Inbal/Tokyo Met. S.O. Mahler 8 (Exton) is coming!

[barry guerrero]

http://www.hmv.co.jp/product/detail/3545247

[sperlsco]

Hopefully it will be much better than the last M8 Exton recorded with this orchestra (w/ Bertini) -- one of the most disappoiting M8's in my collection.  I can't think of anything I liked about it - conducting (rushed tempos), playing (nothing special), solo singing (ugh!).  Of course, the sound was superb, so you could hear how poor it all was! 

[John Kim]

This is interesting.

I once heard Inbal conducting the same orchestra in the same piece and it was an outstanding Mahler 8th in all aspects. Based on that experience, I would put my fingers crossed on this new release.

John,

[barry guerrero]

Well guys, here's a Youtube page that has a whole bunch of excerpts from Inbal's Japanese Mahler 8. Maybe this will help you decide.

http://www.youtube.com/results?search_type=&search_query=mahler+8+inbal&aq=f

It seems pretty good to me. But I have my usual criticism with M8 performances, which is that the final chord of the symphony just seems too short to me. I would hold the chord a bit longer, and add a second bass drum roll to produce a satisfactory crescendo (so that the chord isn't just sitting there, doing nothing).

Barry

[John Kim]

Barry,

I more or less agree on your point.

Inbal is an excellent and a very reliable Mahler conductor; almost everything he has done with Mahler was pretty good to great. I also recall a M3rd and a M9th that he did with NHK Orchestra and both performances sounded just perfect in terms of tempos, balances, dynamics, and interpretations. His Mahler has rarely disappointed me.

John,

[barry guerrero]

"I more or less agree on your point"

What's the "less" part?