Bychkov/NYPO M6th file for download

[John Kim]

You can buy the Bychkov/NYPO M6th file here:

https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8430916--mahler-symphony-no-6

John

[ChrisH]

Thanks for posting this, John. Grabbed this yesterday afternoon.

A couple of things really stood out for me in this recording. First would be the low end of the orchestra. More than any other Mahler work, the 6th requires a large, stable cushion of sound for the rest of the orchestra to ride upon. Alan Baer on Tuba plays like a god on the recording, as do the basses, cellos, low horns, and trombones. They produce a huge, base of core sound that really propels the rest of the orchestra through the entire work.

Excellent cow bells, and he pays attention to Mahlers instructions on the distance. These aren't quite Zinmanns bells from Zurich, which are my favorites, but they are layered so well in orchestra, it works in spades. First hammer was blow was excellent, the 2nd lacked a little. The engineers also capture that harp, and celestes very well.

In the end, Bychkov gives a real 'classical' feel to this symphony. It's weighty, heavy, and very dark, but never obfuscates what's going on in the interior of the orchestra. Clean lines and textures abound. Bychkov also a gets very rustic middle-Europe sound from the NY Phil. This is easily one of my favorite M6's after a listen. Nothing crazy, good choices of tempos, and he really seems to understand this work. Cogent from start to finish. This must have been something to hear live.

This might also be the last recording with principle horn, Phil Myers, too. He was in excellent form with some astonishing high, soft playing. Really hard, demanding stuff for the horn. He knocked it out of the park.

[John Kim]

Bychkov certainly saved the best for the last. This Finale clocking at slightly over 31 min. emerges as a nonstop display of one orchestral bravura after another, of one emotional wallop after another, perfectified by the conductor's uncanny sense of flow and architecture. The two hammer blows are about the best I've ever heard. Sharp but not metallic, powerful and fittingly reverberant.

John

[barryguerrero]

I would say the Vienna performance I saw was similar in the finale. I remember the scherzo being just a wee bit perkier - perhaps a carry over from Boulez. I liked it even more than this N.Y. one.