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General Category => Gustav Mahler and Related Discussions => Topic started by: barryguerrero on December 31, 2019, 07:50:52 AM
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"Shos,ty the snow man!" . . . no? . . . I'm sorry. Anybody know what the team of Andris Nelsons and DG are releasing next?
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I see that we're still in the holiday spirit, haha! Cheers to a new decade!
Anyway... I had been following Nelsons' performance schedule on his website until recently. It shows his entire calendar on there, so that’s pretty cool. I think Bruckner 5 is the next release in that cycle because I know it's already recorded. They just did the 8th in the past couple months, and they either JUST did 1 and 2 or are about to. I forget, it’s been a while since I’ve looked. As for the Shosty cycle I think 1–3 are due out pretty soon, and I think they recently did Babi-Yar. I'm forgetting if they've already recorded 12 and 14, and if I'm remembering correctly they are doing 15 soon.
I also think a Mahler cycle might be happening soon with Boston. They've done a M5 in the past year, they have that allegedly splendid M2 already on video release, they did a M4 about a month or two ago. They also have a M3 and M1 they performed in the 2017–18 season. Those recordings probably exist somewhere. There's also apparently a live 2015 M6 recording available on Google Music or something: https://www.bso.org/brands/bso/media/classical-live.aspx/MobileContentPage
My guess is Nelsons is either testing the waters with Boston for a Mahler cycle or they might even just release these older recordings. I'm sure as he wraps up this Shostakovich cycle in the next year or two he will move onto his next big symphonic project. I'd rather he wait another 10 or 20 years to record a fully mature Mahler cycle, but Boston is overdue for some new Mahler recordings especially because of how great they sound now with their Shostakovich. Not that that directly translates to great Mahler, but maybe you see my point.
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Thank you, Eric. A Bruckner 5 with those people could be really good. Bruckner 8 is always tricky.
I wouldn't be too sure about the Mahler. If Google Music has taken one of them, I would a bet that they take the whole cycle. I can't imagine DG would be anxious to jump into a whole 'nother Mahler cycle, but you never know. I certainly agree about the quality of the BSO.
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So it’s finally happening. Bruckner 2 and 8, with Wagner’s Meistersinger prelude.
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8862910--bruckner-symphonies-nos-8-2-wagner-meistersinger-prelude
Feb. 5, 2021
This leaves just 1 and 5 to be paired together someday.
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I think I'd rather have his 1 and 5. As for B8, I still haven't received a CD yet for the Thielemann/V.P.O. B8 that I ordered two months ago.
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Bruckner 2 may be my favourite - if you don't know it I highly recommend the inexpensive Arte Nova recording with Wakasugi conducting the Saarbrucken Radio SO.
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Here is an interesting read on the recording process of the BSO Shosty recordings:
https://www.wbur.org/artery/2016/04/22/bso-recordings
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A 15th with the BSO could be really good. I don't really care about S12, 13 or 14 (13 is OK). I know I should, but I just don't. I think the 15th was a huge breakthrough. I certainly don't care about either S2 or S3 either. It's funny they haven't addressed S4 yet. It's so typical of DG these days to just give up.
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Oddly enough, just last night I listened to S2&3. Now, I'm not too crazy about a lot of S's works, but I felt that these 2 symphonies are very interesting as precursors to his later stuff. His experimentation was very interesting in how he used the percussion and brass, and even the nice clarinet trio in the 3rd. He seems to go much farther harmonically with these, too. However, this may not be the case as I'm not very fluent in theory. They sound more like Berg, than S.
I was listening to Kitajenko with Gurzenich.
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Finally we get to hear more from Nelsons/Boston in Shostakovich. 1, 14, 15, and the chamber symphony all in one release coming out late June.
https://www.prestomusic.com/classical/products/8908331--shostakovich-symphonies-nos-1-14-15-chamber-symphony
This makes me think the final release—whenever that will be—could end up being 2, 3, 12, and 13 as a double CD.
2, 3, AND 12 altogether? That’s bold.
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Thanks for the update. I thought their release of S6/S7 was terrific. I already have several really good recordings of S15. I don't care much for S14, even though I know I should.
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It's funny, I'm the same way. Some say S14 is his Das Lied, but I just can't get into it. I appreciate it for what it is though. I'm the same way with the famous Babi Yar; I know it's good but it just doesn't appeal to me.
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I like the big tam-tam smashes in "Babi Yar", but I'm not crazy about the entire work either. It's weird that I'm like this, because Shostakovich was my first musical hero when I was young. I knew ALL the Shosty symphonies before I ever heard one note of Mahler.
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That's interesting. Do you have any favorite Shosty symphonies? Mine are 4, 6, 8, and 15.
I got into Shostakovich BECAUSE of Mahler. While researching Mahler near the beginning of my exposure to his music, I stumbled upon DH's Mahler book and then his Shostakovich book, which then helped me really understand those works. I learn a work best by first understanding its structure, and Hurwitz does that really well in his listener guides.
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I would add S7 and S10 to your list, in terms of my favorites. On a second tier would be 1,5,9, 11 and 13. On a third level would be 2,3,12 and 14.
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Funnily enough, it's been hard for me to get into 7 due to it's length, but it's the duration of an average Mahler symphony. Maybe time just passes by quicker with Mahler.
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L.O.L.!
At the very end of S7, the timpani - doubled with the bass drum - pound out the same lick that the celeste has at the end of "In diesem Wetter" (Kindertotenlieder).
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Wait, Das Lied or Kindertotenlieder? I just listened through all of Mahler’s celesta parts to find it.
I do like the first movement of S7 a LOT. Reminds me of Bolero on steroids.
Also the timpani solo at the end of S10 is incredible; DSCH motif! Favorite recordings? Mine is V. Petrenko for pretty much all of the symphonies, but 10 especially.
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Sorry, I meant "KTL" - the end of "Im diesem Wetter". My bad, and I'll fix my post.
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That's a fascinating connection, and I wonder if it was intentional. I know Shosty was fond of Mahler's music.
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I think more than just fond. According to the Volkov book, Shostakovich, at a young age, had pretty much memorized all of Mahler's output. Clearly the 4th symphony is as much an homage to Mahler, as it is Shosty's first "tombstone for the Russian people" (Volkov, again).
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Barry, please note that S4 and S11 were released as a two-disc set. I borrowed a copy from the library.
A 15th with the BSO could be really good. I don't really care about S12, 13 or 14 (13 is OK). I know I should, but I just don't. I think the 15th was a huge breakthrough. I certainly don't care about either S2 or S3 either. It's funny they haven't addressed S4 yet. It's so typical of DG these days to just give up.
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Yes, I had forgotten that fact at the time I wrote that. I had that two-disc set! I chose to keep the Yannhick Nezet-Seguin one instead, which comes in a box of a bunch of recordings he made in Rotterdam. It's a very good box! N-S.'s radio broadcast of S4 with Philadelphia is absolutely out of this world.
I'm not that crazy about S11, but do like it more than S12 - S14.
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S4 really is a great work, despite its length and structural weaknesses. Chung/Philadelphia on DG, which I recently acquired, is quite good as an "objective" approach. Previn/CSO, which didn't impress me on previous hearings, is outstanding.
Whenever I hear S12, I have the same reaction: I don't need to hear this again for a long time. It seems many listeners put S11 in the same category, but in recent years its star seems to have risen, including with me. I like Bychkov/BPO, one of few BPO recordings where the tamtam sounds really respectable.
Speaking of Previn/CSO, his S4 and S5 were recorded at Medinah Temple; many CSO recordings were made there because the record companies found Orchestra Hall unsatisfactory after the 1967 remodel. The CSO recorded there over the course of three decades, until the mid-'90s. As it happens, I just finished a contract job that had me walking by the building frequently on my way to work. It is incredibly beautiful. It had fallen into disrepair, but was extensively remodeled and served as the site of a Bloomingdale's Home store until last year. Now, it is a "flagship retail opportunity."
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. . . which means that it will probably sit vacant for quite a bit longer, possibly falling into an even deep state of disrepair. Such a pity. It's probably going to be a good while before the CSO can record anything large again. They'll also need to solve their Music Director situation at some point, as Muti just isn't the answer. He's becoming more irascible by the moment, and he might even get himself banned from La Scala.
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The building is now well maintained and, we hope, will take on a new purpose soon. You can find a lot of info at http://medinahtemple.com/
Orchestral studio recordings now being rare in the US, future CSO releases will probably be live performances from Orchestra Hall, or possibly somewhere on tour. I don't think they ever performed live at Medinah, but I heard a top-level community orchestra there. Performance and acoustics left little to be desired.
I was skeptical about Muti when he was hired, but the few performances I've heard him lead have been excellent. For example, I wouldn't have imagined that he would connect with Haydn, but a performance of the "Clock" symphony (101), was outstanding. He also conducted a terrific "Feste Romane." He's been criticized for overly stodgy programming, but the CSO has long ghettoized contemporary music with the MusicNOW series across the street at the Harris Theater in Millennium Park. It's a smaller venue, good for ensembles up to medium size, but acoustics are excellent.
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Yes, it's not surprising that Muti did "Roman Festivals" and the Haydn "Clock" symphony really well. And don't get me wrong; I think his actual conducting abilities are very good. It's just that his 'people skills' seem to be declining rather rapidly, from everything I'm hearing.
I'm glad to read that Medinah Temple won't be falling into disrepair. I'll read the article.