Jansons/BRSO M9th - my amazon review

[John Kim]

A cool, clear cut presentation of Gustav Mahler's 'Farewell' symphony, cohesively conducted by the maestro Jansons and beautifully played by the Bavarian Radio Symphony, Europe's best orchestra of today. Interpretation wise, there is little to add beyond what we have already heard from the likes of Bernstein, Levine, Solti, Ozawa and Karajan, to name a few but Jansons' refusal to self indulge and austerity in observing meticulously all the myriad instructions in the score are worthy mentioning and ultimately rewarding. It certainly begs for repeated hearings. I have done so and it now gets my full endorsement, although I think his recent Mahler Fifth with the same orchestra is more successful overall. The sonics are warm and with plenty of cushion albeit it is somewhat too close.

[Roland Flessner]

I think the SQ on this release has major problems--it sounds like a low-bitrate-MP3, with congestion and breakup in louder passages. I have not noticed similar problems in Haitink's superb BRSO M9.

In general I like the conducting on Jansons' M9, but he does flunk one of my acid tests--making a graceful ritard near the end of II instead of the abrupt shift that Mahler instructed.