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The Mäkelä Shostakovich 10 was superb last night, nIcely paced, intense without being overwrought, with first-class execution by the orchestra all around, and stellar work by the percussion. I'd consider myself lucky to hear another live performance of it as good. I'm not quite as familiar with the Cello Concerto #1 that preceded it, but that was just as fine. (Soloist was Sol Gabetta, who hails from Argentina.)
In the late-'90s remodel, an unsightly acoustic reflector was added above the stage. (Musicians call it The Spaceship.) It's a double-edged sword: it brought clearer sound to the farther reaches of the hall, but it flattens dynamic contrast and can make the woodwinds sound shrill. Before that, sound was really murky in the Upper Balcony where I usually sit. Although it's more tolerable now, once the music gets to forte or louder, the string tone disappears. Before The Spaceship landed, I would sit in the Gallery, the top balcony, but now the sound is way too harsh up there. Tinkering with this hall is merely rearranging deck chairs on the Titanic, or if you prefer a different metaphor, you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear.
Several years ago, I paid beaucoup bucks to hear Thielemann and Staatskapelle Dresden. I was on the main floor in an area with standing waves and the sound was just a mess.
Barry, I agree that the Solti M7 is his best CSO Mahler recording up until the wheels come off the bus in the finale. It's the only CD in the series that I've kept. While he can whip up a big noise, I don't think he had much feel for Mahler's counterpoint, which is really the heart of the music.
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