Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Editorial Reviews
Amazon.com
Death-obsessed and superstitious, Mahler tried to outwit Fate by composing an unnumbered "song symphony" after the Eighth, but when he wrote the Ninth in 1907, he had been crushed by several devastating blows and knew he was fatally ill. It remained his last completed symphony, and was not premiered during his lifetime. The symphony is a heart-breaking mixture of holding on and letting go, of joy and beauty remembered and distorted by the anguish of loss, of doomed hope, protest, defiance, and resignation. Its extreme changes of mood and emotion are indicated by Mahler's instructions, such as: "with inmost feeling," "very tender and expressive," "like a heavy funeral march," "with fury," "with utmost force," "without expression." The third movement, called "Burleske," is marked "very stubborn"; the second, a three-part dance called "A comfortable Ländler," is subtitled "somewhat clumsy and very uncouth." Changes of tempo and dynamics are often sudden and violent; climaxes build up, collapse, rise again, scale the heights. The orchestral colors are exploited to their maximum. The last movement is a leave-taking reminiscent of the "Farewell" from the "Song of the Earth," and, like it, dies away into nothingness.

Recorded live in Vienna in January 1938, the playing is deeply committed if not entirely perfect, and if all the lines of Mahler's complex, multi-thematic counterpoint are not always clear, one must remember that if he had heard or conducted the work, he might, as always, have made emendations. The performance is historically significant: two months later, Hitler invaded Austria and Walter, Mahler's foremost champion, as well as concertmaster Arnold Rosé, who plays the violin solos, and many other orchestra members, had to flee for their lives. --Edith Eisler

Tracks:

Sheep May Safely Graze - Sir Neville Marriner
Serenade In G 'Eine Kleine Nachtmusik' - Sir Neville Marriner
Violin Concerto No.1 In G Minor, Op.26 - II. Adagio - Yedudi Menuhin
Nocturne No.2 In E Flat Op.9 No.2 - John Ogdon
Miserere Mei, Deus - Stephen Cleobury
Schindler's List - Tasmin Little
Traumerei - Dame Moura Lympany
Dance Of The Sylphs - Sir Neville Marriner
Water Music - Berlin Philharmonic Orchestra
Symphony No.9: II. Largo - Oslo Philharmonic Orchestra
Jean De Florette - Toots Thielemans
Concerto For Lute And Two Violins - II. Largo - Anthony Bailes
Cello Concerto In E Minor Op.85 - III. Adagio - Jacqueline De Pre
Waltz No.15 In A Flat - Dame Moura Lympany
Romance - Piers Lane
Pavane - Maurice Handford
Woodbrook - Micheal O Suilleabhain
Time To Say Goodbye - Orchestra

Tracks:

The Four Seasons - Concerto No.1 In E 'Spring' - Yehundi Menuhin
Dance Of The Blessed Spirits - New Philharmonia Orchestra
Double Violin Concerto In D Minor - II. Largo Ma Non Tanto - Yehudi Menuhin
Prelude No.7 In A Op.28 No.7 - Tzimon Barto
Cantique De Jean Racine - MONKS AND CHOIRBOYS OF DOWNSIDE ABBEY
The Lark Ascending - Hugh Bean
'Pathetique Sonata Op.13 - II. Adagio Cantabile - Leonard Pennario
Pie Jesu - Choir Of King's College, Cambridge
Salut D'Amour - Richard Hickox
La Fille Aux Cheveux De Lin (The Girl With Flaxen Hair) - Dame Moura Lympany
The Coventry Carol - Medeval Babes
Pavane For A Dead Princess - New Philharmonia Orchestra
Liebestraum No.3 In A Flat - John Ogdon
Panis Angelicus - Elisabeth Schwarzkopf
Piano Concerto No.2 In F Op.102 - II. Andante - Dmitri Alexeev
Agnus Dei - Peter Barley
Symphony No.5 In C Sharp Minor - IV. Adagietto - New Philharmonia Orchestra
My Heart Will Go On - Orchestra

Customer Reviews:

The Most Relaxing Classical Album In the World Eveer, Volume II.......2006-08-28

Good selection of music, poorly performed and badly arranged. Good album for a tag sale. Same comment applies for Volume I.

Great music listein to while you read in bed.......2005-08-21

I have listened to this CD for the last several years before going to sleep at night. I love classical music, and this is great music to help make my soul feel at peace and unwind after a taxing day.

A must buy for the non-snobbish classical music fan........2004-10-22

I bought Vol. 1 of this series and was quite satisfied, but I have to say I'm more than satisfied with this one. If you can just mellow out and enjoy some great pieces, you'll love this CD. #15 on Disc 2 is almost worth the price alone!

A bliss of spirit........2004-09-18

That's disc will open You a wonderful, beautiful world of sounds, their harmony & emotion : you'll feel your heart full of
Joy, Tears, Love.
Good LUCK!

Boring.......2004-05-11

Yes this CD will put you to sleep in minutes. Its the most boring uninspiring classical music. The first CD was very good but this Vol. 2 is like most movie sequels....AWFUL !

Average customer rating:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!
Beginner or Expert
Very Informative and Enjoyable
Frank's view
Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra

Instruments of the Orchestra
Various Artists
Manufacturer: Naxos
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00006O0NT
Release Date: 2002-12-03

Tracks:

Overture To 'Tannhauser'
Domna, Pos Vos Ay Chausida
We Don't Merely Use Instruments, We Play On Them. And They Play On Us.
Hungarian Dance No.7
The Violin Is One Of The Most Tender And Beautiful Instruments Ever Invented.
Violin Concerto In D Major (Adagio)
But For A Long Time It Was Seen As The Instrument Of The Devil.
The Soldier's Tale: Triumphal March Of The Devil
The Manipulative Seductiveness Of The Gypsy Violin.
Csardas Music
The Violin And The Initiation Of Nature
The Four Seasons (Spring, Mvt 1)
Birds Are Again Evoked In The Second Concerto, Especially Music's Natural Favourite.
The Four Seasons (Summer, Mvt 1)
Like The Devil, The Violin Is A Master Of Disguise.
Old Viennese Dance No.3 'Schon Rosmarin'
The Menacing Sensuality Of Ravel's Tzigane: A Very Different Side Of The Violin:
Tzigane
Do We Now Have The True Measure Of This Instrument? Not Just Yet.
Caprice No.24
The Many Effects Of The String Tremolando: Brandenburg Concerto No.4 (Last Mvt)/From Joy To Fright/Quartettsatz In C Minor/The String Tremolo Practically Spells The World Agitato.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No.7)
Prokofiev's Tremolo In Romeo And Juliet Should Not Be Heard Just Before Bedtime.
Romeo And Juliet: Act IV
Vivaldi Use It To Illustrate The Shivering Of Travellers Crossing The Ice.
The Four Seasons (Winter, Mvt 1)
The Violin Muted
Clair De Lune
The Gentleness Of Muted Strings Persists Even When A Whole Orchestra Plays.
Piano Concerto No.21 In C Major, K.467 (Slow Mvt)
The Pizzicato Violin
Pizzicato Polka
In Prokofiev's Second Violin Concerto, The Accompaniment Is Pizzicato.
Violin Concerto No.2 In G Minor (Slow Mvt)
Varieties Of Pizzicato: Colas Breugnon (The People's Feast)/Now A Drier, Leaner, Hungrier Pizzicato. There's Not A Lot Of Comfort Here./Capriol Suite (Tordion)/The Use Of Pizzicato As 'Percussion'/Romeo And Juliet (Act I)/Mahler Used Pizzicato...
The Planets (Mars - The Bringer Of War)
The Technique Of Double-Stopping Enables The Violin To Play Duets With Itself./Sonata No.3 In C Major For Unaccompanied Violin (Fugue)/Now A Later Example Of The Same Technique
Hungarian Dance No.4
Double-Stopping Is A Standard Feature Of A Lot Of Folk Music.
The Four Seasons (Autumn, Mvt 1)
Now The Same Technique, But The Sound Might Have Come From Another World.
Bolero
Double-Stopping Can Only Approximate The Sound Of A Real Violin Duet.
Cadenza To The Violin Concerto By Brahms
Now Compare That With A Real Violin Duet.
Forty-Four Duos (No. 1: Teasing Song)
Another Duo By Bartok, Demonstrating The Violin's Rich Lower Register
Forty-Four Duos (No.2: Maypole Dance)
And Now What May Be The Most Beautiful Accompanied Violin Duet In History
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
The Soul Of The Violin Is In Song; But What About This Weird Passage?
Violin Concerto No.1 In D Major (Mvt 2)
The Use Of Harmonies In The Orchestra Can Be Both Magical And Unsettling.
Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 1, Opening)
Tchaikovsky's Use Of Harmonics In The Sleeping Beauty Is Both Strange And Darling.
The Sleeping Beauty (Act II, No.15: Entr'Acte)
Ravel's Harmonics In Mother Goose Effect A Magical Transformation.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
Stravinsky's Harmonics In The Firebird Transport Us Almost Into Another World./The Firebird (Introduction)
The Natural Upper Notes Of The Violins Have A Unique Emotional 'Grab'.
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Of The Afterworldsmen)
Still In Their Upper Register, The Violins Unleash The Energy Of A Young Colt.
Variations On A Theme Of Frank Bridge (No. 4)
Elsewhere, Britten Uses The Same High Register To Create A Very Different Mood.
Four Sea Interludes (Dawn) From 'Peter Grimes'
To End This Outing With The Violins, A Charming Little Elfin Dance
Elfenreigen

Tracks:

Introduction To The Viola
Viola Concerto (Mvt 1)
Khatchaturian Gets A Very Different Sound From It: Fuller, Fruitier, More Exotic.
Gayane Suite No.1 (Armen's Solo)
Very Nearly The Whole Of The Violin's Upper Register Is Also Available To The Viola.
Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'
The Viola Can Bring A Special, Rich Twanginess To Pizzicato That The Violins Lack./Don Quixote/Berlioz Drew Sounds From It That Retain Their Metallic Strangeness Even Today.
Harold In Italy (Mvt 4)
The Muted Viola: Intimate, Gentle, Poignant In Dvork
Cypresses (No.9)
The Massed Violas Of The Modern Symphony Orchestra In Mahler
Symphony No.4 (Mvt 3)
The 'Period' Viola In Bach
Brandenburg Concerto No.6 (Last Mvt)
The Cello: A Voice Of Unique Nobility
Suite No.1 For Unaccompanied Cello (Prelude)
Brahms And The 'Soul' Of The Cello
Piano Concerto No.2 In B Flat Major (Mvt 3)
Most Orchestral Composers Tend To Emphasize The Cello's Lower Register.
Cantata 'Herz Und Mund Und Tat Und Leben', BWV 147 (Soprana Aria: Bereite Dir, Jesu)
In The Time Of Beethoven The Cello Remained As Fundamental As Ever.
Symphony No.3 'Eroica' (Finale)
But The Cello Is Not Condemned To Spend Its Life In The Basement.
Elfentanz, Op.39
Not Only In Recital Showpieces Like That Is The Cello Is Used In Its Highest Register.
The Protecting Veil (Opening)
A Cello With An Identity-Crisis: The Pizzicato Flamencan
Flamenco
Double-Stopping In The Lower Reaches Of The Cello's Range
Solo Suiet For Cello And Piano (Sardana)
It's In The Middle Register That The Cello Really Comes Into Its Own.
Oriental Dance, Op.2 No.2
It Was To The Cellos That Beethoven Gave Two Of His Most Famous Themes./Symphony No.5 (Mvt 2)/Still More Famous Than That Theme Is This One From The Ninth Symphony.
Symphony No.9 (Finale)
Introduction To The Double-Bass
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Elephant)
But The Double-Bass Can Be Intensely Expressive And Graceful.
Elegy No.1 In D Major
The Range Of The Double-Bass Is The Greatest Of All The String Instruments/Allegro Di Concerto, 'Alla Mendelssohn'/And It's Also Capable Of Very Considerable Virtuosity.
Capriccio Di Bravura
Double-Bass Solos In Orchestral Scores Are Rare But Often Memorable./Symphony No.1 'Titan' (Mvt 3)/In His Third Symphony Mahler Makes A Very Different Use Of The Instrument./Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1)
The Double-Bass Muted In Prokofiev/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Kije's Wedding)/In Another Work Prokofiev Uses The Double-Bass To Enhance The Winds./Romeo And Juliet (Act III)/And He Combines The Bass Clarinet With A Shivering Tremolo From The Double-Basses....
Symphony No.5 (Mvt 3)/So Much For The Strings/On Now To The Winds

Tracks:

The Antiquity And Magic Of The Flute
Prelude A L'Apres-Midi D'Un Faune
The Versatility And Agility Of The Flute
Orchestral Suite No.2 In B Minor (Badinerie)
The Flute In Fifteenth-Century Spain
Sa'Dawi
Other Flutes: The Bass And Alto
Chamber Music No.II
The Piccolo - Aptly Named
La Naissance D'Osiris (Mvt 6)
From A Piccolo Of The Eighteenth Century To One Of Its Descendants In The Twentieth
Suite No.1 For Small Orchestra (Valse)
A Variety Of Techniques
Chamber Music No.II
Flutter-Tonguing. But Tchaikovsky Got There Eighty Years Before.
The Nutcracker (Act II, No.2: Scene)
From The Transverse To The Vertical: The Baroque Recorder
Recorded Suite In A Minor (Menuet II)
An Unfamiliar, Early Vision Of The Instrument
Naelden, Naelden
The Bachian Oboe
Cantata 'Ein Feste Burg Ist Unser Gott', BWV 80 (No.7: Duetto)
Introduction To The Cor Anglais Or 'English Born'
Symphony No.9 'From The New World' (Mvt 2)
The Loneliness Of The Cor Anglais
The Swan Of Tuonela
The Cor Anglais Joins The French Horn In Haydn.
Symphony No.22 'The Philosopher' (Opening)
Introduction To The Oboe D'Amore, Beloved Of Bach - But Also Of Ravel
Bolero
The Clarinet Family: Boxing The Compass, From The Depths Of The Bass Clarinet.../The Egyptian (Violence)/...To The Raucous And Squealy.../Taras Bulba (The Death Of Ostap)/...To The Shrill And Complaining...
Petrushka (No.8: Peasant With Bear)/...To The High Sprits Of A Playful Puppy./Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)/And To The Downright Jazzy/Romeo And Juliet (Act II)
As The High Clarinets Tend To Be Loud, So The Bass Tends To Be Soft:
Gayane Suite No. 1 (Mvt 5)
The Bass Clarinet Is Used By Most Composers Mainly As A Colouring Agent.../Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/...But It Does Occasionally Get A Whole Tune To Itself./Iberia (Almeria).
The Range Of The Normal Clarinet Parts Goes Quite High...
The Snow Maiden (Scene 5: Melodrama)
...And Quite Low.
Peter And The Wolf (The Cat)
The Clarinet As Concerto Soloist
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
But That's Not The Instrument Mozart Wrote It For; This Is:
Clarinet Concerto In A Major (Rondo)
Introduction To The Saxophone
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 4)
The Soprano Saxophone Has Quite A Different Feel To It.
L'Arlesienne Suite No.1 (Minuet)
The Little Sopranino Sax Goes Even Higher.
Bolero
The Most Famous Use Of The Saxophone Is In An Orchestration By Ravel.
Pictures At An Exhibition (The Old Castle)
The Saxophone Can Be Quite Contagiously Good-Humoured.
Sax-O-Phun
The Puffa-Puffa Image Of The Bassoon
Peter And The Wolf (Grandfather)
The Bachian Bassoon, In Accompanimental Mode
Cantata 'Weichet Nur, Betrubte Schatten' ('Wedding Cantata'), BWV 202 (Aria No.1)
Bizet Leaves The Puffa-Puffa Image Out, Allowing The Bassoon To Sing./Carmen Suite No.1 (Les Dragons D'Alcala)
And Ravel, Also In Spanish Mode, Does Likewise.
Bolero
The Bassoon As A Voice Of High Seriousness, Indeed Desolate Loneliness
Symphony No.3 (Opening)
The Eerie Bassoon In Its Highest Register
The Rite Of Spring (Opening)
Stravinsky Now Draws On Its Lowest Register, Lonely And Melancholy.
The Firebird Suite (1919, Berceuse)
The Bassoon As Concerto Soloist, Avoiding All Exaggeration
Bassoon Concerto In G Minor (Finale)
The Deep-Voiced Contra-Bassoon, As A Fairy-Tale Beast
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Beauty And The Beast)
The French Horn Under Its Woodwind Hat
Wind Quintet, Op.43 (Last Mvt)
Now A More Prominent Role, In A Woodwind Quintet From An Earlier Era
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Mvt 2)
The Horn In Harmonious Blend With Strings In Another Quintet
Horn Quintet, K.407 (Finale)

Tracks:

The Trumpet As Virtuoso Soloist
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Last Mvt)
The Special Brillance Of Paired Trumpets
Concerto In C For Two Trumpets, RV537 (Mvt 1)
The Ceremonial Trumpet
Fanfare For The Common Man
Trumpets And Drums - An Incomparable Alliance
Messiah (The Trumpet Shall Sound)
The Versatility Of The Trumpet, From The Most Public To The Most Lonely
Piano Concerto In F (Slow Mvt)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of The City/An American In Paris/The Trumpet As Recruitment Officer/The Soldier's Tale (The March)/The Trumpet As Swaggerer
Carmen Suite No.2 (Habanera)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of Strength And Courage
Carmet Suite No.2 (Toreador's Song)
The Trumpet Muted/Petrushka (No.4: The Blackamoor)/Lieutenant Kije Suite (Opening)/The Trumpet As The Voice Of Weariness
Billy The Kid
The Trumpet As Character Actor
Pictures At An Exhibition (No.6)
The Trumpet As The Voice Of God
Mass In B Minor ('Et Exspecto')
The Birth Of The Trombone
Aenmerckt Nu Hier
The Birth Of The Brass As A Family
Canzon 12 In Double Echo
The Trombone In The Eighteenth Century
Trombone Concerto In B Flat Major (Finale)
The Tone Of The Tenor Trombone/Romance For Trombone And Organ/The Memorable Voice Of The Bass Trombone/Requiem (Mvt 2)/But The Bass Trombone Is More Than An Instrumental Bullfrog.
Hosannah
The Trombones Become Part Of The Orchestra.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
The Wagnerian Trombone:/Overture To 'Tannhauser'
The Trombone As Caricaturist
Pulcinella (No.19: Vivo)
The Trombone As Raspberry/Concerto For Orchestra (Intermezzo)
The Horn And The Hunt
Horn Concerto No.4 In E Flat, K.495 (Finale)
The Challenging Horn Of The Baroque
Abaris Ou Les Boreades (Menuet)
The Scarcity Of First-Rate Players In Handel's Time
Walter Music (Minuet 1)
The Horn As Magician/The Firebird Suite (1919, Finale)
Horns And The Sound Of Nobility
Overture To 'Tannhauser' (Opening)
The Special Sound Of The Horn In Its Higher Register
Mass In B Minor ('Quoniam Tu Solus Sanctus')
The Trumpet-Like Sound Of Massed Horns
Symphony No.3 (Mvt 1, Opening)
The Tuba - Unfairly Maligned?
Symphony No.6 (Mvt 3)
The Tuba Perfectly Cast By Ravel
Pictures At An Exhibition (Bydlo)

Tracks:

Introduction. And We Begin With A Bang.
Fanfare For The Common Man/The Bass Drum On The Battlefields/Wellington's Victory, Op.91 (Opening)
At The Opposite Extreme Is The Triangle.
Piano Concerto No.1 In E Flat (Scherzo)
Categories Of Percussion: Tuned And Untuned. The Side Drum
Overture To 'La Gazza Ladra' - The Thieving Magpie (Opening)
The Side Drum In An Effective But Unexpected Role/Clarinet Concerto (Mvt 1)
The Tambourine. One Of The Oldest Instruments In The World
Den Hoboecken Dans
Even Older Is The Originally Oriental Gong.
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
No Single Instrument Can Match The Gong In Evoking The Breaking Of Waves./Passacaglia, Op.33b From 'Peter Grimes'/But Gongs Don't Have To Be Struck To Be Effective.
Gymnopedie No.2
The Cymbals Are Generally Discovered Early In Life./The Sanguine Fan/And They Do More Than Clash Together Loudly. They Can Be Clashed Together Softly./Studio Example: But They Needn't Be Clashed Together At All/Studio Example: They Can Be Lightly...
Other Untuned Percussion Instruments Include The Whip.: Piano Concerto In G Major (Opening)/And Here Are No Fewer Than Twenty, Cracked By Tchaikovsky: The Nutcracker (Act I, Scene 5)
More Versatile Than The Whip Are The Wood Blocks.../Studio Example/...Which Crop Up All Over The Place In Twentieth-Century American Music.
Rodeo (Hoe-Down)
Related To The Wood Blocks, By Sound, Are The Castanets./Jota Aragonesa/But The Castanets Were Also Used By Monteverdi Back In The Seventeenth Century.
Scherzi Musicali (Damigella Tutta Belle)
A Still Earlier Example From Fifteenth-Century Spain
Yo M'Enamori D'Un Aire
The Birth Of The Bongo
Symphonic Dances From 'West Side Story'
From The Streets Of New York To The Blacksmith's Shop/Il Trovatore ('Anvil Chorus')
Desert-Island Decibels: Grand Canyon Suite (On The Trail)/Arcana
From One Vegetable To Another: The Humble Squash, Or Marrow/Huapango
Onwards To The Tuned Percussion. First, The Timpani
Also Sprach Zarathustra (Introduction)
But The Drum Roll Can Be More Effectively Frightening Than The Big Bang.: Symphony No.2 'Resurrection' (Mvt 3)
Not One Drum Roll, But Many/Grand Canyon Suite (Sunrise)/Symphonie Fantastique (Last Mvt)
Taking Advantage Of Tunability
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Mvt 2)
The Russian Composer Rodion Shchedrin Takes A Downward Turn./Carmen Suite (Changing Of The Guard)/Tuned, Yes; But For The Truly Melodic We Must Look Elsewhere.
Introducing The Glockenspiel/Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Saint-Saens And The Xylophone
The Carnival Of The Animals (Fossils)
Ravel And The Xylophone
Ma Mere L'Oye - Mother Goose (Laideronette)
Introducing The Marimba/Carmen Suite (First Intermezzo)
Introducing The Vibraphone
The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Narange Dolce)
The Vibraphone Goes Russian.../Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)/...And Is Joined By The Marimba./Carmen Suite (Carmen's Entrance And Habanera)
Introducing The Hungarian Cimbalom
Folk Dances
The Cimbalom And The Symphony Orchestra
Hary Janos Suite (Mvt 3)
Introducing The Tubular Bells
Hary Janos Suite (Viennese Musical Clock)
A More 'Up-Front' Approach From Rodion Shchedrin
Carmen Suite (Introduction)
But The Bells Can Also Make The Sinister Even More Sinister./Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Introducing The Celeste
The Nutcracker (Dance Of The Sugar Plum Fairy)
Magic, In The Use Of Collective Percussion
Miroirs (La Vallee Des Cloches)
Plucked Instruments: The 'Undercover Percussion'/Carmen Suite (Scene)
A Prime Case In Point Is The Harp, Irresistible To The Romantics./The Nutcracker (Act II, No.1: Scene)/The Non-Solo Harp As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Hungarian Rhapsody No.1
The Traditionally Subservient Role Of The Harpsichord In The Baroque Orchestra
Brandenburg Concerto No.2 (Slow Mvt)
The Piano: King Of The Tuned Percussion/Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Mvt 3)/And A Quarter Of A Century After That:
Petrushka (Russian Dance)
The Anti-Romantic Piano As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra
Music For Strings, Percussion And Celeste (Last Mvt)

Tracks:

Keyboard Instruments In The Orchestra - The Most Powerful Of Them All:
Symphony No.3 'Organ' (Finale)
But Things In Handel's Day Were Very Different.
Organ Concerto In B Flat, Op.4 No.3 (Last Mvt)
The Organ Is Difficult To Classify.
An Unexpected, Organ-related Guest
Concerto Pour Zampogna (Last Mvt)
Peasant-Fancying... And A Touch Of The Roaming Cowboy
Les Miserables (Drink With Me)
Outside Artefacts And The Power Of Association
Mahler's Sleighbells
Symphony No.4 (Opening)
A Roll-Call Of Some Unusual Guests/The Typewriter/Parade
Chains, And More/Integrales/An American In Paris/Sandpaper Ballet
Purpose-Built Oddities: Wind Machines/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Opening)
Don Quixote (Variation VIII)
National Calling Cards: The Guitar For Spain/Concierto De Aranjuez (Finale)
And The Guitar's Poor American Relative, The Banjo/Washington Breakdown
And Poorer Still, The Mouth Organ/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (Packing Up)
The Balalaika For Russia/Romeo And Juliet (Act II: No.14)
The Maracas For Mexico/The Treasure Of The Sierra Madre (El Desayuno)
The Bongos And Congas And A Whole Wealth Of Other Drums For Africa And Central America/Studio Example
The Sitar Of India/Evening Raga: Bhapoli
The Accordion For France (Especially Paris)/Paris Canaille
The Zither For Vienna/The Third Man (Theme)
The Cimbalom For Hungary/Folk Dances
The Guitar As An Integral Part Of The Orchestra/Rondena
There Are Whole Orchestras Of Balalaikas./Sveit Mesiats
The Effect Of The Wordless Human Voice, Used Purely As An Instrument/Symphony No.7 'Sinfonia Antartica' (Mvt 1)
Nocturnes
Instruments And the Imitation Of Nature. The Clarinet As Cuckoo
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Cuckoo)
The Flute As An All-purpose Aviary
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aviary)
The Oboe As Duck
Peter And The Wolf (The Duck)
The Recording Of Reality. Does It Work As Well?
The Pines Of Rome (The Pines Of The Janiculum)
The Recording Of Reality Electronically Reborn In New Guises
Cantus Articus - Concerto For Birds And Orchesra (Mvt 2)
Beethoven Turns Avian: Cuckoo, Nightingale, And Quail
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral' (Andante Molto Mosso)
Some Improbable Casting: The Violin As Braying Donkey
The Carnival Of The Animals (Persons With Long Ears)
A Truly Orchestral Hee-haw To Be Reckoned With
Overture To 'A Midsummer Night's Dream'
A Thunderstorm In A Million
Symphony No.6 'Pastoral (Allegro-Allegretto)
the Instrumental Depiction Of A Silent World
The Carnival Of The Animals (The Aquarium)
Saint-Saens' Menagerie Takes A Curtain Call.
The Carnival Of The Animals (Finale)

Tracks:

The Grouping Of Instrumental Families. An Additive Approach. First, Two Violins
Forty-Four Duos (No.4)
A Great Contrast, Of Both Pitch And Character: Violin And Viola
Duo For Violin And Viola In B Flat Major, K.424 (Finale, Vars 1 & 2)/Studio Example
Arrival Of The Standard String Trio: Violin, Viola, And Cello
String Trio In B Flat (Menuetto)
The String Quartet: Two Violins, Viola, And Cello
String Quartet In F, Op.18 No.1 (Mvt 3)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Viola
String Quartet No.5 In D, K.593 (Adagio)
The String Quintet - When The Extra Instrument Is A Second Cello
String Quintet In C (Mvt 3)
The String Sextet: Two Violins, Two Violas, And Two Cellos
String Sextet In B Flat (Mvt 2)
The String Octet: The Standard String Quaret Times Two
Octet In E Flat, Op.20 (Mvt 1)
Double The String Octet: A Fully Fledged String Orchestra
String Symphony No.2 (Finale)
The Massed Strings Of A Symphony Orchestra
Fantasia On A Theme Of Thomas Tallis
Contrasts Of Pitch And Instrumental 'Colour' In The Woodwind Section
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Op.100 No.5 (Theme)
In The First Variation It's The Horn That Gets The Lion's Share.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 1
In Variation Two The Torch Is Handed To The Bassoon.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 2
In Variation Three The Oboe Leads.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 3
Variation Four: Conversation Before Returning To A Solo-dominated Texture
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 4
And Variation Five is Dominated By The Clarinet.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 5
The Next To Be Featured Is The Virtuoso Flute.
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 6
Individual Farewells And A Closing Chorus
Wind Quintet In A Minor, Variation 7
A Mixed Group: Clarinet, Bassoon, Horn, String Quartet, And Double-Bass
Octet In F (Mvt 3)
The Early Classical Symphony Orchestra Of Haydn And Mozart
Symphony No.29 In A, K.201 (Finale)
Strings, Wind, But No Brass. What Haydn And Mozart Never Knew
Canzon 28
Beethoven's Fifth: Two Horns, Two Trumpets, And Three Trombones Join The Team.
Symphony No.5 (Finale)
From Beethoven To The Massive Orchestras Of Berlioz, Wagner, And Mahler
Beethoven Changed The Face Of The Symphony And The Orchestra Forever
Symphoy No.6 'Tragic' (Mvt 1)
The Cult Of Orchestral Elephantiasis Reaches Its Peak.
Symphony No.1 'Gothic' (VI: Te Ergo Quaesumus)
When Large Doesn't Necessarily Mean Loud: Debussy
Images (Gigues)
A Crisis Of Confidence; The Orchestra's Survival Hangs In The Balance, But It Still Develops. The Ondes Martenot:
Turangalila Symphony (Chant D'amour 1)
The Advent Of The 'Early Music' Movement Brings A New Vitality And Freshness.
Balle De Xerxes (Gavotte En Rondeau)
Computer And Synthesiser: Friends Or Foes?
Concerto In D Minor For Two Violins (Largo)
A Speculative Look Ahead/Mass In B Minor ('Dona Nobis Pacem')

Customer Reviews:

Instruments of the Orchestra - Great Reference Material!.......2007-04-04

This set lends itself to greatly enhancing one's knowledge of the orchestra, instruments in it, and their usage. I am a huge music buff, and I still picked up a great deal I previously did not know. I highly recommend this for all who wish to understand the origin of music, as well as the processes that are employed to create music!

Beginner or Expert.......2007-03-12

This CD is excellent for the beginner or expert! To be able to haear the instrumets separately and then together really provides a good education. and/or refresher. The book thaty comes with the CD is alomost worth the price by itself!

Very Informative and Enjoyable.......2006-11-20

Whether you're a music novice or pro, "The instruments of the Orchestra" is a very worthwhile purchase. The 7 CDs, with a total of 8 hours, are expertly narrated by Jeremy Siepmann. He's a great speaker, very much like the late Leonard Bernstein was. Mr. Siepmann takes you on an unforgetable musical journey covering the origins and use of the various orchestral instruments throughout musical history. The balance between his narration and a wealth of musical examples, which range from snippets to entire movements, is superb. The comprehensive enclosed booklet is excellent and faithfully follows the 7 CDs in content. Even with my 40+ years of music training I still learned new things from this wonderful collection. Considering the excellence of the content, and a cost that translates to about $5 per disc, this collection is a great value. Grab it, you won't regret that you did. Five solid stars!

Frank's view.......2006-08-19

This boxed set of CD's with booklet achieved all I had hoped that it would. There are good samples of individual instruments and well done commentary on each. The only drawback was that some of the samples were too brief and could have been longer, hoiwever I guess this fits in with time constraints of the medium. It has given me a lot of clues as to future purchases of CD's for listening to individual instruments. Altogeth a satisfactory purchase and a welcome addition to my collection.

Excellent Intro for Those Not Familiar with the Orchestra.......2003-11-08

I've listened to classical music for years and am interested in composition. I bought this CD set to learn how an orchestra and its instruments work. I thought the CDs would be a nice but boring lecture. They aren't! Not only are they FUN but they are informative as well. I learned a huge amount from each CD and couldn't wait to listen to the next one.

The narrator and writer is a great speaker and holds your attention well. He is definitely knowledgeable. He provides musical examples for each point he makes, so you get to "hear" what he just talked about. I'd say the CDs are about 65% music and 35% narration. You'll learn about the range of instruments, some history, different ways to play them, how they sound, and how they are used in the orchestra. This CD set was a great learning experience and is sold at such a low price!

I recommend this CD for those who want to learn about classical music and those who know about it but are interested in learning more about the inner workings of an orchestra. You'll learn much useful information. For instance, the Rite of Spring (with that eerie start) is written for bassoon! I never knew a bassoon could sound like that but now I do.

Tracks:

Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt I: Langsam. Schleppend. Wie Ein Naturlaut - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt I: Immer Sehr Gemachlich - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt I: Sehr Gemachlich - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt I: Vorwats Dragend - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt II: Kraftig Bewegt - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt II: Trio. Recht Gemachlich - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt II: Tempo Primo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt III: Feierlich Und Gemessen, Ohne Zu Schleppen - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt III: A Tempo. Ziemlich Langsam - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt III: Sehr Einfach Und Schlicht Wie Eine Volksweise - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt III: Weider Etwas Bewegter, Wie Im Anfang - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt IV: Sturmisch Bewegt - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt IV: Sehr Gesangvoll - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt IV: Wieder Wie Zu Angang. Sturmisch Bewegt - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt IV: Sehr Langsam - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.1 in D 'Titan': Movt IV: Wieder Vorwarts Drangend - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': Andante - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': Andante Come Prima - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': A Tempo (Fliessend) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': Measure 104 - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': Measure 194 - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.10, 'Adagio': A Tempo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein

Tracks:

Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt I: Allegro Maestoso - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt I: Sehr Massig Und Zuruckhaltend - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt I: Schnell - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt I: Tempo I - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt I: Tempo Sostenuto - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt II: Andante Moderato - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt II: Energisch Bewegt - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt II: Wieder In's Tempo Zuruckgehen. Tempo I - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt III: In Ruhig Fliessender Bewegung - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt III: Vorwarts - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt III: Zum Tempo I. Zuruckkehren - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan

Tracks:

Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt IV: ' Urlicht' - Sehr Feierlich, Aber Schlicht - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt IV: Etwas Bewegter - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Im Tempo Des Scherzos. Wild Herausfahrend - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Langsam - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Im Anfang Sehr Zuruckgehalten - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Maestoso - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Wieder Zuruckhaltend - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Sehr Langsam Und Gedehnt - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Langsam. Misterioso - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Etwas Bewegter 'O Glaube' - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Mit Aufschwung, Aber Nicht Eilen 'O Schmerz!' - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.2 in c 'Resurrection': Movt V: Piu Mosso 'Sterben' - Lee Venora/Jennie Tourel/The Collegiate Chor/Abraham Kaplan
Sym No.5 in c#: IV. Adagietto. Sehr Langsam - New York PO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Veni, Creator Spiritus! - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Imple Superna Gratia - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Infirma Nostri Corporis - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Tempo I. (Allegro, Etwas Hastig) - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Infirma Nostri Corporis - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Accende Lumen Sensibus - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Qui Paraclitus Deceris - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand', Part One: Gloria Patri Domino - Adele Addison/Lucine Amara/Lili Chookasian/Jennie Tourel/Richard Tucker/Ezio Flagello...

Tracks:

Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Kraftig. Entschieden - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Langsam. Schwer - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Tempo I - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: A Tempo - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Immer Dasselbe Tempo (Marsch). Nicht Eilen - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Im Alten Marschtempo (Allegro Moderato) - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part One: Movt I: Tempo I - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt II: Tempo Di Menuetto. Sehr Massig - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt II: A Tempo - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt II: Ganz Plotzlich Gemachlich. Tempo Di Menuetto - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt III: Comodo. Scherzando. Ohne Hast - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt III: Wieder Sehr Gemachlilch, Wie Zu Anfang - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt III: Etwas Zuruckhaltend - Sehr Gemachlich - John Ware
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt III: Tempo I. Mit Geheimnisvolles Hast! - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt III: Wieder Sehr Gemachlich, Beinahe Langsam - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt IV: Sehr Langsam. Misterioso. Durchaus Ppp - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt IV: Piu Mosso Subito - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt V: Lustig Im Tempo Und Keck Im Ausdruck - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...

Tracks:

Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: Langsam. Ruhevoll. Empfunden - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: Nicht Mehr So Breit - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: Tempo I. Ruhevoll! - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: A Tempo (Etwas Bewegter) - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: Tempo I - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Sym No.3 in d, Part Two: Movt VI: Langsam. Tempo I - Martha Lipton/Women's Chor Of The Schola Cantorum/Hugh Ross...
Three Ruckert Songs: Ich Atmet Einen Linden Duft - Jennie Tourel
Three Ruckert Songs: Ich Bin Der Welt Abhanden Gekommen - Jennie Tourel
Three Ruckert Songs: Um Mitternacht - Jennie Tourel
Des Knaben Wunderhorn: Das Irdische Leben - Jennie Tourel
Kindertotenlieder: Nun Will Die Sonn' So Hell Aufgeh'n! - Jennie Tourel
Kindertotenlieder: Nun Seh' Ich Wohl, Warum So Dunkle Flammen - Jennie Tourel
Kindertotenlieder: Wenn Dein Mutterlein - Jennie Tourel
Kindertotenlieder: Oft Denk' Ich, Sie Sind Nur Ausgegangen - Jennie Tourel
Kindertotenlieder: In Diesem Wetter! - Jennie Tourel

Tracks:

Sym No.4 in G: Movt I: Bedachtig. Nicht Eilen - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt I: Tempo I - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt I: Wieder Wie Zu Anfang. Sehr Gemachlich, Behaglich - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt I: Wieder Plotzlich Langsam Und Bedachtig - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt II: In Gemachlicher Bewegung. Ohne Hast - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt II: Nicht Eilen - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt III: Ruhevoll - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt III: Viel Langsamer - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt III: Anmutig Bewegt - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt III: Andante - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt III: Vorwarts. Poco Piu Mosso - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt IV: Sehr Behaglich - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt IV: Wieder Lebhaft - Reri Grist
Sym No.4 in G: Movt IV: Tempo I. Sehr Zart Und Geheimnisvoll Bis Zum Schluss - Reri Grist

Tracks:

Sym No.5 in c#: Part I: I. Trauermarsch. In Gemessenem Schritt. Streng. Wie Ein Kondukt - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.5 in c#: Part I: II. Sturmisch Bewegt. Mit Grosster Vehemenz - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.5 in c#: Part II: III. Scherzo. Kraftig, Nicht Zu Schnell - James Chambers
Sym No.5 in c#: Part III: IV. Adagietto. Sehr Langsam - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.5 in c#: Part III: V. Rondo-Finale. Allegro - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein

Tracks:

Sym No.6 in a 'Tragic': I. Allegro Energico, Ma Non Troppo (Heftig, Aber Markig) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.6 in a 'Tragic': II. Scherzo. Wuchtig - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.6 in a 'Tragic': III. Andante Moderato - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.6 in a 'Tragic': IV. Finale. Allegro Moderato - Allegro Energico - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein

Tracks:

Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Langsam (Adagio) - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Nicht Schleppen - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Allegro Risoluto, Ma Non Troppo - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: A Tempo (Sempre L'istesso) - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Subito Allegro I. Ziemlich Ruhig - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Adagio (Tempo Der Einleitung) - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt I: Maestoso. Allegro Come Prima - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt II: Nachtmusik I. Allegro Moderato - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt II: Sempre L'istesso Tempo. Nicht Eilen, Sehr Gemachlich - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt II: Tempo - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt III: Scherzo. Schattenhaft, Fliessend, Aber Nicht Zu Schnell - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt III: Trio - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt III: Wieder Wie Zu Anfang (Nicht Eilen) - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt IV: Nachtmusik II. Andante Amoroso - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt IV: (Figure 197) - Raymond Sabinsky
Sym No.7 in e: Movt V: Rondo-Finale. Tempo I (Allegro Ordinario) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.7 in e: Movt V: Gemessen! Nicht Schnell! Tempo II (Allegro Moderato Ma Energico) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.7 in e: Movt V: Tempo I (Halbe Wie Die Viertel Des Tempo I) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.7 in e: Movt V: Sempre L'istesso Tempo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein

Tracks:

Kindertotenlieder: Nun Will Die Sonn' So Hell Aufgeh'n! - Janet Baker
Kindertotenlieder: Nun Seh' Ich Wohl, Warum So Dunkle Flammen - Janet Baker
Kindertotenlieder: Wenn Dein Mutterlein - Janet Baker
Kindertotenlieder: Oft Denk' Ich, Sie Sind Nur Ausgegangen - Janet Baker
Kindertotenlieder: In Diesem Wetter! - Janet Baker
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Veni, Creator Spiritus! - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Imple Superna Gratia - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Infirma Nostri Corporis - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Tempo I. (Allegro, Etwas Hastig) - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Infirma Nostri Corporis - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Accende Lumen Sensibus - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Qui Paraclitus Diceris - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part I: Gloria Patri Domino - LSO/Leonard Bernstein

Tracks:

Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Poco Adagio - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Piu Mosso. (Allegro Moderato) - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Waldung, Sie Schwankt Heran - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Ewiger Wonnebrand - Vladimir Ruzdjak
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Wie Felsenabgrund Mir Zu Fussen - Donald McIntyre
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Gerettet Ist Das Edle Glied - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor/Highgate School Boys Choir
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Jene Rosen, Aus Den Handen - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Uns Bleibt Ein Erdenrest - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Ich Spur' Soeben - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Hier Ist Die Aussicht Frei/Freudig Empfangen Wir - John Mitchinson
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Hochste Herrscherin Der Welt - John Mitchinson
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Jungfrau, Rein Im Schonsten Sinne - John Mitchinson/Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Aussert Langsam. Adagissimo - LSO/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Dir, Der Uberuhrbaren/Du Schwebst Zu Hohen - Gwyneth Jones
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Bei Der Liebe, Die Den Fussen - Erna Spoorenberg
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Bei Dem Bronn, Zu Dem Schon Weiland - Anna Reynolds
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Bei Dem Hochgeweihten Orte - Norma Procter
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Die Du Grossen Sunderinnnen - Erna Spoorenberg/Anna Reynolds/Norma Procter
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Neige, Neige, Du Ohnegleiche - Gwyneth Jones
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Er Uberwachst Uns Schon - Highgate School Boys Chor
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Vom Edlen Geisterchor Umgeben - Gwyneth Jones
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Komm! Hebe Dich Zu Hohern Spharen! - Gwenyth Annear
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Blicket Auf Zum Retterblick - John Mitchinson
Sym No.8 in E flat 'Sym Of A Thousand': Part II: Alles Vergangliche - Leeds Festival Chor/London Sym Chor

Tracks:

Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Andante Comodo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Etwas Frischer - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Tempo I Subito - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Mit Wut. Allegro Risoluto - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Schattenhaft - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Wie Von Anfang - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Plotzlich Bedeutend Langsamer (Lento) Und Leise - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt I: Schon Ganz Langsam - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Im Tempo Eines Gemachlichen Landlers. Etwas Tappisch Und Sehr Derb - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Poco Piu Mosso Subito (Tempo II) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Tempo III - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: A Tempo II - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Tempo I - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Tempo II - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt II: Tempo I Subito - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt III: Rondo - Burleske. Allegro Assai. Sehr Trotzig - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt III: L'istesso Tempo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt III: Sempre L'istesso Tempo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt III: Nicht Eilen - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt III: Piu Stretto - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Adagio. Sehr Langsam Und Noch Zuruckhaltend - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Plotzlich Wieder Langsam (Wie Zu Anfang) Und Etwas Zogernd - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Molto Adagio Subito - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: A Tempo (Molto Adagio) - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Stets Sehr Gehalten - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Fliessender, Doch Durchaus Nicht Eilend - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Tempo I. Molto Adagio - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein
Sym No.9 in D: Movt IV: Adagissimo - New York Phil/Leonard Bernstein

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For many of us, Leonard Bernstein's first Mahler cycle for CBS (compiled here, remastered and cheaper than ever) has stood the test of time since it initially came out on LP in the late 1960s. Upon completing this traversal of nine symphonies (and the "Adagio" movement from the unfinished 10th), Lenny and the New York Philharmonic achieved something no one else had and proved that Mahler was, simply put, worth recording in the first place. It's still a marvelous set of recordings that belongs in every record collection.

Using the same budgeted design as on their (surprisingly pricey) Original Jacket series of box sets, Sony has unleashed a true bargain here: 12 CDs that average a little over five bucks a pop. Lenny's second cycle for Deutsche Grammophon may boast greater sonics, plenty of wonderful moments, and the complete song cycles, but it costs more than twice as much. Here, we get a younger Lenny, sounding fresh and expressive and delivering still-unparalleled interpretations of the First, Third, Seventh, Eighth, and Ninth, and pretty great performances of the rest. The intensity on these discs is infectious and the price can't be beat. A must-have. --Jason Verlinde

Customer Reviews:

Groundbreaking but partly outdated.......2007-03-26

Recorded 1960-67, this is the first complete cycle of Mahler's numbered symphonies (1-9 + no. 10 Adagio), and, as such, an essential purchase. Add Bernstein's 1966 classic recording of Das Lied von der Erde (Decca), and you get a piece of recording history: the development of the Mahler boom in the sixties.

How do these recordings stand today? The interpretations of the third, fourth, and seventh are very fine, even exceptional, and, despite their age, the recordings are sonically impressive as well. NYPO plays marvellously. The seventh, in particular, is a reference disc.

The remaining recordings are not really for the desert island, however. The fifth, for instance, is very unsuccessful and badly recorded too. Bernstein's later account on DG is clearly an improvement. The same holds for the second symphony, which you also find on DG in a later, much improved and moving interpretation. But here we have also a crowded field of classic performances, such as Klemperer's second (EMI) and Walter's fifth (SONY). Both are preferable to Bernstein's recordings, old or new.

The first, sixth, eight and ninth are quite good but not exceptional. No one beats Kubelik's first (DG). Mitropoulos (BMG Great Conductors) and Barbirolli (EMI) own the sixth. The eight - well, here we have Horenstein (BBC) and Mitropoulos (Orfeo) as classic, first choices. And for the ninth, Ancerl (Supraphon), Barbirolli (EMI), Klemperer (EMI) and Walter (SONY) sound far more attractive and fresh than Bernstein's mannered account.

If you're a collector this box is of course essential - regardless all critical considerations. But if you just look for an excellent and consistent Mahler box, go for Gary Bertini's cycle on EMI, which you get for a super-bargain price. It's a contemporary and future classic.

Thus I recommend a pick of individual Bernstein SONY CDs: the third, the fourth and the seventh. Add his fifth and second from his DG recordings, and his 1966 Das Lied von der Erde (Decca). These recordings are what I take to be the "essentials" of the Bernstein Mahler legacy.

Outstanding Mahler Compilation.......2007-01-29

I think is very important for a Mahler Fan to hear carefully all his work. This compilation allows you to enjoy that experience. A better sound quality for some symphonies could be a great plus, but you have to consider that this is a remasterized old record.

Leonard Bernstein just express the true passion that Mahler put on his work. It's incredible that (using the 8ve Symphony as an example) with fewer instruments than in the Abbado version, the feeling is even better. Simply outstanding.

Great price, great compilation. Lot of Mahler.

Bernstein or Tennstedt: read on...........2006-07-12

If the only way you could obtain the Mahler Symphonies was by buying a box containing them all by one conductor, then this would be my second choice, or my first!; my first (or second)would be the Tennstedt set. It's a close call thoughout - a 'swings and roundabouts' situation, but if Bernstein's was the one and only then I would be happy enough. Actually if you want a truly satisfying Mahler Symphonies collection then the two sets together sitting side by side on your CD shelf would be pretty well ideal, as I believe that the legacy of recordings by these two great men are nowhere surpassed (save Horenstein in the Fourth, Barbirolli in the Sixth and Rudolf Schwarz in the Fifth). As to comparisons between individual symphonies, the following would be my first choice:

No. 1 Bernstein. More poetic and earthy than T and my very first choice out of the dozens of others I've heard.
2 Bernstein. Simply the greatest Mahler 2; T is earthbound by comparison.
3 Tennstedt. Actually this is a tougher one to decide as B is marginally better in the first movement and he produces the best sixth movement of any version I've heard. Overall T has it, partly due to the excellent sound quality.
4 Overall B is better but there are so many points of comparison to take into consideration that it's a tough one to decide. T has the better soloist in the finale. My far-and-away first choice in the Fourth is Horenstein on EMI/CfP.
5 Tennstedt. Bernstein's CBS Fifth was the weakest link. However, Rudolf Schwarz (Everest) produces the very finest Fifth:
I always maintain that you can tell pretty much straight away when a Mahler conductor gets it right and Schwarz gets it 100%
6 Tennstedt. From the angry crunching heavy tread of the opening through to the nightmare ending, this is a very dark view of the Sixth, but it works. Barbirolli on EMI is my definite first choice in the Sixth. Bernstein's quick-march approach sounds like parody.
7 Bernstein. Nobody has produced a better Seventh and probably never will. T's version is very good though and I think he out-performs all other competition.
8 This one is the hardest of all to separate, but in the end I opt for Bernstein as his version as the feel of a live performance and the recording is almost as good as T's digital one.
9 Bernstein. Again my favourite version. T's weakest link of his whole set.
So Bernstein scores more points, but take into account the generally better sound of the Tennstedt set (especially in nos. 3,5,6) and things are evened up slightly. My advice overall? Go for both sets; at the asking prices you will have a superb Mahler Symphonies collection which will last you a lifetime. But don't forget those other versions of 4, 5 and 6. A point about sound quality: most of the above are analogue recordings, made many years ago, but across the board they are in almost every way superior to most modern digital ones (though to be fair one or two are not so great). I have a very good stereo system which reproduces very neutral sound; what goes in at the CD player end comes out unchanged at the loudspeaker end and so what I hear is the 'real thing'. For example Bernstein's 2 is stunning. One of the very best is the oldest of them all - Schwarz's Fifth, made in 1958. Maybe the art of recording has been replaced by science (and not for the better)? In the final analysis, to my mind the above versions render most of the rest of the Mahler symphonies discography redundant and surplus to requirements.

Comparing the two Bernstein Mahler cycles.......2006-06-27

Most buyers aren't in the market for a complete Mahler cycle by a single conductor, but if they were, the two from Bernstein contain many great performances. I've reviewed the contents of this Sixties cycle on Sony and the later one from the Eighties (contianing many live performances) on DG, taking them one symphony at a time. But it's worthwhile to give a sense of the strongest and weakest parts of each set.

Cycle #1:

By general consensus the performance of Sym. #3 is one of the glories of this cycle and perhaps the most inspired Mahler condcuting Bernstein did on disc. It has all the freshness of discovery--LB was new to Mahler in 1961. Sony's 20-bit remastering makes the original analog sound quite good. In fact, there's no need to fear the sound quality of these NY Phil. recordings, none of which are bad. Expect the deep sound stage and wide stereo separation that Columbia Records favored at the time.

Bernstein also put his stamp on Sym. #7 in such a way that no one would ever hear it the same again. Previously, 'The Song of the Night,' as this work was dubbed, had almost no life either on disc or the concert stage (a Mahler champion as prominent as Bruno Walter never performed it). Not only did LB prove that this was coherent music, he made an unforgettable drama out of the Seventh. This is his signature recording of the work.

Two other great performances stand out: Sym. #2 and #4, each rendered with amazing imagination and a huge range of emotions. The accusation that LB went over the top in the Second is unjustified--he is often tender and delicate--but there's no doubt that he takes an apocalyptic view of the finale. Whatever you think about his approach, he single-handedly revolutionized the way that the Resurrection Sym. was played. In Sym. #4 the classic recording was by Bruno Walter, but LB added more depth, imaginaiton, and excitement. Lyric soprano Reri Grist has come in for a good deal of criticism in the vocal finale, but I think she fits beautifully into LB's overall conception.

In the middle of the pack, as it were, we get LB's readings of Sym. #1 and #9. He went on to conduct greater readings of both works, especially the Ninth. In person LB's First was a real showpiece, but somehow Sony's sonics are not up to the conductor's vision. In the cse of the Ninth, the NY version would qualify as an outstanding performance if there weren't so many truly great ones from Karajan, Bruno Walter, James Levine, and Barbirolli, among others. Bernstein himself would add two of the greatest, both on DG.

I find a few problems wiht Sym. #5, #6, and #8 in the first cycle. For many critics all three are great recordings. For some reason, I have never warmed up to either of LB's versions of Sym. #5, where for once he does manipulate and exaggerate to the point that the spirit of the work seems lost in histrionics. Sym. #6 is too brisk in the first movement to let the music expand to its visionary potential, and in the other movements Bernstein seems less expressive than he could be. The Eighth is unmathced in the excitement and joyousness of Part 1, and for some listeners the whole symphony remains on that exalted level. I find that LB is too studied in Part 2, and my attention wasn't held. He does elicit very beautiful singing and playing, however. It should be noted that this performance is with the London Sym. and a host of fine English singers.

To the end of his life Bernstein resisted Deryck Cooke's completion of the Tenth Sym., agreeing to conduct only the shattering Adagio. which Mahler had essentially finished in full score. Bernstein's reading with the NY Phil. is one of the most searing accounts this magnificent fragment has ever received, equaled by his later live reading with the incomparable Vienna Phil.

Cycle #2:

It should be said right off that DG's digital sonics are in a different league from what LB got in New York. Even though several venues were involved (Vienna, Amsterdam, New York), and many recordings were under live concert conditions, the DG engineers triumphed. They favor closer mike posiitons, solo highlighting, and a vivid sound stage compared to their predecessors in New York. As to the interprettions, with a few exceptions--the most prominent being Sym. #6--Bernstein did not drastically change his views from the first cycle, and in some cases the readings feel almost identical (Sym. #2 and #7, for example).

The most interest centers on the works where LB clearly outdoes his younger self. At the top of the list I would put Sym. #6 and #9. In the former he achieved one of the classic Mahler reacordings of the modern era. His Sixth has slowed down by 2 min. in the first movement, giving the music room to expand properly. The Andante is heartbreaking and heartwarming at the same time. The finale is an explosion of genius on Mahler's part that LB resonates with perfectly. Almost the same can be said of the Ninth, where the conducting reaches deeply moving areas of expression. The finale is drastically slow (as is Levine's, to similar devastating effect), which some critics find excessive. But it's a truism that no tempo is right or wrong; everything depends upon being drawn into the world of the music. LB achieved a great Ninth but would surpass himself with a live performance from Berlin in 1979, also on DG.

Almost as great is Sym. #1, which on DG receives a flawless performance packed with excitement. I'm not sure that LB's reading actually changed, but the superlative sonics and the spine-tingling playing of the Concertgebiuw weren't matched in New York.

The next thing to ask is where Bernstein fell short of his earlier versions. The Sym. #2, #3, and #4 from New York were one of a kind, representing LB's early and most exciting explorations of Mahler's world. Their counterparts on DG are also strong, but I don't think they rise to the heights he achieved earlier. The only sharp criticism I have is with the use of a boy soprano in the finale of the Fourth; musical as he is, a boy is too undeveloped to capture what Mahler intended. It should be said, however, that if the earlier NY versions didn't exist, these would be outstanding performances.

I feel much the same about Sym. #7, where LB's first recording set a standard that only two or three rivals have come close to, but his DG remake, which was a return to the NY Phil. in oncert from Lincoln Center(as are Sym. #2 and #3), feels fractionally less overwhelming. It's in better sound, however. The one symphony I can't compare is the Fifth, which doesn't satisfy me in either cycle. The DG version with the Vienna Phil. convinces many listeners, and some critics call in unsurpassable, but I am not on its wavelength.

That leaves Sym. #8, which Bernstein didn't live to record for commercial release. DG reached into its vaults for a live 1975 radio tape from Vienna, and although it has flaws in execution, including some rough singing in Part 2, LB's conducting is superlative, more ocmpelling than his version from London. Paired with this symphony is a 1974 reading of the Adagio from Sym. #10, also with the Vienna Phil. As you'd expect, it's an inspired, searing reading, just like the NY version.

How ot sum up? If money were no object, I'd own both cycles for the pleasure of Bernstein's unqiue inspiration. If I had to pick and choose, I'd take Sym. #2, #3, and #4 from New York, Sym. #8 from London, and the rest form the DG cycle.

Mahler complete symphonies........2006-02-24

"Mahler was an altogether great man" -One who also knows a thing or two.

Average customer rating:

Nice Mood Setting Music
This CD stays in my car player
Beautiful interpretations
great music! not so great sound variations!
A great, great collection!

Romantic Adagios

Manufacturer: Decca
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00004C8TG
Release Date: 2000-06-13

Tracks:

Adagio For Strings: Barber: Adagio for Strings
Meditation (Thais): Massenet: Meditation (Thais)
Piano Concerto No. 2 In C Minor, Op. 18: Rachmaninoff: Piano Concerto No. 2 in C minor, op. 18
Gymnopedies 1 and 3: Satie: Gymnopedies 1 and 3
Clarinet Concerto In A Major, K622: Mozart : Clarinet Concerto in A Major, K622
Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia (Spartacus): Khachaturian: Adagio of Spartacus and Phrygia
Sonata in C Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 'Moonlight': Beethoven : Sonata in C Sharp Minor, Op. 27 No. 2 'Moonlight'
Kol Nidrei: Bruch: Kol Nidrei
Nimrod (Enigma variations): Elgar: Nimrod (Enigma variations)
Symphony No. 5 In C Sharp Minor: Mahler: Symphony No. 5 in C Sharp Minor

Tracks:

Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K467: Mozart: Piano Concerto No. 21 in C major, K467
Andante cantabile (String quartet No. 1): Tchaikovski: Andante cantabile (String quartet No. 1)
Violin Concerto No. 1 in G Minor: Bruch: Violin Concerto No. 1 in G minor
Symphony No. 9 in E minor ' From the New World': Dvorak: Symphony No. 9 in E minor ' From the New World'
Rhapsody On A Theme Of Paganini: Rachmaninov: Rhapsody on a Theme of Paganini
Intermezzo (Cavalleria Rusticana): Mascagni: Intermezzo (Cavalleria rusticana)
Clair de Lune: Debussy: Clair de lune
Concierto de Aranjuez: Rodrigo: Concierto de Aranjuez - Adagio
The Carnival Of The Animals: Saint-Saens: The Swan
Piano Concerto No. 2 In F Major, Op. 102: Shostakovich: Piano Concerto No. 2 in F major, op. 102 - Andante
Pavane, op 50: Faure: Pavane, op 50

Customer Reviews:

Nice Mood Setting Music.......2007-05-25

This is a very nice cd to listen to and sip red wine in one's back yard while reading a good book. Well worth to add to your collection.

This CD stays in my car player.......2005-07-25

This CD is one that I think even non-classical music lovers would like. It isn't too "classical" and some of the songs are the kind that keep going though your head until you can't help but play the disc again. It is a two disc set and priced no higher than most singles.

Beautiful interpretations.......2004-01-25

I agree with a previous reviewer on the minor problem
of variations in volume. Beyond that, I find every
piece beautiful. This interpretation of Barber's
Adagio is the most passionate I have ever heard. I also
find the Faure selection very touching. I love the
vocals. I recommend this set to anyone, if for no
other reason than the Barber piece.

great music! not so great sound variations!.......2003-07-07

The selections and the arrangements are truly excellent. There are some hard to find (on the same CD) pieces and adagios--Spartacus ; Rodrigo's Concierto de Aranjuez; Mascagni's Intermezzo from Cavelleria...
But, better turn up the sound and then get away from the speakers. Parts of the selections are played so very softly that, when you turn up the volume to hear them, you will get blasted by those sections that have cresendos, or just plain louder sections. Too bad!
Very hard to enjoy in a car--or, even at home. if this problem did not exist, this is a 5 star plus!

A great, great collection!.......2001-10-01

I was stunned to see only two and a half stars for romantic adagios. I don't know how much you get to know by listening to only one "song" out of so many in this collection, but in my opinion this CD collection deserves a lot of credit. I had heard of Samuel Barber's Adagio for strings many times before and I was impressed but this was the first time that I was completely mesmerized. I highly recommend to any Barber fans to listen to this interpretation by David Zinman which is incredible. There seems to be so much passion and emotion! Also others such as Adagio of Spartacus and Clarinet Concerto just make the collection even better.

Average customer rating:

Barenboim & Karajan
best single disc M9 so far
Bravo, Maestro Barenboim!

Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Manufacturer: Warner Classics
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B000LPRO2Q
Release Date: 2007-03-20

Tracks:

I. Andante Comodo
II. Im Pempo Eines Gemachlichen Landlers. Etwas Tappish Und Sehr Derb
III. Rondo-Burleske: Allegro Assai. Sehr Trotzig
IV. Adagio

Customer Reviews:

Barenboim & Karajan.......2007-05-19

I've given this recording a full rating on the basis of Barenboim's Mahler Seven, which I believe is the finest on record. I must confess, however, that I haven't heard this recording, though I have no doubt that my rating would be the same as it is if I had. What I'd like to say is this: Karajan has not one but two exemplary recordings of this symphony (I personally prefer his earlier analogue studio version to his live digital version). His recordings may be extravagant but, hey, so was Mahler. And to ignore Karajan's Mahler (I know, I know, he was a Nazi) is to do yourself a great disservice. But I'm not claiming that Karajan's Mahler is "definitive." There are no "definitive" recordings of the Mahler symphonies precisely because they are interpretably inexhaustible works of art. To wit, would anyone condemn Rostropovich's interpretations of the Bach Sonatas and Partitas for extravagance, or, on the other hand, claim that Wispelwey's were inferior to Rostropovich's? To do either would miss the point of great art. I'm not claiming that all interpretations on any given work are equally valid; but what I am saying is that no true work of art can be definitively characterized. Another Nazi, Martin Heidegger, said it best: Art opens space for Being. Polemics aside, the final arbiter of any musical work is you and your ears. So just listen...

best single disc M9 so far.......2007-05-04

After having listened to my friends' somewhat tepid reactions to this recording, I was expecting to like Barenboim's Mahler 9th less than his truly solid Mahler 7th. Fortunately for me, they were wrong - at least in accordance with my own thoughts and tastes on the work. In no way is this a let-down. I like the full bodied sound, combined with Barenboim and Warner giving the woodwinds a much more front and center spotlight than usual. There's no compromising the naturalness of the sound in an effort to illuminate each individual strand of Mahler's dense poyphonic string writing, which DG has done on virtually every recording they've made of the Mahler 9th to date. If you think it's important to follow each individual strand of string detail, you won't like this one. I prefer the aesthetics here.

Bernstein used to say that the Mahler 9th was a work written by a man who wanted to go on living, but needed to say farewell. To that end, I feel that Barenboim is even more successful than Bernstein. In the first movement, there's no sense that this was composed by a dead man walking - until near the end of the movement, that is. After the first big climax, located just about one minute into the symphony (huge timpani roll), Barenboim eschews excess glop and sentimentality by taking the lullaby-like, main theme at an almost swift tempo. But near the end of the movement - after all the heartaches, and getting ourselves dragged through the mud - Barenboim fully wallows in sentimentality at the final return of the same lullaby-like theme. This is an interpretive touch that's as obvious as it is brilliant; leaving one wondering why nobody else had stumbled upon the same solution earlier. There's little sense that we're in for a very long haul from the very start. In fact, I'm very much reminded of the almost Straussian exuberance of Solti's earlier M9 with the London Symphony, except that Barenboim's fourth movement is far, FAR better than Solti's. This is the recording that Solti wanted to make in his earlier days, and the one that - in my opinion - Abbado has been trying to make for years, but just can't stumble upon it. He's too busy getting caught up in the excessively thick string timbres of the Staatskapelle's more illustrious cross-town rivals, the Philharmonic.

From here, things only get better, as the two inner movements are superbly executed, with extremely incisive rhythms displayed throughout. Here's where the strong emphasis on wind detail pays even greater dividends. But in the fourth movement, Barenboim lets his strings pour on the coals - not just in amplitude, but also in permitting the music to push forward in the louder, "heart storming" passages (as opposed to Mahler's usual heaven storming). The main climax of the final movement has plenty of fire and passion, if also just slightly faster than usual (I'm not bothered by that). But the calm and almost zen-like, "other worldliness" of the final pages aren't short changed in any way at all - Barenboim takes his time in the last few minutes. Combined with the clean and audience free background behind his threadbare strings (the ending, I'm talking about), were left with the impression of a composer who refuses to give up the ghost until the very end of the work. I find that both musically refreshing and life affirming.

Bravo, Maestro Barenboim!.......2007-03-20

This is the second Mahler recording that we have from Daniel Barenboim and his Staatskapelle Berlin - the first was a widely acclaimed recording of the seventh symphony. Now we have the opportunity to enjoy an equally fine recording of the ninth symphony.

The catalogue of Mahler ninths is not short of outstanding recordings. But most of the great ninths are at least 30 years old or even older - I think of such recordings as Ancerl's (1966) Kubelik's (1975), Giulini's (1977), Walter's (1961, 1939), and Klemperer's (1967). One exception is Gielen's recent recording (2003).

The present recording can now be added to that collection of great ninths. Recorded live in Berlin in November 2006, it is one of the best recent interpretations I have heard of this symphony. It challenges both Abbado (DG) and Boulez (DG), and it is a strong contender to Gielen (Hänssler). In my view, Barenboim's reading is better than all these three late recordings.

Here is the reason: Barenboim's reading is similar to Kubelik's and Ancerl's, and not only in its flowing tempo. That is, it is the antithesis to the sort of extravagant interpretations we have from Karajan and Bernstein. It is straightforward, sober, and carefully balanced, with great attention to details in the score - but nonetheless passionate, personal, and bohemian.

The Staatskapelle Berlin contributes to the pleasure. Woodwind and brass are exceptional, and the string playing is simply outstanding.

Sonic aspects are also spectacular, and - with a few, minor exceptions - you can hardly notice the audience.

If you only buy one record this year, then make it this one. Strongly and warmly recommended!

Average customer rating:

Comparing Bernstein's three Mahler Ninths
Bernstein - Mahler : The greatness of music
Good Recording of Mahler's final Symphony
Bernstein Mahler Bernstein Mahler
A great recording filled with emotion and sensitivity.

Mahler: Symphony No. 9
Gustav Mahler , Leonard Bernstein , and New York Philharmonic
Manufacturer: Sony
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

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ASIN: B00000C298
Release Date: 1998-09-29

Tracks:

Symphony No. 9 In D Major: First Movement: I. Andante comodo
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: First Movement: I. Etwas frischer
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: First Movement: I. Tempo I subito
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: First Movement: I. Mit Wut. Allegro risoluto
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: First Movement: I. Schattenhaft
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: First Movement: I. Wie von Anfang
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: First Movement: I. Plotzlich bedeutend langsamer (Lento) und leise
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: First Movement: I. Schon ganz langsam
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Second Movement: II. Im Tempo eines gemachlichen Landlers, etwas tappisch und sehr derb
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Second Movement: II. Poco piu mosso subito (Tempo II)
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Second Movement: II. Tempo III
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Second Movement: II. A Tempo II
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Second Movement: II. Tempo I
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Second Movement: II. Tempo II
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Second Movement: II. Tempo I Subito
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Third Movement: III. Rondo. Burleske. Allegro assai und sehr trotzig
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Third Movement: III. L'istesso tempo
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Third Movement: III. Sempre l'istesso tempo
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Third Movement: III. Nicht eilen
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Third Movement: III. Piu stretto
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Fourth Movement: IV. Adagio. Sehr langsam und noch zuruckhaltend
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Fourth Movement: IV. Plotzlich wieder langsam (wie zu Anfang) und etwas zogernd
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Fourth Movement: IV. Molto adagio subito
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Fourth Movement: IV. A Tempo (Molto adagio)
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Fourth Movement: IV. Stets sehr gehalten
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Fourth Movement: IV. Fliessender, doch durchaus nicht eilend
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Fourth Movement: IV. Tempo I. Molto adagio
Symphony No. 9 In D Major: Fourth Movement: IV. Adagissimo

Amazon.com

This, Leonard Bernstein's first recording of the Ninth Symphony, has held up very well over time. Although it lacks the searing intensity in the finale of his later version with the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra, it's also a bit quicker generally, and in the middle movements even more exciting. As a single disc reissue at mid-price, there's no reason at all to hesitate. --David Hurwitz

Customer Reviews:

Comparing Bernstein's three Mahler Ninths.......2005-10-18

Since all three of Bernstein's Mahler Ninths have been reviewed on Amazon as the "best," I thought I'd sit down and compare them side by side. The two commercially recorded versions are with the New York Phil. from 1965 (Sony) and a live Concertgebouw concert from 1985 (DG). There is another live concert with the Berlin Phil. on DG from 1979 that derives from a radio broadcast. As other reviewers have detailed, this version was released posthumously; it commemorates Bernstein's only appeaarance with the Berlin Philharmonic--I think he had stayed off Karajan's turf by mutual agreement, although no doubt there were anti-Nazi feelings as well.

Timings: Although Bernstein's tempos grew slower with age, his Mahler Ninth was never one of the faster ones. The first movement takes 28 min. in NY, speeds up to 27 min. in Berlin, then reaches 29 min. in Amsterdam. (By comparison, Abbado takes 25 min. in his recent Berlin Phil. reading on DG.) In the second movement scherzo NY and Berlin are around 15 min. (the same as Abbado), and again the Concertgebouw performance is notably slower, 17 min. All these vresions, along with Abbado, take roughly 12 min. for the third movement Rondo-Bulreske. As others have noted, the biggest change in tempo ocurs in the fourth movement Adagio, where Ny is 23 min., Berlin 26 min., and Amsterdam a very prolonged 29+ min., compared to Abbado's 25 min. or Boulez's brisk 21 min.)Bernstein always permitted himself expressive freedom, and frankly a case can be made for all three tempos, including the agonized farewell from Amsterdam.

Sound: The NY recording never sounded all that clear or detailed on LP, but the Sony remastering is very good. It is warm in the string tone and there is a good orchestral blend. One doesn't feel that individual mikes are highlighting various solos. The Berlin broadcast recording is bright, somewhat thin, and considerably more aggressive. The balance keeps strings and winds a bit far back, while at times the brass and percusison leap out. Through earphones one can detect a low-level buzz, but overall this is excellent radio sound. With the Amsterdam recording we are back to higher standards, but not as good as in New York; the orchestra sounds thinner and consierably more distant. The Sony set is a clear winner here.

Orchestras: The New YOrk Phil. plays very well but without any particular Mahler sound, and there isn't a great deal of personality in the phrasing. The Berlin Phil. is more distinctive, alert, and quite diverse in phrasing; the string section is sweeter as well. (The Amazon reviewer who says that the orchestra learned the Mahler Ninth under Bernstein has forgotten the excellent Barbirolli recording they made for EMI in 1964, admittedly 15 years earlier. The further claim that Karajan piggy-backed on Bernstein's tutelage is silly.) The Concertgebouw sounds very fine but not distinctive; the overall feeling is mellow and not extremely detailed, but they are certainly premiere in their own right. All three orchestras are, really, and only the sonics let down berlin and Amsterdam.

Interpretation: Considering that Bernstein was considered a Mahlerian firebrand, his NY Ninth struck me as a bit bland on its initial release, but now it sounds very musical and balanced. For anyone who wants Bernstein without excessive personality, emoitonal underlining, and over-dramatizing, this is the version for you. In Berlin the interpretation is more intense but controlled; the sense of a great orchestra giving its all is palpable. There are many new insights not heard in NY, and Bernstein has found a sense of mystery and dramatic suspense that must have kept hte audience on the edge of their seats. In Amsterdam this special ambience isn't present. Despite the long drawn-out finale, Bernstien is not at an expressive extreme here. He doesn't have a hysterical approach to this work in any of his three readings, but I'd say the concertgebouw performance comes in third, with Berlin first and nY second.

Overall, I feel drawn into Mahler's world with all three readings, yet that feeling is most intense in Berlin. In Amsterdam Bernstein sounds autumnal, a bit weary and resisgned, and in the last movement he holds on to every note of farewell for dear life. But one msut remember always that this is Bernstein--all three readings rise to a very high level of artistic expression, and if only the NY and Amsterdam readings existed, they would be in the front rank of Mahler Ninth recordings.

Bernstein - Mahler : The greatness of music.......2001-06-04

I have to say that I am a Lenny fan. His Mahler is unique, full of passion, fire-like passion. This one could n't be an exception. The NYPO make marvellous sounds and surprisingly enough the transfer is very good (the big problem with the NYPO cycle would be the sound). Having it in one CD it makes a top recommendation although if you are into Mahler or Bernstein the account with the BPO (2CDs) may give you something more (One and only time did Lenny conducted Karajan's Orchestra - you can imagine the result...)

Good Recording of Mahler's final Symphony.......2000-07-28

Never heard Mahler's 9th Symphony before? This is an excellent place to start. Bernstein's Mahler expertise really shines in this, his first of three recordings of the piece. What I like about this particular recording is the strait forward manner in which it is played, giving the listener a good feel for the score. Lenny, being his usual self adds a lot of his own personality to the performace, contributing to the experience. However, I personally feel that the Berlin Philharmonic's "sound" is better suited to this piece. Their playing has a certain glow to it that works well with Mahler's 9th. Bernstein's later recording with the BPO in the late 70s is a good example. In addition, there are two Herbert von Karajan recordings of Mahler's 9th with the Berliners which took place in the early 80s. The second version (also on DG costing $30+) is stunning. The two DG performances while very nice are also very costly, and if you've never heard the piece, this recording will serve you very well as an intro. Happy listening.

Bernstein Mahler Bernstein Mahler.......1999-12-21

I feel a huge connection with both of them, and this recording is one of the most beautiful coming together of these two characters. I must agree with my friend in the previous review that the recording of Bernstein conducting the Berlin Philharmonic is also one of the greats (better). Bernstein once said that the final moments of the first movement is the closest music has ever gotten to depicting death. He called it terrifying. (that's not true, he was talking about the last movement). I discovered, while following the score that two or three beats are skipped in the last bars of the (first) movement. Could this be because Bernstien was too scared? Get the Berlin one instead, but this was my first recording and it will always have a place in my heart. (revised July 2001)

A great recording filled with emotion and sensitivity........1999-10-16

This recording of Mahler's Ninth is supreme above most recordings of this work. It matches only another of Bernstein's recordings, that with the Berlin Philharmonic in the late 1970's, in quality. In fact the Berlin recording was an amazing event- that it actually happened! There was talk that the Bernstein and the orchestra's main conductor, Herbert von Karajan were in a bit of a feud. Their styles were extremely different and their attitudes toward each other were quite hostile, it seems. Of course, their terms with their respective orchestras were for the most part during a time of "coldness" between Germany and the United States. So it was a one-time event that Leonard Bernstein was invited to conduct the Berlin. Anyhow, getting back to the Mahler, it seems that this recording (that I'm actually supposed to be reviewing) with the New York Philharmonic was one of Bernstein's own favorites. Bernstein himself was one of the greatest conductors of all time; he was able to excite his orchestra into really playing from their hearts and keeping the large orchestral form structured so that the listener could make something out of it. All in all this is a great recording that should be taken very seriously.

Mahler: Symphony No. 9 / Zander, Philharmonia Orchestra

Average customer rating:

the commentary disc is incredible
Gigantic achievement ...
Too much exegesis. Where's the passion?
Zander's finest Mahler
A true contender

Mahler: Symphony No. 9 / Zander, Philharmonia Orchestra
Gustav Mahler , Benjamin Zander , and Philharmonia Orchestra
Manufacturer: Telarc
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

General | Classical | Styles | Music
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Mahler: Symphony No. 1; Lieder eines fahrenden Gesellen

ASIN: B00000I4E3
Release Date: 1999-02-23

Tracks:

Andante Comodo
II. Im Tempo Eines Gemachlichen Landlers. Etwas Tappisch Und Sehr Derb
III. Rondo-Burleske. Allegro Assai. Sehr Trotzig
IV. Molto Adagio

Tracks:

Sym No.9: First Mvmt - Zander commentary
Sym No.9: Second Mvmt - Zander commentary
Sym No.9: Third Mvmt - Zander commentary
Sym No.9: Fourth Mvmt - Zander commentary

Amazon.com

Mahler's Ninth is the epitome of his symphonic writing. It is in four movements: a 30-minute, discursive but highly polyphonic treatment of several extended melodies and striking rhythmic motives; a 15-minute dance-like movement with three distinct themes in different tempos; a riotous, 13-minute scherzo that pits energetic motives against each other fugally; and a 27-minute adagio with a gorgeous opening that returns several times, each more powerfully scored than the last, only to dissolve devastatingly at the end. Zander, long a cult figure on Boston's music scene, leads the fine English orchestra in a "live" performance that investigates the score's characteristics with particular attention to Mahler's expressive markings and dynamic indications. In the first three movements, these are problematic, and Zander's attentions prove fascinating. The finale demands less in the way of detail, but more in the way of visionary expressiveness. Here, Zander is less convincing. Excellent sound. --Paul Turok

Customer Reviews:

the commentary disc is incredible.......2007-01-26

So -- let's talk about the "extra" disc containing Zander's commentary on Mahler's 9th. This disc, with its intricate care and crafting (imagine how long it took the authors to splice it all together), is quite a gem. There's nothing like it in any of the other hundreds of classical CDs that I own. I've listened to Mahler's 9th symphony at least fifty times, but Zander's disc opened up new listening ideas for me. For someone else who is new to Mahler, this explanatory disc could mean the difference between enthusiastically entering the world of Mahler, versus merely dismissing Mahler as frustratingly difficult. The commentary disc even on its own is something very special, and I hope it shows lots and lots of people the pathway to one of the greatest composers of all time.

Gigantic achievement ..........2006-02-04

Just one remark about the quality of the recording as such, just to get that issue out of the way first: it could be 'better'. But on the other hand, really everything, from the piercing highs of the trumpets down to the deepest rumbling basses, all instruments and timbres can be made out clearly within a soundpicture that doesn't gloss over any of the pureness, starkness and often 'ugliness' of much of this music, the leanness of the recording making it sound maybe all the more poignant. And also: I have never heard such urgent and (especially the very last minutes of the final Adagio!) - rapt (rather than tragic) pianiss(issi)imos as with Mr. Benjamin Zander and the Philharmonia Orchestra here on this recording: truly spellbinding!
Anyway, the (not so great acoustics of the recording venue) have had of course no effect on the playing itself, which is simply revelatory (when compared with many other recordings). Maestro Benjamin Zander's genius causes the notes to sound with such a great sense of narrative and over-arching and dramatic insight, that the music really sings - cries, roars, laughs, whispers, ... - out to you with an intensity and directness it has rarely ever done before. (The 'lean' quality of the recording and the acoustics providing the advantage of forcing the listener to concentrate on all of the notes in all of their shattering and ground-shaking honesty - I believe that at least some part of the special quality of this recording is to be seen in this light.) Mr. Zander, together with the orchestra, manages to make the instruments speak with such intensity and with such eloquence as to utterly grip your attention from beginning to end. From what I gather (me being the lowliest and humblest of amateurs, not being able to read music), Mr. Zander, from virtually every bar, is wringing new insights and new details unheard of before. The playing is as searingly intense as can get, and I can only think of maybe Sir Simon Rattle's Vienna Philharmonic performance (on EMI) as coming close to Zander's complete involvement, but even then ... not quite I think. Mr. Zander's Mahler Ninth just sounds that little bit more 'pure Mahler' than Sir Simon Rattle's does (but which I love very much as well!)
This was my first acquaintance with Benjamin Zander and his unique way with Mahler. I initially bought this three-pairing of CD's because I was very curious about this conductor - of whom I had never heard before - telling about Mahler and his music. His narrative essay on (conducting) Mahler's Ninth Symphony was the first CD in the set I listened to, and I was hooked; and it perfectly set the stage for listening to his 'Mahler Nine'. But the true gem was of course the symphony itself. Zander's 'Mahler Nine' is now - along with his 'Mahler Five' - one of my favorite records. Really 'desert island discs'. I also like how the symphony has been split over two CD's in the way it has: Andante Comodo on disc 1, the rest on disc 2. The break that has been created is a technical necessity (the recording didn't fit on one disc, unfortunately), but it does sound logical having a little pause (now as long as one likes, when shifting CD's) between the long and deeply moving, half hour-experience of the Andante comodo. But after that, one can at least go on listening to part II, III, and IV without a pause, never having to break one's concentration ...
To conclude, the music-making sounds completely and utterly involved, utterly honest and utterly in touch with all of the complexities of these 'beautiful' but gut-wrenching notes, investing every single phrase and every single bar with the utmost of meaning, without ever losing a sense of the over-arching drama, completely gripping ones attention from first to last - not least the audience, of which one almost never hears one single sound ... They must have been truly spellbound ... holding their applause for over half a minute after the music has ended --- or has it really? --- (and the inclusion of which, on this CD, for me only heightens the sense of a marvellous occasion).
Utterly and unequivocally recommended!

Too much exegesis. Where's the passion?.......2005-10-17

In concert in Boston Zander seems to bring more fire and life to his Mahler than in these Telarc recordings from London. One review will practically do for all of them so far. Zander misses the wildness of Mhaler, his freedom and unleahsed emoiton, because there is so much attention to detail. Mahler doesn't live in the details. If you listen to the bonus CD that contains one of Zander's typically fine lectures, there is an astonishing amount of exegesis lavished on just the opening bars of the first movement.

It's too much mentality for the music to stand, and although Zander is veyr skilled at getting his musicians to stitch a filigree of detail that I guess is admirable on some level, there are half a dozen Mahler Ninths (Walter, Karajan, two Bernsteins, Barbirolli, Klemperer, the recent Abbado from Berlin) that take us into Mahler's world much more personally and intensely than this.

Zander's finest Mahler.......2004-05-28

This is one of the most spellbinding performances ever. The previous Mahler Ninths I own or heard; from Masur, Boulez, Bruno Walter, Barbirolli, Kubelik...they sound like "routine" Mahler Ninths. Only Leonard Bernstein's superb performances with Boston Symphony Orchestra and Vienna Philharmonic came close as my favorite Mahler Ninths. But Zander's Ninth is otherworldly, just like Horenstein's Mahler Eighth, another favorite recording of mine. Both went through the intricate details and demands of the Mahler himself and "conjure" what they interpret into sounds that went beyond music. It is how Mahler's vision of symphony that embraces the world should do, and very, very few works of Mahler today are capable of that. Routine Mahler performances are forgettable, extraordinary performances are to be treasured, and supernatural performances are unforgettable. Zander's Ninth belongs to the last category.

Maybe my praise went a bit too enthusiastic and akin to being a mindless fanboy, but Zander couldn't actually capture such essence in this recording later on. He has been too submissive into the details and intricate instructions of the composer while failed to find something beyond what is prescribed in the score, proved by recordings of his Sixth and latest Third symphonies.

The second and third movement suffers from the approach I mentioned above. Mind you, I have actually heard Zander conduct the Rondo-Burleske live and it spirals out of control like Bernstein/BPO and loved it, compared to this recording's Rondo-Burleske.

But for just the first and last movements and the lecture that I give this 3-CD set a full rating. No one captures the Andante Comodo as vividly as Zander does. His approach is close to Furtwangler's conducting that I admire the most, spontaneous organic musical approach rather than playing it safe by walking tightrope through the score. You can hear many different voices from individual instruments working like a chamber orchestra and violin ppp passages are stunning when the strings sound as if they're spectre in Barbican hall. Also, Zander focuses on three climaxes that gets louder after another (if not mistaken) and like Horenstein in Mahler Eighth, he accumulates the tension rather than forcing the musicians to do it.

The Adagio is a heart-welming farewell to the world that Mahler loved and also a hint to his everlasting yearning of his late daughter Anna. Again, he accumulates the tension for the biggest climax of the movement before gradually dies away in silence.

As for the lectures, they're fascinating and I am ever grateful to maestro Zander for his tips on conducting the first movement and it helps me to conduct at times. Some posters might question why he needs to yap like a religious evengelist and not let his music speak for itself. Simply because many listeners interpret the works differently. I suppose Mahler himself is a freak since he does "prescribe" his symphonies especially First and Third symphonies, although he retracted them later. Sometimes the listener is curious about the history of music and how it works. Pity Bernstein and Zander are one of the few conductors who educate their listeners today. Classical music should not be a pompous and elite field of interest. It is because of such attitude that today's classical music scene is in deterioration.

A true contender.......2004-01-02

Zander's version, no doubt in my mind, IS a good choice for this symphony. I like the rhythms he chooses, I like his accentuation (especially in the Laendler!). Actually, in all fairness, this is even a GREAT recording of the ninth. Warm, like Barbirolli's, and with Viennese control and conduct, like vK. For a live performance, to be a bit nit-picking, some the climaxes and excitement maybe missing, but hey, why bother with this? Finally, vK's '82 version (still my favorite though, and maybe Bernstein's) got a worthy rival that comes close. Enough said. Five stars for the first two movements. In the third, I think he could have been more allegro assai (very vivid, i.e. more "fire" and a bit faster). Still, good rhythm and a very lyrical and detailed approach. Four stars. The last movement is again, very lyrical and beautifully played by the Philharmonia. But here quite evidently, some "fire" or passion are really sacrificed. In the end, also that is matter of taste. Four stars.

So overall: What do we do? Four or five? Tough one. I stay with four. Five would have been fine with me, had the last movement been a bit more assertive. But after all, still a matter of taste.

Amazon.com

At about 89 minutes, Michael Tilson Thomas' Mahler Ninth is one of the slowest on disc (along with Bernstein's DG recording with the Vienna Philharmonic and Chailly's Philips account with the Concergebouw). Most performances are in the neighborhood of 80 minutes, usually yielding a tighter perspective. But this last and perhaps greatest of Mahler's symphonies can take a wide variety of interpretations--and MTT's is certainly worthy of consideration, even as a supplement to Chailly's greater dynamism, Bernstein's New York Philharmonic emotionalism (on Sony), or the detailed, cogent versions by Gielen, Ancerl, and Kubelik. Drawn from a series of 2004 live performances, MTT's cool, dry-eyed approach has many finely wrought aspects, not least of which are the exquisite chamber music-like close of the horn-soaked opening movement, the warm strings in the Adagio, and the structural clarity of the outer movements. The playing throughout is on the highest level, but some may find tension sometimes slackening, percussion tame, and middle movements short on the grotesqueries and irony typical of Mahler's mordant humor. This Ninth adheres to the high standards (performance and sonics) of MTT's San Francisco Mahler cycle. -- Dan Davis

Customer Reviews:

Mahler: Symphony #9.......2007-02-08

Superb recording from a sound perspective , The performance is top notch. The CD arrived in pristine condtion.

Mahler 9, MTT, SFS: A fine Humanist Reading in SuperAudio.......2005-10-09

Ethics means disclosure. My top Mahler 9 has for some years been the read (now on Allegro? maybe a treasure hunt?) by the late, great Wyn Morris & Symfonica of London. I also hear lasting worth, visionary intelligence, & nourishment in: Barbirolli-Berlin, Bertini-Cologne, Gielen-SRO-Baden-Baden, Giulini-Chicago, Horenstein-VSO&LSO, Klemperer, Maazel, Sanderling-Berlin (Yes.), Walter-early&late. To my ear, all the others are on/off, more or less. I realize this leaves some very big name conductors in the nowhere middles, but that is how I hear them. I might listen occasionally to one of these others on a radio pass, but I always end up with the nagging feeling that I missed out on something important that matters. I met everybody else, often played to high technical perfection and often with heady emotionalisms (or not); but Mahler himself just failed to really speak to me there. The worst 9th of all so far is sadly: Boulez-Chicago. That was an insult, to my heart. Listen with a score and your heart in hand, you may hear what is missing: almost everything except the notes.

Disclosure two: the system. I am playing this on five channels, plus woofer. Def Tech large speakers on five, Velodyne on the woof. Pioneer omni-player for SACD, feeding B&K Ref30 preamp, then Bryston power amps. Cables are A&R.

Now to SFS. The superaudio sound magically recreates a Davies Hall acoustic in multi-channel home simultude. Your whole room is energized into a subtly different, vividly alive sound field. Just as the right tuned subwoofer can seem to bring all the other speakers to higher presence, though they haven't changed physically from what they were before you added the subwoofer, just so, multi-channel superaudio. The SFS engineers are getting it very right in this series, so far. If you know Davies Hall at all, then you are there, now. But state of the art sound fields mean little if the message isn't there.

Given the folks listed on my welcome list, I wondered how MTT-SFS would fare by comparison. Happily, MTT-SFS get the Mahler message across intact. This read can be heard and cherished as a distinctive, fine effort. Add it to the keeper list. MTT-SFS give me Mahler as a Great Humanist. The fierce inner movements are not perhaps as sardonic or biting or bitter as some. They are more like flashes of dizzy Kabbalah symbols whose narratives are more like dance, or like traditional Jewish humor built on the paradoxes, absurdities, and transience of life and of human nature. I think I sense what seems on later reflection to be a deeply Jewish humanism and mysticism infusing all. This Mahler is warm, rich, savvy; narrating joy or sadness or nostalgia; dreaming, or mourning; or telling you folk tales.

This MTT read is like getting a hand-written letter from Mahler at Maiernigg, instead of a typed one on Court Opera stationary from Vienna. This visit from Mahler leaves me feeling that he has been through a lot in life, deeply felt and deeply suffered. Yet here MTT-SFS remind us that at this stage, Mahler has still yet life-affirmingly survived. He has looked death in the face many times - including the loss of his daughter, his own cardiac diagnosis, and maybe even the dark business of Alma's affair; but he is not a Straussian tone poem figure, wispily lingering in his last hours of life, already breathing his last, almost rising in tenuously bound spirit from his body. This Mahler knows he still can live, thought not eternally, except in his music; and somehow in those inklings of pure, essential, indelible Romantic Era spirit that evoked the Wordworthian phrase, Intimations of Immortality.

Maybe the tag word would be: Mensch. This reading simply has deep human heart, human heft.

Such humanity is not sloppiness, however. Taken from a series of live concerts, this performance holds amazingly well together as a viable whole. The point here is not mainly to walk on the ultimate heights of technical perfection, although all departments of the orchestra play well at their top form. This is not, say, Maazel-Vienna.

Flexible tempos with intellect and identity and character, balances within and between orchestral departments, the air of the venue, phrasings, illuminating inner and outer humanist touches of countless number - all are captured clear and whole in this disc. Flashy, splashy it is not; but you still might later think you can show off your system in a whole new dimension when you play it. Have you started thinking of your home system as first and foremost capable of being a Stradivarius-like musical instrument, yet? Somewhere, back there in the corners and hallways, I think I get glimpses of that old L. A. Citizen and musical humanist mentor, Bruno Walter. I imagine he is listening and beaming to hear just how MTT has finally turned out, in his own fifties.

Highly recommended, then. A good friend and a welcome acquaintance, good company with the other repeat welcome visitors mentioned at the start. One of only two available Mahler 9's in real, multi-channel superaudio. Someday, when the piggy bank finally times open again, I have promised myself to investigate the Barshai Mahler 9, given how well he has famously done with 5, and with his own completed version of 10. Other news: the MTT-SFS is near public release as the first superaudio Mahler 7.

very good, just short of fantastic.......2005-08-26

as with the previous recordings of Mahler symphonies by the SFSO and MTT, i really like this recording. the sound and playing is very good, as always with this orchestra. i give it 4 stars only because i am comparing it to the Royal Concertgebouw under Chailly recording, also an SACD. listening to this recording alone, i would say it is great, but in comparison to the Chailly recording, this disc is just missing something. it does not feel as dramatic, as explosive, as depressing as the Chailly recording. if for some reason you have a qualm with Chailly, than i would suggest this recording over all others.

I love it.......2005-04-29

Michael Tilson Thomas's Mahler cycle has, in my opinion, been somewhat inconsistent in quality from symphony to symphony. This is probably one of his best so far though - this is one of Mahler's best works and MTT shows just how much care and thought he put into making this rendition a moving, powerful, and personal account of this great symphony. This conductor is not one to follow what is in the score exactly as there are personal touches all over the place. Sometimes this has not been very effective in other Mahler performances by MTT, but I think in this case it comes off quite successfully. Tempos are chosen well (although I would have liked to have heard more accelerando at the end of the 3rd movement) and the orchestra's playing is generally top-notch. Although there are other great performances of this symphony available on disc, I personally have really fallen in love with this version and would highly recommend it.

Almost.......2005-04-13

Michael Tilson Thomas is a phenomenal music director. He inherited the San Francisco Symphony in 1995 and has, since then, turned the band, which was already quite accomplished under Herbert Blomstedt's tutelage, into a world class ensemble in the truest since. Despite its few (but glaring) weakness - bad flutes and violins that tend towards thinness - the San Francisco Symphony boasts consistently fine playing and musically intelligent contributions from the soloists - droll clarinets, boisterous bassoons, a horn section second to none, beautiful lower strings, and rich, big toned lower brass. Listening to this ensemble - an ensemble in the truest sense of the word - is always a joy. But orchestral perfection will only get you so far, and in this gorgeously played 9th, Thomas prevents this performance from becoming something really special. On the whole, it is still a wonderful 9th, but ultimately one that will not go down as one of the great recordings of this symphony.

Objectively looking at Michael Tilson Thomas's ongoing Mahler cycle has been increasingly difficult for me mainly because, the more familiar I become with Thomas's conducting style, the more egregious the apparent faults become. Thomas's penchant for rubato and mannered stylization started off as an interesting, if unnecessary, detail in the 6th and 1st symphonies. It became a bit more problematic in the 3rd. And finally, it became irritatingly obnoxious in the 7th and 5th symphonies. Thomas's insistence on smothering his interpretations with a thick coat of decorative frosting and fussy, mannered detail leaves a fluffy, decadent, at times even saccharine aftertaste which belies the often overwhelmingly high-level of musical nourishment these recordings offer. Indeed, nearly every other musical choice Thomas makes is a good one - it's just a shame he cannot discern between the good and bad.

Here, in this most beautiful 9th, Thomas finds one of his better balances between structure and mannerism. Indeed, despite being one of the slowest 9th on disc, this performance shows Thomas making intelligent, sensitive choices, judiciously accenting important musical lines while remaining (relatively) faithful to the letter of the score. While this performance certainly does not match Bernstein's physicality measure for measure nor do the inner movements, where Chailly (Decca) and Barenboim (Warner) succeed, ring out quite like they should, this is still a 9th that has more than enough to say to justify its deserved success.

The first movement is simply one of the most gorgeous performances ever to grace this symphony. Thomas clearly takes great pains to maintain pristine instrumental balance, which results in shimmering orchestral opulence. The climaxes - especially the pesante outburst - are prepared and executed flawlessly, the coda is appropriately dreamy, and the orchestra creates some really dark, murky sounds when necessary. Yet, Thomas purchases this sonic perfection at a price. Due to his insistence on micromanaging every aspect of the score, Thomas allows tension to plateau at several points throughout the movement. This is a small complaint, considering the tension never actually snags, but it prevents Mahler's great transitional sequences from taking shape. For example, Thomas's opening flows, moving towards the first climax with slow, but focused determination, growing in strength and power. But just compare his opening to Bernstein's opening with the Concertgebouw (DG) where the music does not simply flow, it unfolds in such a natural and logical way that it makes Thomas's opening seem somewhat stagnant. This is, of course, a matter of taste (and a small matter at that), but it is, none-the-less what stubbornly keeps Thomas's Mahler from reaching epic status - his inability to really let go and focus on the bigger picture.

The second and third movements suffer from the same problems that plague the first movement. Thomas shapes a wonderful waltz and transitions into the Landler magically, coaxing some beautiful sounds from the orchestra. He takes his time throughout the movement, but it never sounds slow or labored - Thomas masterfully proportions the various episodes within the movement as a whole, which sound effortlessly logical and satisfying in his hands. But the orchestra is polished to a level of perfection that robs the movement' of its basic idiomatic power. The waltz isn't quite sleazy enough, the winds don't squeal and whine as much as they should, and the percussion is stubbornly tame except in forte. Again, a matter of taste, as the movement is still appropriately characteristic, ironic, and energetic with some irresistible drive. The same holds true for the Rondo. Great ensemble perfection, perfectly proportioned outer sections, a particularly introspective central episode, and a pretty exciting closing section. Yet it never reaches the level of visceral physicality that (it seems) Thomas is trying to generate. He cannot let his orchestra make an ugly sound and therein lies the problem. This movement does not sound nasty enough, especially when compared to any number of other successful recordings, including Bernstein (DG), Chailly (Decca), Barenboim (Warner), or Gielen (Hanssler). If Thomas had just let his orchestra make a more appropriately idiomatic sound, this would have been a performance for the ages.

As expected, this is probably as lovely a finale as you are ever going to hear, one that features some pretty plush string playing, some chilling "dead" episodes, and a particularly effective, hushed close. Thomas not only balances the timing of this movement against the first (both hover around half an hour), but also contrasts the moods of these movements with great effect. This prevents the symphony from sounding top heavy or uneven and shows that Thomas does possess a great sense of musical line. A wonderful and fitting close to a performance that was, on the whole, quite wonderful.

When all is said and done, this is still a fabulous 9th, aided in no small part by the glorious sounds of the San Francisco Symphony, which really offers the last word in orchestral polish. For the most part, the winds have character, the strings are full-bodied, and the brass is uniformly spectacular. Overall, their music director is quite well versed in Mahler and there is, despite all the shortcomings, a profundity of incite here. It succeeds on so many levels, in fact, that it is so frustrating that this performance wasn't better. Still, this is a winning interpretation and certainly one of the high-points of Thomas's ongoing cycle with his orchestra. Recommended.

Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music (Collectors Edition) (Box Set)

Average customer rating:

Top 100 Masterpieces of Classical Music (Collectors Edition) (Box Set)

Manufacturer: Delta
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

Minuets | Ballets & Dances | Classical | Styles | Music

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General | Chamber Music | Classical | Styles | Music

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Similar Items:

Classical Moods
Classical Masterpieces of the Millennium [20 CD Set]
Masters of Classical Music (Box Set)

ASIN: B00008L428
Release Date: 2003-02-13

Average customer rating:

Greatly promising, but damaged.
Soulless or clear-eyed? This Mahler Ninth could be either
Not a first choice
A Very Fine Recording of the Challenging Mahler 9th
first choice

Mahler: Symphony No. 9

Manufacturer: Deutsche Grammophon
ProductGroup: Music
Binding: Audio CD

General | Symphonies | Classical | Styles | Music

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Deutsche Grammophon: Music | Specialty Stores | Music
Similar Items:

Mahler: Symphony No.7
Mahler: Symphony No.5
Mahler: Symphony No. 1
Mahler: Symphony No. 2 ("Resurrection")
Mahler: Symphonie No.6

ASIN: B00000613T
Release Date: 1998-03-17

Tracks:

Symphonie No.9: 1. Andante comodo
Symphonie No.9: 2. Im Tempo eines gemachlichen Landlers. Etwas tappisch und sehr derb
Symphonie No.9: 3. Rondo - Burleske. Allegro assai. Sehr trotzig
Symphonie No.9: 4. Adagio. Sehr langsam und noch zuruckhaltend

Customer Reviews:

Greatly promising, but damaged........2006-05-19

This recording is 3/4ths of an extraordinary performance of this symphony. The first movement is perhaps one of the finest ever recorded, which means many listeners will find it perfect. It breathes, it flows, it rages, it soothes, it's magnificient. The playing is as fine as can be.

The middle movements are also wonderfully shaped and performed, but then comes the finale, when it all falls apart, which is a shame. The first problem to solve in presenting this work is the linking, in weight and breadth of time, of the two main movements, 1 and 4, which are bookends in the complete sense: the work is contained and controlled by them. While they don't need equal weight, they need comparable weight, comparable seriousness and exploration. And here, after that wonderful beginning, Boulez rushes through the last movement, not just failing to answer the questions the first presents, but ignoring their very presence. While his fans may enjoy it, this is not successful Mahler.

Soulless or clear-eyed? This Mahler Ninth could be either.......2005-11-04

Boulez's basic instinct with Mahler is to be accurate and restrained. One can't say he goes by the letter of the score, for Mahler frequently asks the music to be wild, anguished, impassioned, and desolate. This Mahler Ninth is never those things. The CSO is a brash Mahler orchestra, especially under Solti in their Seventies recordings, but Boulez the anti-Solti has tamed them. The fortissimos here, though powerful, remain controlled, and almost the second they are over, Boulez pulls back on the tempo.

His refusal to let the music off its leash drives some listeners crazy--I find his Sixth and Seventh Sym. much too slack. The Ninth holds up better to a calm hand and a clear eye. By concentrating on orchestral blend and diminishing the Dionysiac frenzy, Boulez comes up with a reading which at the very lest is beautiful (although I did find the louder music a bit shrill as recorded).

Overall, Boulez takes 79 min., easily capable of fitting on a single CD. The final Adagio is probably your best touchstone. It flows at a moderate gait compared to Bernstein or Karajan: at 21 min. it falls well outside the usual range of 24-26 min. It is songful where others are sad or even desolate. The time boulez shaves off this movement goes into a slower than usual first movement.

I can't carp about this Ninth, and I can't love it, either. On its own terms, Boulez's Mahler shouldn't be condemned as clinical or x-rayed. But you can't help noticing the restraint he shows throughout--luckily, he allows the great climaxes to be volcanic in their civilized way.

Not a first choice.......2005-04-03

I once heard a lot of Mahler at the CSO conducted by Solti, Giulini, Tennstedt and others. While Boulez is a fine technician he lacks the "soul" in Mahler. The music is clean and well played. The CSO could hardly play it poorly. But the music lacks the depth that is written into the notes. I feel that Chailly, Giulini and the 1938 Walter recordings come closer to realizing how Mahler meant this music to be played. There is, of corse, the three Bernstein readings. I grew up with the NYP recording. I have to dismiss the DG recording...too indulgent. Yet, the Berlin recording he did is quite good. If you can tolerate the poor sound the old Walter reading is my first choice followed by Chailly's wonderful new recording.

A Very Fine Recording of the Challenging Mahler 9th.......2005-01-21

The symphonies and song cycles of Gustav Mahler have become a staple of every orchestra's repertoire since the passionate fervor of Leonard Bernstein's gradual release of the entire cycle in the 1960s. Granted great conductors such as Bruno Walter, Otto Klemperer et al were generous in leaving behind the legacy of Mahler's particular brand of composing. But it was Bernstein's crusade that established Mahler as a voice not to be ignored. Now the recordings of Mahler works gain more attention than most other composers each year as the public appetite for these masterworks proliferates.

Almost everyone knows the 1st, 2nd (Resurrection), 3rd, 4th - all laced with musical quotations from his songs and folk music -the devastatingly beautiful Adagio from the 5th, and more and more the 6th as it finds increasing performances. The 'tough' symphonies such as the 7th, 8th and especially the 9th now are finding at least enough exposure via recordings that they seem the next logical step toward the standard orchestral season.

This performance of the demanding, complex, extraordinarily difficult 9th symphony is an exciting examination of the complexities of the work. Pierre Boulez conducts the Chicago Symphony Orchestra (one could almost stop there: with forces such as these the result is bound for glory!) in a well-engineered CD. Boulez continues to unravel the puzzles of orchestration that have befuddled many a fine conductor, especially in the first movement and his control over the balance of the orchestral voices is among the finest recorded. The CSO plays its heart out for him in the mighty climaxes and becomes hauntingly close to inaudible in the opening and closing movements.

What is missing for this listener is the wry tongue-in-cheek humor of the second movement that balances the symphony's preoccupation with death and dying, and the idiosyncratic weeping passion of Mahler's late years. Perhaps this is due to the studio ambience and method of playing for retakes. Having just experienced a wondrous, soulful, yet kaleidoscopically multifaceted Mahler 9th with Michael Tilson Thomas on tour with the San Francisco Symphony in Disney Hall in Los Angeles (one hopes and expects that MTT will release the 9th as the next installment in his own highly regarded Mahler cycle), it IS possible for all the angst and all the survey of Mahler's response to his life's waning to be respected and discovered.

Yet for all that, Boulez and the CSO give a dazzlingly fine version, one that opens most of the windows and respects Mahler's scoring to guide the long work to its own end. For that we should all be grateful. Perhaps the mind and heart will eventually meet - probably with the MTT recording to come. Grady Harp, January 2005

first choice.......2004-04-25

Let's go to the point:this one and Abbado 's 1999 Berlin concerto(released in 2002),are both must have,for the very unique quality they own.Actually, i consider them a complemented-relationed set.
Boulez's version is the perfect 'sounding score' (or call it 'score text book')you can ever find in the market.I can hear you laughing, but do you think it's easy to do a recording to make you feel : yes, the tempi is just right, the structure just clear, phrasing just natural,the dynamic-range,logic-accent,the expression,all the details,inner-voices etc..shortly: evey thing is just right in this recording.(VERY probaly: in every recording of Boulez's Mahler cycle)Let the music do the talking, when every thing is rightly in its place, the music of Mahler will shine by itself. Boulez seemas totally unforced,and he is truelly a Maestro.
weakness: the playing is not that good. Don't take me wrong, the playing is very fine,proffesional, and you can hear all those half-million valued instruments thanks to cristal clean 4D recording.
After learning the sounding score of this symphony,you may want to experience it in live. Just try Abbado's last one. The choice of tempi in first movement is little fast,it could even sound a little 'confused',don't worry,you will eventually find out that Abbado's choice is more than reasonable,(i mean: compare to the Boulez's to find out what should be the 'correct structrue',how the climatix should be distributed in sections, etc.) very suitble for Berliners' playing.oh,the Berliner's playing,is, more than beyond beautiful,more than breathtaking...(now you know why i cant enjoy the Chicago's playing) I own 400 classical recordings, no one comes nearly close to this one.
So, buy this one for the natural power of the muisc from Mahler,and later go to Abbado for what the power of the music could be transformed to power of playing.

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