Gielen's first recording of M9th with SWF on Intercord

[John Kim]

I've been listening to Michael Gielen's first recording of M9th with his orchestra, SWF-Sinfonieorchester Baden-Baden, that was released on Intercord label in 1991. I recall my lukewarm reaction when I first heard the recording but on this revisit it grows on me. If nothing else, the orchestra plays beautifully and it is recorded in extremely transparent, crystal clear sound that is not wanting warmth and ambiance. All the instruments are clearly audible no matter how softly they are played, while they never sound as clinical or cold as we might expect from this kind of sound. As for Gielen's first-at-go with the symphony, there are a few strange, quirky touches that I cannot quite buy, e.g., some juggling of tempo and weird balances in the brass in the opening movt., but overall he presents the piece with confidence and a good shape. The two inner movts. come off best in this reading. I wish he had take the finale a bit longer (clocking in 22 min. here) but that could be his way of interpreting the movt.

I also heard Gielen's second recording with the same orchestra available on Hanssler label. Although the new version has a few improvements such as audible tam tam and better tempo relationships, I cannot say I prefer it to the earlier recording; for one thing, the orchestra was not in top form on the day of the live concert (listen to the shaky trumpet in the second climax of I.). The sound, without much depth and clarity, wasn't all that great either.

All in all, Gielen's first M9th is worth seeking for the sheer brilliance of the orchestra and the sound quality.

Next is Gielen's M7th....

John,

[Russ Smiley]

I'll offer that I generally liked the performance, fitting on a single disk, but ultimately I felt the Adagio moved too hastily in places and overall.

I've been listening to the Bernstein 1965 NYPO recording, also on a single disc.  I prefer the overall pacing (though some of the instrumental details and sound aren't ideal) and welcome the extra minute and a half in the final movement.

[John Kim]

I've been listening to the Bernstain 1965 NYPO recording, also on a single disc.  I prefer the overall pacing (though some of the instrumental details and sound aren't ideal) and welcome the extra minute and a half in the final movement.

I'll tell you, when it comes to Lenny's NYPO M9th, the very first CD release on CBS (coupled with M7th on 3 discs) sounds best.

The Japanese SACD (and the latest Sony remastering) comes close but it lacks the dynamic range of the CBS release.

John,

[John Kim]

Just listened to Gielen's M7th in a long, long time. An extraordinarily cogent reading with fabulous playing all around in great sound, Gielen delves deeply into the classical structure of the music but also exhibits his penchant for modern expressions, particularly in the various instrumental details. It may not replace Lenny's classic reading on Sony and even lack certain romanticism that the score calls for, but it is music making of a pure la carte at the highest level imaginable.

Wonderful, truly wonderful.

John,

[Michael]

I just am in the process of listening to Gielen's second M9.  I haven't heard the first one, and I would like to.  This second recording lacks in sonics--as if the microphones are turned at weird angles.  Overall, I thought the inner movements were slower than most.  He makes some weird moves in the Finale, particularly with the rising and falling dynamic levels in the strings--never heard that before.  I think he rushes some passages--the part where the horn has the melody for the second time--but I didn't go in thinking this would be a Bernstein-style performance.
I wanted to hear the most detached M9 and compare it to the most emotional, and then compare that to the Rattle...and see where I fall in terms of personal prefferences.

[barry guerrero]

I don't mean to be a party-poop, but both Gielen's M5 and M9 struck me as "rushed" afterthoughts to the rest of his cycle for Haenssler. They came out close to each other, after a relatively long hiatus (the 8th came before these two).

His Haensser M9 is yet another one where the first movement is absolutely fabulous - with tons of attention of lavished on to the many details in the score - but the rest of symphony sounds totally anticlimatic afterwards. It's one of those performances that makes me wish that Mahler had left us with just the first movement, and then spent his remaining time on earth completing his 10th symphony instead.

His Haenssler M5 struck me as little more than ordinary. For a great Mahler 5 that comes from an all-German source (however that matters), I would much rather own the Markus Stenz/Gurzenich Orch. one on Oehms, or just keep my trusty old Karajan.

[John Kim]

What disappoints me in Gielen's M9th (the second recording) is the shallow sound stage that lacks depth and details. The orchestra also sounds as if more rehearsal would have been needed. There are spots in I. e.g., the second climax where the ensemble is shaky and not well disciplined. In this sense, I agree with Barry that this version of M9th sounds like an afterthought.

Gielen's first go at the symphony on Interchord has far better sound, although his dealing with the structure of the symphony was less convincing.

John,