Search - Gustav Mahler, Bruno Walter, New York Philharmonic :: Mahler: Symphony No.5

An Excellent Rendition

Tommy Nielsen | Swords, Co. Dublin Ireland | 04/02/2003

(5 out of 5 stars)

"Somebody below said that this is 'a very good rendition' of Mahler's 5th. It is not just very good - it is outstanding. As opposed to so many other recordings this one makes sense. The different themes are just bound together in a more convincing way than say, Bernstein's VPO account. And even though that particular recording has some glorious string playing from the Vienna Philharmonic (listen to that adagietto!) Bernstein does not have the necessary fernhor - the ability to tell the listener from the first bar what the last bar brings. OK, the sound is not great here but it is much better than this recordings previous incarnations. Maybe it is not the first choice. If you don't know the work you'll probably need Bernstein first. Thereafter, purchase this recording and everything will fall into place for you."

If there is a definitive performance, then this is it.

Warren R. Davis | Haddonfield, NJ USA | 03/18/2007

(5 out of 5 stars)

"It is difficult to suggest any performance is definitive, and this can be even more difficult when it comes to Mahler. To say the least, there are three recordings from Bruno Walter that I believe are indispensible for any fan of Mahler's music: Symphony 9 with the Columbia Symphony Orchestra (essentially the LA Phil), Das Lied von der Erde with the NYPO, Mildred Miller and Ernst Haefliger (yes, over all of the VPO versions, including with Ferrier, and the other NYPO versions including with Forrester and Lewis), and this recording (the re-mastering by Sony is outstanding) of the Fifth.



Frankly, the celebrated recordings by Bernstein (NYPO and VPO in different ways), Barbirolli (New Philharmonia), Karajan (BPO), and Rattle (BPO), are diminished by affectation and/or histrionics that I don't think enrich the performances. None of them captured the musical line of Mahler's symphony the way Walter did. There are two sides of a coin in this regard: the others stretch the palette with exaggeration or broadness of expression or finessing of transitions and atonalities, and such; while some argue that Walter is none of that, rather taking a middle or balanced approach which suffers by comparison. These critics, I fear, mistake Walter's musicality and sureness of line for a form of "dumbing-down." On the contrary, Walter is the only one of these interpreters who has managed to remain true to the musical line, and to extract the gorgeous/shattering tension throughout. [As for the integrity of line, I refer the reader to the recently made available Welte Mignon piano roll of Mahler playing the first movement (Masters of the Piano Roll, Dal Segno), complete with audio dynamics, for example of how certainly Walter's hearing Mahler play the music himself fully informed his interpretations.]



There is absolutely no lack of passion here - as the Sony re-mastering reveals especially well. The NYPO, in top form, makes it a glorious event. To me, this issue has made the Mahler 5 a revelation, perhaps this incarnation confirming at last why I've adored this performance for nearly 40 years. This is a must in any library of Mahler's music."