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Mahler 8 with Y. Sado/Vienna Tonkunstler Orch.: My goodness, what sound quality! This is by far the best sounding Mahler 8 I've encountered. That's a good thing, because this a very, very broad performance. But as a result, the 'chamber music' like passages of Part II sound amazing. The children's chorus sounds more forward that it usually does (a good thing!), and the soft sounding harps that the Viennese use are actually pretty audible. Two passages that really, really stand out: the ending to Part 1 (what a sound!), and the entire, penultimate "Blicket auf" section of Part II. Even on plain-old Spotify, if you the turn the volume up, the sound quality and amplitude are just amazing. I'm not that crazy about Sado's very protracted tempo throughout the ending of Part II (he did a similar thing at the end of Mahler 3). But after the entire length of this performance, neither is it entirely inappropriate. The soloists, as usual, are a bit of a mixed bag. Also typical, the tenor does far better on "Blicket auf", than on his first big solo in Part II. One thing this recording made me take notice of, is just how good the brass section of the Tonkunstler really is. There's excellent work here from both the Principal Horn and Principal trumpet. In fact, I'm not sure if they're not just as good as the brass of the Vienna Phil's A-team. With the cost that it takes to acquire this M8 on CD, I'm in no hurry to get it. If a friend happens to be going to Vienna, I may ask them to swing by 1010 Herrengasse and pick me up a copy at the Tonkunstler's ticket office. But if you do have some time to kill, I think hearing this Sado M8 is worthwhile.
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