Saw Mehta doing M1 last night!!

[bluesbreaker]

So I attended the concert of Zubin Mehta with Maggio Musicale Fiorentino Orchestra. The main pieces they played last night were 3 Verdi overtures and 5-movement-M1, plus a Bach piece at the beginning dedicated to the earthquake victims in Japan and China, and a trad Italian tune as encore. My concern is M1 of course.....
The orchestra played superb. They have a Latin lyricism in their playing and phrasing, especially during the opening movement and Blumine. But I think Mehta's reading was quite "standard" and lacked some punches, and the scherzo could be a tad faster and more rustic. I am not familiar with Mehta's career over these decades so I don;t know how his style has changed(or maybe he is much older now), but I really wished he brough the energy and urgency he did on the VPO M2 recording.
So, how were his Mahler performances for the last few years? Something like I saw last night?
Still, nothing beats a Live Mahler experience if played well. But if it was on CD I would bet it would sound like the M1 by De Waart and Minnesota, but with a little Latin touch.
That was my first Mahler in 6 years. Looking forward to the M3 concert in Mid June!!!

[Roffe]

I have a London (Decca) 2fer with M1 (Israel PO, 1974) paired with M3 (LAPO, 1978). The M1 is pretty good and the M3 is excellent. The timings of both symphonies are amongst the fastest ones that I own. M1 without Blumine: 14:42, 7:14, 10:57, 18:22, and M3: 33:07, 10:21, 16:40, 9:37, 3:59, 23:16. Maybe Mehta played Mahler more slowly (like Bernstein) when he grew older, I haven't heard anything from the last decade or so.

As you say, there is nothing like a live Mahler, you are totally surrounded by the music and the only thing you can do is let go and enjoy, my last was M3.

Roffe

[bluesbreaker]

I had that recording 7 years ago, but didn't like it. The M3 was nothing that grabbed me and M1 was average at best. Maybe I should give this 2fer another chance.

My further impression from Mehta's concert:
1. The program notes are not provided free of charge, you have to buy it. That's common practice in Taiwan but I dislike it with passion. In the US the concert halls provide the program notes that usually 2 pages at most, just text and basic lay-out enough for explanation. After all you paid the tickets already. Here the program notes, at least the ones I saw last night, are way more luxurius. You will see beautiful layouts, classy illustration and photographs, and often more than 15 pages. Usually they charge you around $6.50 bucks. I did not buy it because I already know the basic info about Mehta and the orchestra already, and I am not interested in Verdi. And of course I know one thing or 2 about M1.   On top of that, I already paid a ticket worth 25 bucks so why I have to pay 6-7 bucks more? This practice should be corrected in the future because paying extra for program notes makes no sense. I would call it a huge RIP OFF. I never been to Europe and I hope they don't have this practice.
2. This was my first time seeing an Italian orchestra perform (or any orchestra form Latin countries). Unlike most major orchestras from Europe, North America and Asia, these guys know how to enjoy the music, and their faces show it. The Taiwanese audience are famous for being enthusiatic, and if they love the performance, they applaud and THUNDER THE FLOOR WITH THEIR FEET. Many orchestra members noticed that and did the same thing!   When the orchestra began to leave the stage, many members blew kisses to the audience.  

[Roffe]

Mahler recordings and concerts are very personal; if you like it, maybe I don't or vice versa. Many times I can't nail exactly why I like or dislike it.

In my part of the world (Northern Europe), they always charge extra for concert programmes, typically $1.5-2 for 4-10 pages. Remember, nothing is free of charge; if the concert programmes are "free of charge", the price is already added to the concert price.
If I go to a Mahler concert, I normally do not buy the programme; I know almost as much (sometimes evn more) about his music as the guy that wrote the program.

Roffe

[bluesbreaker]

Mahler recordings and concerts are very personal; if you like it, maybe I don't or vice versa. Many times I can't nail exactly why I like or dislike it.

In my part of the world (Northern Europe), they always charge extra for concert programmes, typically $1.5-2 for 4-10 pages. Remember, nothing is free of charge; if the concert programmes are "free of charge", the price is already added to the concert price.
If I go to a Mahler concert, I normally do not buy the programme; I know almost as much (sometimes evn more) about his music as the guy that wrote the program.

Roffe

Yeah nothing is free in this world and that's true everywhere. I think it is reasonable that they charge that amount in your area, I just think $6-7 for a concert program is too much.
I will re-purchase that Mehta's Mahler 2-fer if I spot it. I got rid of it 7-8 years ago and I have a different perspective since then. If I got to listen to it now maybe I will like it, who knows?

[Roffe]

It's available at Amazon Marketplace for $10.06:

http://www.amazon.com/Mahler-Symphonies-No-1-3/dp/B00000423D/ref=sr_1_5?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1301427531&sr=1-5

Roffe