Search - Mahler, Latonia Moore, Nadja Michael :: Mahler Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection" / Kaplan, Wiener Philharmoniker (Multichannel Hybrid SACD)

On the verge of being great

Brian W. Bough | Albuquerque, New Mexico | 07/28/2004

(4 out of 5 stars)

"This may be the greatest orchestral recording ever made from an engineering point of view. The entire disc is stunningly captured and make this absolutely worth your coin.



The focus of the disc is the new critical edition of Gustav Mahler's second symphony. Indeed, the entire work sounds clean-- I'm sure you've heard things that just didn't seem right, seemed excessive, or felt that something was missing in other recordings or performances; nothing major, but items that detracted from your enjoyment of the work that you just couldn't put your finger on. These are fixed... the piece sounds consistent and cogent throughout.



Gilbert Kaplan's conducting has improved since his last recorded go-round with the London Symphony Orchestra and Chorus, which was quite an impressive effort given his conducting status. But this recording of the work, while accurately appointed in detail, lacks dramatic calculus, especially in the finale.



What is immediately obvious is that Kaplan has taken the time to understand how the work flows together, particularly in the first three movements. The consequence of this is that the orchestra arrives at each section in the appropriate meter and in the appropriate demeanor. Lyrically, the first four movements have an ebb and flow that runs consonant with our expectations of music.



However, the last movement in particular requires more of the conductor than simply cuing and beating appropriately: it requires a keen sense of drama and an adaptable sense of timing to achieve it. The bottom line is that Kaplan has conducted the work precisely as Mahler has written it in every sense of the word, but, as a direct result, the work is not quite as compelling as it ought to be.



My criticism, relative to the overall merits of the disc is overstated. The Vienna Philharmonic, the chorus, and the soloists contribute to the most beautiful recording I have ever heard and Gilbert Kaplan deserves praise for making this all happen.



Buy this disc. Consider these, too, if you want what I am talking about in the finale...



Mahler: Symphony No. 2 "Resurrection"

Great Conductors of the 20th century: Sir John Barbirolli

Mahler: The Complete Symphonies

Mahler: Symphony No. 2 / Mehta, Vienna Philharmonic Orchestra"

OH MY GOD!!

Mr. N. C. Alexander | United Kingdom | 02/14/2004

(5 out of 5 stars)

"I thought this recording was totally outstanding! I think this is one of my favourite symphonies (of Mahlers and others) and I feel that this production of it has trully, trully done justice to it.The sound quality is awesome from organ to choir to harps to pecussion; I heard things in the recording that I have not heard before in other recordings. The surround sound spread is stunning - very subtle at first but with some nice surprises toward the end. The dynamics are phenomenal - sometimes I think releases can be a little tame compared with how they were originally intented. This goes right from the most softly spoken passages where you could hear a pin drop, to the most ferocious and intense cressendos - doing both absolute justice.It's really nice to have the movements broken down into other tracks too, to pin point any point/passage within the movements.I'm blown away! I can only think that Gustav Mahler would be proud to hear this recording himself. I have only listened to the SACD multi channel layer, but can imagine that the other layers (CD and 2 channel SACD) would be just as impressive.If you are looking for a version of this symphony, I think you will have to go a long way before hearing a better version. If you are thinking of buying it...DO IT!! I don't want to build it up too much, but I really enjoyed it.Hope this helps."

Pleasing - to some degree

J. T. Brown | Albuquerque, NM United States | 01/28/2005

(4 out of 5 stars)

"as a brass player myself, i find it difficult to recomend this disc. upon close listening i found myself awaitng with dread every time the tuba played. while i know that this is not the tuba players fault -no orchestra would hire a tuba player that played like this, let alone the vienna philharmonic - it is entirely in the hands of the recording engineers. the tuba is completely out of touch with the rest of the orchestra. many of the notes are too loud and do not sound like a professional tuba player. in stark contrast is the horn section, which never seems to miss a note and plays as though they are a single organism. it is incredibly difficult to hear a difference in the horns. they are always together and never out of place. the horns definetly steal the performance here, at least for me, and every other instrument sounds inexperienced in comparison. there are many instances in the first movement alone where the strings are completely out of touch.

on a technical note, do not be misguided by the term multichannel hybrid SACD. the sound on all three layers is very good, but the multichannel layer is not in 5.1, but rather 5.0. as i do not have speakers capable to hadling frequencies in the 20 Hz range (one normally relies on a subwoofer for that), i am missing some of the music. this is quite bothersome in the last movement with the organ, choir, and percussion - how grand it would be to hear the full frequency range of such music. if one is going to spend this much money recording a series of concerts, then please include the subwoofer track.

some people may find this recording fantastic, but i do not. i would rather listen to the new Tilson Thomas or Rattle versions."