Recommended Mahler performances on DVD

[brunumb]

Some of the recent comments on the Abbado M3 have whetted my appetite.
I would now like to put together a Mahler cycle (or two  ) on DVD and would greatly appreciate recommendations and comments from the GMB members.
Thanking you in advance,
brunumb

[barry guerrero]

M1/M4 - Bernstein/VPO/DG

M2 - Boulez/Staatskapelle Berlin

M3 - Abbado/LFO

M5 - Rattle/BPO or Abbado/LFO

M6 - Abbado/LFO

M7 - Abbado/LFO (M4/M7 w/ Haitink/BPO ain't too bad either)

M8 - Bernstein/VPO (I would take this over the Tennstedt dvd any day)

M9 - Abbado/GMYO or Bernstein/VPO (the Abbado has better sound)

[Damfino]

I would also recommend the 4 and 7 of Bernard Haitink (Barry already mentioned the 7th), as the 4th features Sylvia McNair in a performance that is better than the CD version.

[john haueisen]

I really enjoy Abbado's M2 with soloists Anna Larsson and Eteri Gvazava.
--John H

[john haueisen]

Another very good M2 is Pierre Boulez and the Deutschen Staatskapelle Berlin.
The soloists are Petra Lang (contralto) and Diana Damrau (soprano).
The performance is an 80th birthday celebration for Boulez:  great singing, and for a surprise, after about 3 curtain calls, Boulez begins to get slightly animated.  He even smiles.  The metronome comes to life!
--John H

[brunumb]

Thanks guys.
Already it's hard to decide.  The Abbado M3 will have to be the starting point I think.
Choosing an M2 will be harder as there seems to be quite a few performances available, although the Boulez and Abbado seem to be the current front runners.

[akiralx]

Thanks guys.
Already it's hard to decide.  The Abbado M3 will have to be the starting point I think.

One thing I dislike about the Abbado is the huge gap between the work's end and the applause...

[john haueisen]

Good choice, Brunumb!

Of course, I am quite prejudiced in favor of M3.  It's my single "must-have" if I were stranded on a desert island and could have only one piece.
And the new Abbado M3 has so many assets that will provide you with new-found appreciation each time you watch it.
When you do get to see it, please post any of the points you find of special interest.
--John H

[john haueisen]

One thing I dislike about the Abbado is the huge gap between the work's end and the applause...

Yes, akiralx, I noticed the gap, but it's only a few seconds, and can't we just write it off as Abbado's "spiritual moment" to return back to solid earth?
--John H

[Leo K]

One thing I dislike about the Abbado is the huge gap between the work's end and the applause...

Yes, akiralx, I noticed the gap, but it's only a few seconds, and can't we just write it off as Abbado's "spiritual moment" to return back to solid earth?
--John H

I say thank God for that gap...I was worried the applause would ruin the wonderful final chord...but everyone sat in silence...perhaps in deep contemplation 

--Todd

[Jules]

I would require this moment back to the silence in all Mahler works, even in the M8.

[brunumb]

Finally got the Abbado M3 DVD.

Very enjoyable performance overall.  Sometimes the dynamic range of the recording meant that the softest passages were inaudible to me.  I could see moving bows or drumsticks, but could hear nothing.  And even though the conductor is important, do we really need to see him in closeup so often ?  Some of the shots of the orchestral sections were a bit too tight and could have been a tad wider in my opinion.  Watching and listening is very educational when you are not too sure of what individual related instruments actually sound like.  It's all very well when CD booklet notes briefly tell you what's happening, if you are not a trained musician it can all be very confusing.

Anyway, I was all set to get a DVD of M2 next, but Oxfam had copies of the Abbado M7 for only GBP1.99 on eBay, so that's now on its way instead.