Á. Fischer and G. Feltz finish their cycles on the same day

[erikwilson7]

Well, it's final. Fischer's 6th came out today, as did Feltz's 9th. I listened to Fischer's M6 and it's overall pretty wonderful, consistent with the rest of the cycle. I've said this before once or twice, but to me this is like a modern day Kubelík cycle. For one the vision is as consistent, and secondly the spirit of the music is generally lyrical with clear textural lines.

I've sampled Feltz's M9 and I like what I've heard, but I'll have to hear it as a whole to form a real opinion. That cycle is very interesting, for better or for worse.

[John Kim]

Thanks for the heads up. Feltz's M9th sounds pretty good~

Feltz has some interesting ideas about how the music should go and they work very well^.

The mighty tam tam smash at 19' into I. !!

John

[erikwilson7]

Yes, there are aspects of the Feltz M9 that I really like. He also does those slow-downs at the end of the Rondo-Burleske like Fischer and Bernstein do, and he takes them to a bit of an extreme. But honestly... I think it's more convincing here than the other guys. I'm impressed.

[erikwilson7]

And for the record, the three (!) hammer blows in the Fischer M6 are all devastating, and he includes the tam and cymbals for the second one (a choice I prefer).

[barryguerrero]

Sounds promising. I'll probably buy the CD of this performance and, possibly, dump the Vanska/Minnesota one. I feel M6 is the weakest in the Vanska cycle so far.

[erikwilson7]

As a percussionist, I really like the Vänskä M6. Everything is crystal clear, especially the timpani and cowbells.

But I totally understand not liking it for many other reasons.

[barryguerrero]

Yeah, I know. You're right. The cowbells are excellent, as are rest of the percussion. I'll probably keep it and just add to my glut of Mahler 6 recordings. After all, it's paid for now.

[barryguerrero]

I listened to the two inner movements of A. Fischer's M6. The scherzo was quite good - pretty much of equal of Vanska's. In the slow movement, Fischer absolutely nails the ascending 'Alpine' passage at the six minute mark. He fully understands that "forte" in the horn player's parts means each player sounds a forte, and not that the collective bunch (9 in unison) make a forte. In other words, the horns are louder there than usual. I like that! I also, I thought the entire climactic passage of the slow movement was done really well. It wasn't just turned into a concerto for overly loud strings. Nor did it drag, in terms of tempo. I look forward to hearing the two outer movements, particularly the finale (of course).