I was patient enough to wait for my local public library (and place of employment) to acquire this recording. It was worth the wait. While my comments are limited thus far to the first movement, I thought I would share a few thoughts that may have already been touched upon, but may deserve repeating. Already, I'm scheming to ditch some of recordnigs to rationalize acquiring this.
Barenboim's view/or the recording producer's, favors the winds over the strings, but that's fine by me. I didn't feel I was missing out on a bigger string sound, but preferred the more prominent winds. I was hearing things in the low woodwinds that really "rocked out," so to speak. I was also impressed hearing important motifs in the bass section I had never heard before. Despite what others have said about the climaxes being a bit pulled back, I didn't find that to be the case. My favorite loud parts were thrilling. The huge climax was well judged. The only thing that struck me as odd were the bells during the funeral march portion. For me, they weren't weird enough to compare to the Concertgebouw's, and not normal enough like almost everyone else's.
I hope to give more thought down the road.
Topic: Barenboim/Staatskapelle Berlin/Warner M9th - revisit (Read 8778 times)