Revisiting this topic. In my quest for a great sounding SACD of the Mahler 2nd, I have listened to several since we last discussed this. I agree with Todd that the Mehta IPO Mahler 2 on DVD-Audio has the most impressive organ ever (I know- it's not all about the organ).
I bought the Zinman disc, but on first hearing, I'm not blown away. In all fairness, i did not give it my full attention, but only noted certain favorite moments. A couple of observations: the tympani in the third movement simply sound weird. It's like it has too much reverb. The opening "BAH-Dum" sounds more like "Bah-Oom". The reverb from the first thwack overshadows the second. The tympani have that sound throughout the movement.
In the finale, I can hear the organ, but it was not overwhelming. I guess I like enough organ so that someone who has never heard the piece can say "hey, there's an organ in there!". One thing that was unusual, but rather impressive was that the soprano (and maybe the mezzo) was out front of the chorus on all the singing of the finale from the organ onward. I think in most recordings, the soloists simply blend into the chorus at that point, but Zinman had his soprano front and center sort of leading the chorus. As the high notes are extremely high here, it heightens it to have the sprano give that extra push, but I am not sure it is what Mahler intended. Abravanel's finale is done this way, with Beverly Sills very much out front for the finale.
I also picked up the Gilbert Kaplan VPO performance on SACD. We had a (desperately needed) rainstorm in Houston last night which knocked out my DiSH reception, so my wife and I listened to the entirety of the Kaplan recording. I was pretty impressed. I've always dismissed Kaplan as a non-conductor, and figured his performances would be mere imitations, but I decided to get over it and give it a listen. I thought he handled the work quite admirably. Sonically, the SACD was IMO quite impressive. The basses in the first movement are extraordinarily rich-sounding. In fact, it was a good a first movement as I have ever heard. I found myself wondering if I was noticing new sounds because of the excellent recording or because of the "new definitive edition" that Kaplan used. The second movement was also beautifully done. For some reason, the 3rd movement sort of left me cold. It seemed to miss that biting sardonic, snarling quality it needed. I liked the Urlicht. Even though the soloist did indeed have a lot of vibrato, I thought the tone of her voice was nice and enjoyed it anyway.
The finale was well done. The SACD utilised the rear channel speakers for the offstage band for the"Grosse Appel". Most SACDs seldom make use of the rear surrounds, other than for a sort of echo (Donald Runnicles' excellent SACD of Carmina Burana also throws a few sounds into the rear speakers). This use of the surrounds added to the distant quality of the band. The soloists were good for the most part. The soprano was nice on the sections where she "floats" above the chorus, though her half of the "O glaube" verse was just a tad forced. The organ was fairly impressive. On its entrance, at "Auferste'n, ja auferste'n", it's a great low "whoom" sound. But what was interesting, is that as the finale progresses, you can hear the high end of the organ coming out of the surrounds. I know Kaplan dubbed the organ later, but it was pretty well done.
I also have the HD DVD of the Boulez live Mahler 2nd. The video is like you are there, as it is in high-def. Performance-wise, I enjoyed it immensely. Boulez looked as if he might faint before it was over, but he hung in there, conducting with no baton. His tempos were the way I like them, and he slowed down for the finale, rather the way Bernstein or Haitink do.The Berlin Staatskapelle is fast becoming one of the world's great orchestras. Both soloists were excellent. Diana Damrau was close to ideal in the soprano part (I know much is made of the alto in this piece, but a heavy or forced soprano is more of a deal-breaker for me than the organ). The audio is extraordinary throughout, with a great dynamic range. However, I have to say, the organ was a let-down. If this is an improvement over Boulez' studio recording, then it must have had a wimpy organ indeed. During the Grosse Appel passages, the camera leaves the orchestra and uses the organ pipes for the visual. I was thinking, after hearing the great dynamic range up to that point, that the organ was going to be tremendous. Unfortunately, it was just OK. Again, I could discern it, and it was not a deal breaker, but I just would have preferred more in a high definition multi-channel recording.
