in live music-making (without the overdubs we get now that makes live recordings sound as 'perfect' as studio), some audience noise, and a slightly odd balance. But what a performance!
Gielen: There are two Gielens, equally good, but since the first is OOP let's stick with the one on Hanssler. Again, this is near-perfect conducting, perhaps not as directly emotive as Maderna and a bit on the slow and stately side but in much better sound with fewer mishaps. A stunning, stark monument of an M9 that sounds carved in granite.
Bernstein\RCO: Many have preferred the marginally more exciting live version from Berlin, but the also live RCO is more beautiful, better played, and for a "heart on the sleeve, cry your eyes out at the end" emotional version, I think this one can't be beat.
Karajan/BPO: Even if you don't like Karajan (and he seems to be a whipping boy, round here) you would have to admit that this is a fabulous Mahler 9, with HvK in almost unbelievable control of the BPO's considerable range of color. Perhaps Karajan's greatest recording.
Klemperer: Klemps is a bit unorthodox (what a suprise!), taking iii at a much slower tempo than most and iv much faster. But boy, does he pull it off: few have achieved such a malevolent rondo burlesque or such an anthemic finale. The live VPO is even better than the studio version with the Philharmonia, but grab 'em both if you can.
I think I'd have to put those at the top of my list--for now, anyway--but as I said, there are really quite a few very satisfying versions out there. Some other very, very good ones include Ancerl, Abbado (best is the live BPO from 1995, if you can get it, but they're all good!), Kubelik (studio), Chailly, and the recent Rattle/BPO. Slightly less satisfying to me but also very strong are Walter/CSO, Barbirolli/BPO, Haitink and MTT\SFS.
There are only a few that I would avoid: Scherchen (a really poorly played, uninvolved performance), Giuliani (some like this very much, and if you like your M9 slow you might be one of them, but it strikes me as pretty lifeless), and Boulez (other than 3, I haven't liked his Mahler series much).
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Follow Ups
- Mahler 9s! - M. Lucky 21:18:34 03/17/08 (3)
- And Zander, imho. (NT) - Kal Rubinson 07:45:51 03/18/08 (2)
- I knpw a lot like the Zander but to me . . . - DBB 12:36:47 03/18/08 (1)
- All his live performances are better, albeit with a less "qualified" orchestra. nt - clarkjohnsen 11:18:45 03/19/08 (0)
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