Mahler - Symphony No. 8 / Popp · Augér · Minton · Harper · Kollo · Shirley-Quirk · Talvela · Chicago SO · Solti

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com essential recording
Solti was an eminent Mahlerian, reveling in the dramatic sweep and power of the scores but also surprisingly sympathetic to their many delicate, sparely scored passages. The gigantic Eighth Symphony is perhaps Solti's finest Mahler recording. The opening outburst, "Veni, creator spiritus," is shattering in its impact, and the next 80 minutes are an emotionally wrenching trek across Mahler's vast musical landscape. Most conductors do well simply to hold together this gargantuan, often ungainly combination of symphony, oratorio, and sceneryless opera (Part II is a setting from Goethe's Faust). But Solti's conducting makes it work by maintaining tension throughout. He gets superb orchestral playing from the Chicago Symphony and inspires a great Viennese chorus and the best team of vocal soloists to record this work. Add outstanding engineering that, nearly three decades later, still yields demonstration-quality sound, and you get the best stereo Mahler Eighth in the catalog. --Dan Davis

Mahler - Symphony No. 8 / Popp · Augér · Minton · Harper · Kollo · Shirley-Quirk · Talvela · Chicago SO · Solti, Music, Gustav Mahler, Sir Georg Solti, Arleen Auger, Lucia Popp, Chicago Symphony Orchestra, Yvonne Minton, Heather Harper, René Kollo, John Shirley-Quirk, Martti Talvela, Classical, Classical Composers, Classical Music, Orchestral & Symphonic, Romantic Symphony, Symphonic

Mahler - Symphony No. 8 / Popp · Auger · Minton · Harper · Kollo · Shirley-Quirk · Talvela · Chicago SO · Solti
Average customer rating:

Before you buy this older release...

A "Regular People" Review

over-rated

Electric Solti performance

Incredibly successful for good reason, but not musically

Mahler - Symphony No. 8 / Popp · Auger · Minton · Harper · Kollo · Shirley-Quirk · Talvela · Chicago SO · Solti
Gustav Mahler , Sir Georg Solti , Arleen Auger , Lucia Popp , Chicago Symphony Orchestra , Yvonne Minton , Heather Harper , René Kollo , John Shirley-Quirk , and Martti Talvela
Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000JXZ8
Release Date: 1999-08-10

Tracks:

Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part I. Veni, creator spiritus
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part I. Imple superna gratia
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part I. Infirma nostri corporis
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part I. Accende lumen sensibus
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part I. Veni, creator spiritus
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part I. Gloria Patri Domino
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part II. Poco Adagio - Waldung, sie schwankt heran
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part II. Ewiger Wonnebrand
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part II. Wie Felsenabgrund mir zu Fussen
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part II. Gerettet ist das edle Glied
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part II. Uns bleibt ein Erdenrest - Hier ist die Aussicht frei
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part II. Hochste Herrscherin der Welt - Dir, der Unberuhrbaren
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part II. Bei der Liebe, die den Fussen
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part II. Neige, neige, du Ohnegleiche
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part II. Blicket auf zum Retterblick
Symphony No.8 In E Flat Major 'Symphony Of A Thousand': Part II. Alles Vergangliche

Amazon.com essential recording

Solti was an eminent Mahlerian, reveling in the dramatic sweep and power of the scores but also surprisingly sympathetic to their many delicate, sparely scored passages. The gigantic Eighth Symphony is perhaps Solti's finest Mahler recording. The opening outburst, "Veni, creator spiritus," is shattering in its impact, and the next 80 minutes are an emotionally wrenching trek across Mahler's vast musical landscape. Most conductors do well simply to hold together this gargantuan, often ungainly combination of symphony, oratorio, and sceneryless opera (Part II is a setting from Goethe's Faust). But Solti's conducting makes it work by maintaining tension throughout. He gets superb orchestral playing from the Chicago Symphony and inspires a great Viennese chorus and the best team of vocal soloists to record this work. Add outstanding engineering that, nearly three decades later, still yields demonstration-quality sound, and you get the best stereo Mahler Eighth in the catalog. --Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Before you buy this older release..........2007-03-01

I'm a huge fan of the original Solti performance. Decca did this CD release in 1999 and the newer one in 2006 with a different cover. (Amazon carries the later one.) I find the 2006 release a far, far better remastering of an already amazing recording and I recommend it over this 1999 CD release. The newer one has a less clouded sound... is not too bright to my ears... is musical... with beautiful balance maintained amongst the orchestra, chorus and soloists - my favorite recording of No. 8... I'm a former musician and I've heard both CD editions, much preferring the clarity of the later version, without a doubt.

A "Regular People" Review.......2007-02-17

This CD is good, however if your new to Mahler, I would recommend the Second or Sixth Symphonies before this one. Mahler has never dissapointed me and this is no exception. I can't say whether this recording is better than any other becuase this is the only one I have ever heard, but there are no complaints here.

over-rated.......2006-12-02

What the heck! - I may as well have some fun as I'm hanging out, and rain on everybody's parade. I'm still giving this four stars because it IS good from any technical standpoint. But that's precisely the problem; it's only technically good - well, for me anyway. Yes, the vocal soloists are all very good. They're also quite loud and quite close. Much of that simply has to do with the recording itself, which in turn comes off as being rather noisy, yet limited in its overall dynamic range. For 1971, it's really very good. This is 2006 - darn near 2007. There's also a real mismatch between the powerful trumpets and trombones of the CSO, and the more reticent, almost gentle singing of the Viennese chorus members. Both are good, but in totally incompatible ways. The pipe organ - which is very strong - sounds as though it was recorded in a totally different acoustic (and it was!). The whole thing fits together in a sonic soup that - while lacking in distortion - does sound heavily multi-miked and artificially mixed. The ending of Part 2 is typical Solti: loud organ and loud brass, but the percussion get buried over (simultaneous cymbals and tam-tam). Why is it that a conductor who enjoyed so much noise from the brass, also had no clue what to do with a modern percussion section? I digress.

My sage advice? Get the Solti if you already know it and like it. But if you're new to this piece, give some of the other ones an audition as well. In particular - until the one from MTT/SFSO arrives in 2008 (which should be good) - check out the Antoni Wit Mahler 8th on Naxos. If older recordings are your bag; man, the old Bernstein/LSO one still sweeps me off my feet everytime; distortion and all.

Electric Solti performance.......2006-01-13

Gustav Mahler's Symphony No. 8 "Symphony of a Thousand", like his second symphony, requires great forethought and is quite problematic to perform, nonetheless record with some semblance of quality. This Decca Legends digital transfer of Sir Georg Solti's great 1971 Vienna performance was the first to translate well to a recorded medium, where others failed.

The first problem in putting together the Symphony No. 8 is instrumentation. A large woodwind section, brass section with 8 horns, 8 trumpets, 8 trombones, celeste, piano, organ, harmonium, mandolin, not to mention eight soloists, two mixed choirs, and a children's choir is tough to balance, not to mention perform. The symphony is in two parts: the first part is on a Latin text, the famous Veni, Creator Spiritus. The opening with full organ and double chorus brings me to the second problem in putting the work together, the music is terribly difficult. Solti has combined the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, two Viennese choruses, and the Vienna Boy's Choir; by all accounts, a world class occasion. The musicians tackle the virtuosic music in stride, on both the instrumental and vocal sides. The 20+ minute first part is a unceasing, breathless praise to God. The music's extreme ranges and quickly changing harmonic foundations are performed with reckless abandon here, as Solti does anything but dwell, but instead forges ahead. The soloists, all legends of their time (and this time as well) are a treat. Each are heard well over the orchestra (the tenor is sometimes overwhelmed by the orchestra and soprano soloists) and the same goes for the chorus. The ending Gloria is taken at break-neck speed and ends as stated in the text, gloriously. The second section is in German and sets the final scene of Goethe's Faust. A scene of redemption, it fills the rest of this 79 minute CD. A bit more subdued, the lovely opening instrumental gives a breather after the first part. The rest that follows is rather operatic in nature, with arias, duets, ensembles, and chorus work. The last six minutes, which begins extremely soft in the chorus and strings, is the last great build-up to the conclusion of the work, a splendid finale. The third problem in putting together the work, especially from a modern perspective, is quality of sound and balance. Suffice to say, with the 1971 transfer, it is very difficult to tell the age of the recording. All voices speak well across the board, and the Chicago Symphony Orchestra cannot be beat by any other ensemble, especially the brass section, and only on rare occasions are their signs of the recordings' age. The voices are clear and the text is conveyed satisfactorily. Each classical music fan has their favorite "Symphony of a Thousand" by Gustav Mahler; this is mine. An easy recommendation.

Incredibly successful for good reason, but not musically.......2005-09-29

Decca's recording engineers were the best in the world at capturing orhestral impact, as they showed in Solti's Ring cycle. His Mahler Eighth won equal fame for sonic drama--this huge symphony sounds as massive exploding from home speakers as it might in live performance. The orchestra and soloists are also first rate, and to this day--as the reviews here demonstrate--Solti's version ranks very high in sales and fame.

Musically, however, thre is the usual high-voltage Solti aggressive drive throughout and little poetry. The sonics are surprisingly shrill and uncomfortable in this digital remastering--what hapened to the gorgeous bloom of the LP originals? I have known this set since the day it shot out of the cannon, and it's a relief to hear far more musical versions by Haitink, Sinopoli, Bernstein, Abbado, Gielen, and Colin Davis.

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