who's M8 is this on Youtube? (I have a guess)

[barry guerrero]

There's an entire Mahler 8 on Youtube with no identification. This is the Chorus Mysticus that concludes  Part II. If I had to guess, I would say Maazel/N.Y. Phil. because of the incredibly slow tempo, coupled with a speed-up for the very last bit (where the simultaneous cymbal/gong crashes are). But then again, doesn't this sound like a real pipe organ? Maybe not. My other guess is Eschenbach/Philly, although I don't think that Eschenbach normally speeds up at the very end. For the  most part, it sounds pretty good.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwoxbzSFTxo

[Zoltan]

What is noticeable is the "Luftpause" we discussed some time ago in the MTT M8 thread! Back then James mentioned the following names for doing it: "Shaw, Davis, Eschenbach, and now apparently Thomas". Maazel, he said at time, isn't doing it.

Also very noticeable (and awfully distracting!  ) is the soprano I part, which should organically come out and rise above the choir (Mahler even says so!), but it just pops out of nowhere. Must be a live recording (with an extra micro) or a horribly engineered CD.

One more thing I noticed and the reason why I think it's Eschenbach: listen to the 1st violins at 1:39! They accent their notes, just like in Eschenbach's M8 video with the Orchestra de Paris: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZjiVrc0QTRw at 3:58. It's tenuto in the score (after Rehearsal Number 205) and even "no cresc.", and I remembered how oddly it stood out. Even if it's done very carefully, the violins should rather sing here with the softness of the human voice and not stand out as such.

Even if the tenuto sign can mean beside playing a note in full length (as I learned it) to play it just a bit louder (as Rachmaninoff notated his music for example to denote the "important" notes) I would argue against Eschenbach's interpretation here.

[barry guerrero]

I think you make a you good point, Zolton. It's not a make-or-break point with me, but still a very musical observation, none the less. Just from the sound of the organ, I'm suspecting it could be Eshenbach/Philly as well. When I get time, I'll listen to more of it.

Barry