opinions wanted: Jansons/RCOA M8

[barry guerrero]

I don't know; when I watched the Jansons M8 from that Concertgebouw Mahler cycle that's out on DVD (various conductors), I just wasn't that impressed. But I see that Gramophone is going to gush all over it in their October issue, and some seem to feel that it's quite good. I felt that like most of Janson's Mahler with the RCOA, it lacked visceral impact. But maybe it's really better than I think. Certainly the cast of soloists is better than usual. Perhaps I've become used to Dudamel's large choral forces (which I like). Certainly anything with the Concertgebouw is going to be quite 'musical', regardless of who's conducting.

Anyway, all opinions welcomed.

[brunumb]

I don't know the Jansons recording Barry, but I hope you won't mind me piggy-backing on your thread instead of starting a new one to ask about another M8.

The 1950 live recording of Symphony No. 8 with Leopold Stokowski has been released on a number of labels including Music & Arts and Archipel.  This August, a new release appeared on the United Classics label:

http://www.amazon.com/Symphony-Thousand-Stokowski-Conducts-Orchestra/dp/B00D2K1YLY/ref=sr_1_2?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1378439251&sr=1-2&keywords=mahler+stokowski

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Does anyone know if there is any difference in the sound quality of these editions, and can you make a recommendation of which would be the preferred one to obtain?  Thank you.