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General Category => Gustav Mahler and Related Discussions => Topic started by: akiralx on December 05, 2008, 10:17:55 AM
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I've just reviewed Fabio Luisi's live SACD set of M2:
http://www.sa-cd.net/showreviews/4026#5975
He has actually recorded M6 and M4 as well, on CD.
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Isn't he the fellow who's conducting and recording with the Staatskapelle Dresden these days? If so, I'd like to hear more Mahler from there.
Barry
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Isn't he the fellow who's conducting and recording with the Staatskapelle Dresden these days? If so, I'd like to hear more Mahler from there.
Barry
Yep, I've got his Bruckner 9 and Alpine Symphony from Dresden on SACD, both are superb.
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I am going to listen Luisi and the VSO on Sunday, with Grimaud. There i will see and hear in flesh if he is great or what. I still believe that the real evaluation of a performer must be in action and not throught recordings
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I once attended a performance of "Don Carlo" at the Berlin State Opera with him conducting which was superb. On the other hand, I heard him and the Dresden Staatskapelle in concert with "An Alpine Symphony" and that was a pretty dismal evening - sloppy orchestral playing and a conductor whose non-involvement with the music was all too obvious. The fine state of the orchestra on their "Alpine Symphony" recording seems to suggest that I either caught them on an off-night or the limitless possibilities of modern engineering. ... ???
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I still believe that the real evaluation of a performer must be in action and not throught recordings
I fully agree with you: a bad conductor can hardly cheat in a concert.
I think that Luisi is interesting enough as a conductor; he is the titular in Dresden and Vienna (Symphony). I have attended 3 concerts conducted by him, all of them quite exciting. A dull and languid performance of the Siegfried-Idylle was not a good omen... However, Ein Heldenleben was magnificent, plenty of glitter, mostly because the orchestra (Staatskapelle Dresden) is really unbeatable in the Strauss repertoire; but the musicians were ruled with firm hand that night. Then I heard a very stylish M1, with the Dresden as well: that was the very first time I heard the double-bass solo, in the beginning of the 3rd movement, played by the full section of the double-basses... practice that seems to be followed by other conductors nowadays, but whose reason I ignore.. I remember it lacked a bit of forcefulness in some passages of the 4th movement, but anyway it was in general a quite noticeable performance of Mahler, very well "explained" and Mahler tasted...
Finally I saw him conduct a beautiful program with Schubert 8th and 9th symphonies, with the Vienna Symphony: the 8th was correct, not too much atmospheric, but good; the 9th was splendid: transparent, light, even nervous in some passages, it reminded me of the old Schuricht performance with the SDR.
In short I think he deserves to attend his concerts or to listen his recordings with interest.