(Good news) Recordings in the BPO Mahler cycle will be available individually.

[ChrisH]

Sometimes I feel like major orchestras are becoming too good, which is an interesting conundrum. It just becomes less thrilling when even Mahler’s Seventh can sound run-of-the-mill.

This is a sentiment that I absolutely agree with. I also think that the recordings would be much more interesting if the conductor actually let the instrumentalists do their thing instead of dictating every little point. These musicians have spent their lives studying these parts. They won their jobs because of their musical ideas, yet it matters for nothing in the end. You can watch Gabor Tarkovi talk about the just the the opening of the M5 for 20 minutes on youtube. Yet, Rattle will dictate every single note of it.

/RANT

[barryguerrero]

Be that as it may, I would not trade for earlier times when it comes to Mahler. And BTW, this Rattle/BPO M7 did not come to me as 'being on autopilot' at all. What I do think IS far to say - and I think it's also greatly a matter of the acoustical properties of the Philharmonie in Berlin - is that the Berlin Phil. plays in a way that all of the sections and all of the individual instruments produce roughly the same, dark hued timbre. That's a different topic.

[erikwilson7]

I should emphasize that there are much much better examples of an orchestra playing Mahler on autopilot than this. I just got a feeling of it, but not always necessarily in a bad way. The BPO sounds like a giant chamber orchestra, which I believe is something you’ve said before on here Barry.

[barryguerrero]

Oh yeah. I'm hoping the BPO will post more performances at Spotify.

[ChrisH]

I don't want to go back to earlier time, either. This sentiment is why I tend to enjoy the smaller orchestras when listening to Mahler over the their more famous counterparts. To my ear, these smaller ensembles sound like they are actually trying. It's not a matter of quality to me, more they feel like they have something to prove. When I heard Zinman do the M6 with Tonhalle at Mahlerfest, this was very apparent when comparing to the 'better' orchestras that I heard when I was there.

Anyway, I'm going to take a pass on this set.

[erikwilson7]

That’s another reason I like the Düsseldorf performances so much. It sounds like they’re trying, and you can actually hear them make minor mistakes (which is ok, they’re humans!).

This BPO set feels very much like an ideal introduction to Mahler’s music, considering that it comes with video performances and a 100+ page book diving into Mahler and his music.

I would get this is a gift for someone, but for us collectors we just need to pick and choose the individual performances that appeal to us.

[barryguerrero]

Re: Dusseldorf vs. Berlin and others   .    .   .  That's fair - I agree with that. There does seem to be a small degree of inaccuracies in the Dusseldorf performances, but it's tough to even trace them down. It makes it interesting. There's a 'rustic' quality that I think is appropriate for Mahler. I agree that Mahler shouldn't sound TOO slick.

Just going by the timings, I would also venture to say that this BPO Mahler set would probably be excellent for anyone who just want to take one crack at it, and not collect a whole bunch of stuff like we have.

Everyone is making good points here.

[erikwilson7]

A lengthy but informative review of the cycle: http://www.musicweb-international.com/classrev/2021/Mar/Mahler-sys-BPHR200361.htm

The Sixth with K. Petrenko is the next release, by the way. The first movement ‘preview track’ is on Spotify. I think the first movement alone sounds fabulous.

[barryguerrero]

I'm glad to see that the Dudamel M3 has been getting some good press. I may very well purchase the download of the entire set. Good stuff.

[erikwilson7]

Agreed. It seems the Petrenko M6 is the only "weak link" they mentioned, though it doesn't even seem that weak. I like my M6's to be zippier, less exaggerated, and less apocalyptic. Otherwise it's a bit too kitsch for my taste.

[barryguerrero]

Yes, sometimes Mahler was just flat out wrong on his own music - most of the time, no. The same holds true for Bruckner   .    .    .   maybe even more so.

[erikwilson7]

The K. Petrenko M6 is out. To me, this is phenomenal. It’s exactly how I like M6 to sound in nearly every aspect.

[barryguerrero]

To just give a bit of 'back credit', the BPO certainly would have received good coaching on M6 from Karajan, Abbado, Rattle and - I believe (not certain) - Michael Gielen. I think one really good thing about Petrenko, is that he'll take the BPO to some repertoire they haven't visited much before, if ever.

[erikwilson7]

Good point. I'd like to see the BPO do Shostakovich. Do they even have a history of performing or recording his music much at all (besides Karajan)? Now that the BPO sounds like a very expanded chamber orchestra, it'd fit that music well I think. Especially Shosty 1, 6, 8, 9, and 10. Heck, they'd probably sound great in 15 too.

[barryguerrero]

Early in his career, Bychkov recorded S5 and S8 (I think) with the B.P.O. They were OK. Not too special.