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General Category => Gustav Mahler and Related Discussions => Topic started by: Roland Flessner on March 31, 2019, 12:59:48 AM
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The CSO has been on strike for a couple weeks, items of contention being salary and the management's wish to switch from a defined benefit (pension) retirement plan to a defined contribution (401K-style) plan. The sides are far apart and a prompt resolution seems unlikely. Maestro Muti is supporting the musicians and joined them on the picket line.
In the meantime, the musicians are giving free concerts, mostly chamber music, at several alternative venues.
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Sometimes these things take quite a while to work out. It's the arts, I know, but it's also a biz.
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The upcoming CSO performances of M1 were canceled, bummer. Instead I will attend M9 on 26 April from the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra under Edo de Waart. I don’t know what his Mahler sounds like, so this should be interesting.
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Edo de Waart recorded all the Mahler symphonies with the Netherlands Radio Philharmonic for RCA back in the 1990s. Sadly they were available on CD for just a short time before going out of print. Fortunately I grabbed a set. They're all impressive performances; you could be in for a real treat.
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I wrote a glowing review of that set for a In Tune magazine, a Japanese publication. De Waart is part of the reason why I have not been receptive to much of MTT's recorded cycle in S.F. Many of the performances that De Waart gave in S.F. were actually better - in some cases, far better.
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I heard a very fine M3 over the radio that was De Waart's last concert as music director of the MSO. It was good enough to my ears that I considered trying to cajole one of my friends into capturing the streaming broadcast somehow. If money and distance weren't an issue, I'd consider driving up there from St. Louis. (Donald Runnicles led the Ninth here about a month ago. I should've gone, but I drive for Uber as a second job, and Saturdays are prime driving time. I did get to hear some of it over the radio live, and it was excellent. I also used the TuneIn app to record it on my iPad at home. Obviously, it was compressed, but still managed to convey a great performance.)
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I saw De Waart conduct the Mahler 7 with the Minnesota Orchestra in the mid-1990's. A great experience!
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For those interested, I saw the opening performance of De Waart conducting M9 with the Milwaukee Symphony Orchestra last night. Needless to say based on the great things people have said, I was thoroughly impressed.
A few points:
De Waart’s tempi were generally on the broader side; I didn’t time anything but it felt expansive yet it didn’t drag in the slow movements. His moderate tempo with the Rondo-Burleske felt a little slow, but it allowed the MSO to play with impressive virtuosity.
The MSO’s horn section is surprisingly good. They were giving Pittsburgh a run for their money last night.
Chimes were used in the first movement instead of metal plates, thank goodness.
The orchestra also played with exceptional virtuosity and clarity. Last year I saw M5 with the CSO/Manfred Honeck and M3 with the CSO/Andres Orozco-Estrada and last night the MSO outplayed the CSO on both accounts. Granted, M5 and M3 are probably more difficult to perform for the orchestra, but still. Bravo, Milwaukee.
There was only a brief silence as the final chord died away (probably 20-30 seconds), but I believe De Waart’s interpretation of the Ninth last night was one of beauty and transcendence rather than despair and fear, and the audience was receptive of the former philosophy.
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Thank you for that report, it's much appreciated. I'm glad you enjoyed it.
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I like the Chicago Symphony for most of the analog era, specifically Reiner and Martinon. The Gould/Stokowski/Ozawa recordings from around or after Martinon are superb to me, too. However, while I like several of Solti's early analog recordings with them; as time went on, I found their brass to be too overwhelming. I'm an amateur trumpet and euphonium player, but it's too much. Too muscular, with very little beauty. Unlike other orchestras, where I could identify the fine playing of certain principal players, Chicago just seemed like an anonymous, colorless glob. It seems to be partly Solti's doing...even after his departure. And obviously the hall.
I'd love to hear them under more acoustically favorable circumstances, but I just don't rank them as highly as other ensembles.