Search - Gustav Mahler, Leonard Bernstein, New York Philharmonic :: Mahler: Symphonie No. 7

The high point of Bernstein's DG cycle

Paul Bubny | Maplewood, NJ United States | 11/04/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"A choice between this 1985 live recording and the "studio" set Bernstein made 20 years earlier, with the same orchestra in the same hall, isn't clear-cut. In both recordings Bernstein is among the leading exponents of this very unwieldy and difficult symphony, and he's got the best orchestra of anyone who has truly grasped the Mahler Seventh (others include Horenstein, Inbal, and the underrated Tennstedt). The older rendition has that thrill of discovery you find throughout Lenny's mid-'60s Mahler series (now available singly or in a boxed set on Sony), and it comes in about four minutes faster, so it can fit onto one mid-priced CD versus the two full-priced and poorly-filled discs here. And the mid-'60s New York Philharmonic had more "soul" than their mid-'80s counterparts.However, even though I prefer the 1965 Seventh for the reasons cited above (and also for sound quality--nothing special, but far easier on the ear than the harsh, shrill sonics of this early-digital production), this remake, which is the best thing about Bernstein's mid-'80s Mahler series, does hold together a little more cohesively. That's no small detail in this above all of Mahler's other symphonies. At the same time, the sense of mystery has deepened--and that's no small detail in this case, either. Also, the New York Philharmonic, if a little more strident than the folks who played under Lenny's baton 20 years earlier, are technically a more polished ensemble than the New York Phil of 1965.Put it this way, though: With either of Bernstein's Mahler Sevenths, you're getting one of the finest recordings available, even if each has a few points in its favor compared to the other. I'd give it 5 stars but for the recorded sound, which is a black mark in DG's annals."

A master-stroke of composing and performing genius.

Timothy Mikolay | Pittsburgh, PA | 03/29/2001

(5 out of 5 stars)

"...I have listened and studied nearly every Mahler 7th on record and I have never heard this piece played more masterfully, tenderly or impassioned. The intricacies of Mahler's score are elicited so well here, I can't help but wonder what Bernstein did to inspire this orchestra. The line of one musical idea to the next, the supple to grandiose dynamics, the overall scope and realization of the mingling voices, the only discs I've ever heard with the "Nachtmusik" effect from beginning to end; this recording for me has gone far and beyond my expectations of other efforts. If this review hasn't captured the fancy of its reader, then just buy the discs, sit back and experience one of the truly great Mahler accounts of all time."

Bernstein, Mahler 7, NYPO: Intense, grand, poetic ebb & flow

Dan Fee | Berkeley, CA USA | 11/04/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I am coming to this Mahler symphony a bit later than the rest, it's so incredibly complex and layered. Motives almost constantly transform, as they pass from one group of players to another group, sometimes almost right in the middle of a rising or descending musical phrase. The CD at hand is the second time around for Bernstein and NYPO. They first did it in the complete CBS-Sony set (still available). I have also heard the likes of Abbado-Chicago and Boulez-Cleveland; and while I find myself admiring those highly polished, cool performances, I don't find that they tell me anything very deep about Mahler.



This recording, in contrast, almost never seems to fail to speak in a recreation of Mahler's characteristic voice. Every second of every phrase is emotionally inflected, and the narration ... although quite complex in many passages .... never seems to completely falter. Of course, some people find themselves allergic to the older Bernstein, who tended to bring a sense of rubato, ebb and flow, to almost everything he re-recorded for the DG catalogue. In this case, he got it completely and irresistibly right. Yes, he speeds up. Yes, he slows down. But he is always shifting and dreaming, exactly with the phrase. Bernstein is on record, saying something like, we were dreaming together when we did this seventh of Mahler's. You might agree with him when you hear the orchestral elan the NYPO mustered on these discs. Every department is captured in fine detail, which as it happens serves this music so well just because there is always so much going on in it's polyphony.



The dark night of the soul that Mahler captured in the two night music movements is never entirely calmed or stilled. And the bounding energies that Mahler unleashes in the two outer movements bring an intense brightness to balance the dark night's mysteries, without ever quite dispelling our awareness that, no matter how high the noon, night will fall. And what night. Mahler's night, in these performers' hands, yields up almost oriental perfumes in some passages, or the rasping sounds of crickets in other places, or the rustle in the forests that will let you know every night predator is hungry and on the prowl for red meat.



Well, with the Mahler 7 you have to pick and choose. If Halloween is one of your favorite holidays, and you stay up late to watch old Dracula movies; you will probably love the Mahler 7 in general, and this performance in particular. You will find yourself smack dab right in the middle of Edgar Allen Poe country, with Austrian and Bohemian Slavic frights to sweeten and spice up your visit to the haunted realms, once the sun has fallen behind the horizon.



A comment on the sound. One poster described it as shrill. I don't find that true as I listen tonight. The sound is quite panoramic and lets the different bands in the orchestra flex all their muscle, this way and that, without every losing depth and tonal warmth. In fact, I hope this recording gets remastered in SuperAudio soon. Multichannel if the master tapes permit. It reveals the whole of Mahler, who said after all, a symphony must contain the whole world. So, take the leap, and you can see what makes the seventh symphony both so alluring, as well as so greatly challenging to so many musicians. I have heard fans say that Bernstein could be the equal of Furtwangler, on a good night. This performance was captured on very good nights, indeed.



Five stars, then, going on however many you think you can count in a dramatic night sky while you listen to this recording."