(Wonderful post; I found my way here by way of your Walter Weller post; I know this piece like the back of my hand, and there were literally 3 or 4 moments just in those few minutes when I went “HOLY CRAP! THAT’S what it’s supposed to do there!” when he did something I’ve never heard anyone else do…wonderful!)
thanks–
J

Thanks- the link is now fixed (we were missing the “h” on http….

Thanks for the comment

Nice post, elevated to awesome with the comparative interp clips included!

Thanks again for this post…comparative listening is wonderful, and now I can tell my loved ones there’s actually a reason for all the crap I have lying around!

Hi Reid- it is a far cry from the organ we had in the Vert when we did the 2nd….. You wouldn’t ice skate to the Bridgewater Hall organ.

Hope all is well back in the old country.

K

Thanks much for the comment. The Kubelik set was the first one I bought, and I’ve listened to it many times. I am a huge Kubelik fan (everyone should see his DVD of Mahler 1, which is fab), but I do find the problems with the set that you alluded to really frustrate me- some days I can forgive the occasionally rancid wind playing and the cluttered, suffocating sound, other times it just gets in the way too much. It is a pity DG didn’t take more care with such a historically important project at the time. It is an interesting reminder of how much of a technical challenge these pieces were in the 60′s- the orchestra is pushed to its limits. Likewise, the existing rehearsal footage of Bernstein and Vienna in the 60′s and 70′s show that they really struggled with these pieces. Nowadays, everyone plays them!

Thanks again for writing

I agree with you on Sibelius 4- an amazing piece. I try to program it every year, and nobody will take it. Where is their toughness.

As for comparitive listening- I find it really sharpens one’s perceptions and can sometimes really help you to get beyond your own limitations. It’s absolutely the opposite of learning a score from a recording, which is a big no no- it is a way of vetting how well you’ve read the score by seeing what you may have missed or heard.

It was interesting listening to my performance of this piece after writing this post and listening to all those other examples. First, it didn’t sound like I remembered. Something stood up really well (which is saying something considering our budget), but other places I was less pleased with. This time yesterday, I didn’t have that insight. I don’t know Suitner’s M2- you must send it my way.

Thanks for the comment
Ken

Thank you for your Mahler 2 essay. I confess that key relationships and other such things whiz past me. I cannot play or read a note. I do love the music, listen fairly steadily, and enjoy reading essays about music I love even when they do pass me by; hope (of coming to understanding) springs eternal.

If your Haitink BBC SO Proms Mahler 2 was the concert of September 6, 2006, I have it on CD and DVD via BBC broadcast and telecast. I’ll be pleased to send either or both along. Perhaps you’ll see yourself in the audience.

I appreciated your tip-of-the-hat to Kazushi Ono. You do not mention the orchestra in his performance. I have Mahler 2 and 7 concert performances with Ono conducting the Brussels Monnaie Opera Orchestra – - both very good performances I’ve always thought.

Best regards,

Guy

Thank you — there are some thoughtful points in your “tonality and beyond” analysis. Regarding “the moment”, here’s a quick slant: the way in which the poetry unfolds, the evolving dialog and coming together of all vocal forces, and the orchestral accompaniment, which varies from chamber-like to all stops open, highlights the arrival in E-Flat with no additional need to focus attention upon it. The silences accomplish this. And great timing will remain, as throughout, completely focused on the expression of the poetry. After all, the ineffable is being effed!!

If you don’t know it (or if you do) check out Kubelik, the studio set. Is it relatively fast? Yes. Are the sonics perfect? No. Are the timing, the phrase-shaping, and the execution flawless? YES . . . I don’t know all the recordings you listed, but the Kubelik is well worth a good listen or two (or 200). I’m actually think that recording might someday help him get into the Rock Hall of Fame (Mahler AND Kubelik)!

: ^ )

~ Steve

A potential bone to pick in regards to Mozart 40 being the bleakest, most tragic piece in music history…I would give that title to Sibelius 4, personally. It’s more personal and less all-encompassing than the Mozart, but it sounds like the very embodiment of loneliness, isolation, and sadness.

Gonna have to put Suitner through the comparative listening ringer while I’m at it…see how he stacks up.