Solti/LSO/Decca M9th from the 60s

[John Kim]

After the revelatory (but old) M3rd, I've been listening to Solti's London M9th, a recording that I had never failed to greet with an enthusiasm in the past. Recorded in London's Kingsway Hall in 1967, the sound shows a hint of fragility and overloading; the low string and brass sound somewhat fuzzy and unfocused. My guess is that the recording level was set too high to accommodate the loudest passages, or the tape recorder had a low frequency flutter problem. Whatever, as in the Third it has plenty of impact and warmth on display, a distinguished character of Decca's ffrr technology at that time. Oddly, the sonics improve from the second movt. on. Solti's penchant for emphasizing instrumental lines dynamically (some may say at the risk of harmonic balance) is well demonstrated in the first movt. Whether carving out a main melody or are in support of other instruments, the magnificent London brass, especially the horns, are very prominent and recorded very forwardly throughout; there are many details here I never caught before. Solti also fusses with an unusually wide dynamic range, starting with an almost whispering introduction followed by a sudden eruption of the second theme, and Straussian treatment of the subsequent passages that lead to the development section. It all works out beautifully and culminates in, about 20 min. later, one of the most shattering climaxes I could ever recall. In II. and III. Solti is a bit more careful (helped by the improved sonics) in keeping the various parts in balance. Still, the RB packs plenty of emotions as it gets closer to the coda and ends in a wild abandon with the thundering timpani in the foreground. Have I ever heard a more powerful timpani? Nope. The Finale, clocking at around 23 min. is aptly swift without sacrificing the underlying spirits, nor it wastes a moment lingering and overindulging in the long middle section. The final page slips away as sorrowfully and meaningfully as I can recall.

In sum, I seriously wonder if this one must belong to the mountain Everest of the great Mahler Ninths.

A sadly overlooked and still underrated recording, it certainly deserves to be reissued in a refurbished and remastered format.

John,

[Michael]

John, thanks for your review!  This is one I will have to try and get my hands on next...got a birthday coming up in a week or so so that might be on my present list, if I can't find it on iTunes.

[John Kim]

Hello folks,

I will tell you a shocking story about the origin of Solti/LSO M9th recording.

This is based on my memory of reading the British Grammophone Magazine some time ago.

For years, some engineer or musician had been persuading Sir Georg Solti to tackle Mahler Ninth Symphony saying, "Georg, this symphony is for you. You're born to conduct the piece." Finally, Solti tried it and recorded it with LSO for Decca. But some twenty years later when he was interviewed by the magazine, he confessed something like, "At that time I had no idea of what the music meant. But I just DID IT!"

Should I believe what said or not??

John,

[barry guerrero]

Yes, that's exactly how it sounds. That's not an entirely a bad thing, in this particular case.

[John Kim]

Yes, that's exactly how it sounds. That's not an entirely a bad thing, in this particular case.

Yep, I still love the recording sound despite the quibbles.

John,