Zinman M2

[akiralx]

I've been working away through Zinman's cycle, and while I enjoyed his M3 a lot, it wasn't quite in the same class as Honeck's (my current favourite) - but I was mightily impressed with his M2, no great revelations interpretation-wise, but I really enjoyed his approach and the sound, particularly in the finale: very audible organ and bells, as has been mentioned elsewhere, but also that the soloists could clearly be heard alongside (i.e. not drowned out by) the chorus.

[ChrisH]

Zinman is one of my favorite cycles. His 7th is my favorite of the cycle, though most would say his 6th is the most successful. Overall, I think this is one of the most consistent cycles around from top to bottom. His soloists could be better in the 8th, but whose couldn't. I do remember a lot of discussion on this board concerning his 5th as being too lightweight, especially this 2nd movement.

[akiralx]

Yes, I sampled the M5 and found it underpowered, perhaps the only misfire of his cycle?  I too have pencilled in the M6 and M7 for next listening, then M4.  I don't know M10 very well, and never this completion.

[John Kim]

I like Zinman's M2, M3, M5, M6, M8, M10. I think the 6th, 8th, and 10th (Carpenter ed) are among the best versions out there. I have no reservations about the fifth. It is well thought out, beautifully balanced and nuanced reading excellently played and recorded. The 9th is pretty darn good too but we have fierce competitions from Levine, Lenny, Solti, Karajan and Ozawa. I just wish the playing were tighter and the recording weren't too backward.

[barryguerrero]

Yes, nice sounding deep bells at the end.

[AZContrabassoon]

I don't know M10 very well, and never this completion.

If you heard any of the Zinman performances in a live concert, you'd walk away happy. But...they are just too generic and lack real passion. The orchestra plays superbly, no doubt. All of the vocal contributions are fine. But Zinman just needs to let his hair down and blow the roof off and it never happens. Accurate to the score they are, but Mahler needs something else if it's really going to register, at least for me. While there are (almost) no duds, there isn't a single recording that I would say is the "best ever" or even a top-3 choice. The recorded SACD sound is frankly disappointing. The clarity isn't there. Too bad, since SACD could have made a huge difference. Still, at the ridiculous low price you can get this set for, it's worth considering - but I'll take Inbal, Bertini, or Tennstedt bargain boxes any day over Zinman. Nothing against the maestro: his Beethoven, Schumann and Elgar are terrific!

Now...the worst decision made in producing this set was to use that god-awful Carpenter edition. When he uses the exact orchestration and accompaniment figure from M7 it was all over for me. Cooke's version remains king of the hill for good reason and I wish Zinman had opted for it. Or even Barshai or Wheeler over this.

So don't judge M10 by this Zinman offering. Get a stellar Cooke from Rattle, Chailly, Levine and others.

[waderice]

I too, was disappointed by what I heard from Zinman.  I agree that the SACD sound isn't good.  It sounds distant, and the desire of the recording engineers to capture the overall hall sound interfered with the right/left perspective of the instruments of the orchestra.  My assessment is based on bargain purchases of M2 and M3 from Berkshire Record Outlet, but none of the other symphonies, save M10.  Also, the M2 and M3 performances do not do much of anything for me.  I will, however, keep my copy of the Carpenter M10, even if AZContrabassoon doesn't like it.  I have no opinion one way or the other on the Carpenter M10.

Wade

[akiralx]

I don't know M10 very well, and never this completion.

If you heard any of the Zinman performances in a live concert, you'd walk away happy. But...they are just too generic and lack real passion.

I agree partly from hearing the M3, it doesn't have the frisson of Honeck, probably because that is a live recording.  But the M2 seems very powerful to me - my benchmarks there are P Jarvi and Sinopoli and I would rate Zinman alongside them.