Search - Hermann Prey, Gustav Mahler, Dimitri Mitropoulos :: Mahler: Symphonie No. 8

The other great live Mahler 8th

Paul Bubny | Maplewood, NJ United States | 08/02/2002

(4 out of 5 stars)

"Despite the fact that it is actually a slightly newer recording than the Horenstein performance on BBC, this mono release from the 1960 Salzburg Festival sounds older and dingier. The performance takes a while to really find its feet, and there are some vocal and instrumental mishaps. Sounds like the start of a negative review, right? Well, having gotten the negatives out of the way first (and they are considerable enough to knock down the overall rating from 5 stars to 4), I have to say this is one of only a small number of records that deserve the line "You haven't really heard the Mahler 8th until you've heard this". Mitropoulos, who died soon after conducting this performance (what is it with great Mahler conductors smoking themselves to death?), makes you forget that this symphony is "supposed" to be a string of episodes. Perhaps even more than with the Horenstein version, the buildup of cumulative power is unnoticeable while it's happening. Also more so than with the Horenstein, you have to make some allowances for sonic limitations and the flubs and fluffs which live concerts can be prone to. If SACD-quality sound isn't an issue, hearing this set can be mesmerizing."

Orfeo d'Or's remastered 1999 digital sound is excellent.

RENS | Dover, NH USA | 11/14/2005

(5 out of 5 stars)

"An earlier reviewer refers to antiquated sound as a drawback to this recordng of Mahler's 8th, although he indeed tells us that he is listening to the old Everest LPs. The 1999 digital remastering of this material has resulted in full range, rich, and clear mono sound. From the booklet notes and the actual sound, it seems that the engineers were working from the master tapes in the archives of Austrian Radio.



In short, one should have no qualms about purchasing this edition of a performance of Mahler's 8th that conveys all the majesty, the emotional power, and the mystical vision of the work. Yes, it is true that the sound of the organ at the opening of the "Veni Creator Spiritus" is electronic and insufficient and, yes, it is also the case that the Vienna Philharmonic brass get so excited as the Eternal Feminine draws them ever onward in the finale that they blast themselves somewhat out of tune. Never mind. All that falls inbetween is a great gift to whomever has the privilige of hearing it.



In reference to yet another earlier review, I really do have ten copies of the Mahler 8th (not including the three I eventually purged from my collection), and I would not part with this performance for anything. I think it even outshines the great 1959 Horenstein recording. And if one seeks a recording in splendid stereo sound, one has many fine performances from which to choose: 2 by Kubelik, Bernstein's London performance remastered by SONY, and one each by Haitink, Solti, Abbado, Colin Davis, and Riccardo Chailly, among others. And to think that I missed being present at the Felsenreitschule for this phenomenal performance by a matter of a few days! Sigh. Well, I cannot go back to 1960 and change those travel plans, but at least I can listen repeatedly to this fine recording, closing my eyes and imagining myself in that grand and magical space in Salzburg."

Pure and fresh live occasion

Pater Ecstaticus | Norway | 09/19/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"[Notabene: This is a review of the recording as it appears on the Everest 2 LP set (3189/2 'electronically enhanced for stereo efect')]

When listening to this recording of Mahler's Eighth Symphony I can sometimes imagine myself to be listening to the premiere performance under the baton of Mahler himself. The freshnes of the performance, its very 'live' character, the antiquated sound of the recording. I always get drawn to this wonderful performance for its purity and sense of occasion, if not for the deficient recording, even for its time, when recording in stereo was quite the norm already. But anyhow, it would be unfair to compare the technics of this 1960 recording with that of the magnificent (DSD-)stereo and SACD recordings of late (which this kind of music is simply begging for!). Although its somewhat constricted soundpicture (again: when compared with the modern recordings) is too much a distraction for me to be able to rank it 5 stars, it easily fits in with other all time classics like Solti's and modern recordings by Abbado and Nagano, whatever their individual merits may be. (Personally I prefer Abbado's finely dramatic and Nagano's shiningly ethereal performance above all others.)

We hear a conductor at work who is very confident at what he is doing and who doesn't want to lag behind. Tempi are flowing and sometimes rather swift, but never too fast (except maybe in Doctor Marianus' exclamation of "Hoechste Herrscherin der Welt..." etc.): very much suiting a live occasion. This recording deserves a wide hearing and should be in the collection of anyone who loves Mahler's Eighth Symphony.

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