M3, Gilbert, NYPO - Available as a commercial MP3 Download...

[sperlsco]

...from eMusic and perhaps other sites. 

I've listened to it once through.  It didn't immediately strike me as a first tier favorite, but it has a lot going for it.  It lacks some of the sharp accents and rude playing of the recent Maazel/NYPO one, but Gilbert conducts with much more rhythmic flexibility than Maazel (no surprise there).  The last several minutes of the finale are truly glorious!  I hope to get in a home listening session this week. 

[Leo K]

Thanks Scott...YES!  I HAVE BEEN WAITING FOR THIS ONE!

Gilbert's broadcast sent me to the skies so I'm happy there is a commercial release now.

--Todd

[sperlsco]

I just received an email from HDTracks...this is also available as a 24/96 Flac download from them. 

[Leo K]

I ordered it on iTunes and once again I'm amazed by the performance.  Wow.  The nuance and orchestral detail are special and fun to hear.  I don't think I've ever heard the 1st movement paced so well, with action and adventure at every turn.  For me this is up there with the Abbado/BPO/DG and Zinman. 

--Todd

[akiralx]

I listened to this today on my iPod (iTunes has it priced quite cheaply, as a normal single CD).  The performance is good without any amazing interpretative surprises, well played, and vividly recorded with the brass especially present.  The harp and other instruments come out very well at the close of the Scherzo, for example.

The closeness of the recording (though with depth), and perhaps some compression, mean that [1] there is perhaps a lack of any real pianissimi; and [2] the consonants of the soloist are rather exaggerated (O Menschhhhhh, and the same with T and F) which sounds rather unnatural.  There is some applause at the end, and a smattering after the end of the first movement.

This wouldn't be near my top choices for M3 (Kobayashi and Segerstam among others) but is certainly good value on mp3, if not approaching Gilbert's M9 interpretation on SACD.

[sperlsco]

...my top choices for M3 (...and Segerstam among others)...

Wow, there is someone else on this planet that likes Segerstam's Mahler!!!   


(besides me -- that is)

[Russell]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread to say that I recently bought the 96/24 download of the Gilbert M3 from HDtracks and finally listened to it on my home system last night.  It was my first excursion into the new world of high-res computer audio.  I had the file on my MacBook Pro in iTunes (converted in full 96/24 resolution to Apple Lossless from the original FLAC files) and connected the laptop to my system via USB to an external DAC (the very inexpensive and very portable Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ) and minijack-to-RCA stereo cables.  The result was revelatory: I don't recall having heard sounds of such breadth, depth, and impact, as well as with seemingly unlimited headroom, on my system before, even from SACD.  I can only imagine what a better DAC and cabling would sound like, but even this very modest setup took everything to another level.  I listened to other hi-res stuff I had downloaded too, with similar results.  It also helps that Gilbert's and the NYP's performance of the M3 is really terrific--one of the most compelling I've heard.

Russell

[Leo K]

Thought I'd resurrect this thread to say that I recently bought the 96/24 download of the Gilbert M3 from HDtracks and finally listened to it on my home system last night.  It was my first excursion into the new world of high-res computer audio.  I had the file on my MacBook Pro in iTunes (converted in full 96/24 resolution to Apple Lossless from the original FLAC files) and connected the laptop to my system via USB to an external DAC (the very inexpensive and very portable Native Instruments Audio 2 DJ) and minijack-to-RCA stereo cables.  The result was revelatory: I don't recall having heard sounds of such breadth, depth, and impact, as well as with seemingly unlimited headroom, on my system before, even from SACD.  I can only imagine what a better DAC and cabling would sound like, but even this very modest setup took everything to another level.  I listened to other hi-res stuff I had downloaded too, with similar results.  It also helps that Gilbert's and the NYP's performance of the M3 is really terrific--one of the most compelling I've heard.

Russell

Right on Russell...I also feel this M3 is among the most compelling out there. 


--Todd

[vvrinc]

...my top choices for M3 (...and Segerstam among others)...

Wow, there is someone else on this planet that likes Segerstam's Mahler!!!  
(besides me -- that is)

Ahem. I love Segerstam's cycle. Among the most individual and inspired of any.

[James Meckley]

I brought his [Segerstam's] name up a couple of times before and got the usual "ho-humskys" from people that had "moved on and never looked back" (whatever that means).

You may be referring to this, which I wrote several months ago:

"I know some people love his [Segerstam's] performances, but to me, in general, they're just too darned slow. He seems unable to maintain focus and intensity at the tempos he's chosen. Bernstein (usually) could do it; Segerstam cannot. I really wish I could appreciate these but, after many tries over several years, I gave up and moved on."

I think my meaning was clear (and a little more nuanced than your paraphrase would suggest). I gave them a fair listen, found them unsatisfying, and decided my time would be better spent listening to other versions. I'm certainly not beyond "looking back" someday—after all, I did keep the set.

James

[barry guerrero]

Regarding Segerstam: as with pretty much ANY complete Mahler cycle, some are better than others. I do think that Segerstam's M3 is among his best work in Mahler. It doesn't hurt that he has a contralto who sounds something like Harmon Killebrew, or a truck driver. Anyway, it's pretty good, as is his M6. But I think that his "Resurrection" symphony points to exactly what's good about his Mahler (the ending! - possibly the greatest ever), and what's wrong with his Mahler (excessively slow tempi in the inner movements). I would still place his complete Mahler above Maazel (truly not saying much); Svetlanov (poorly recorded, and awful M2/M8), and those strange Eschenbach/Paris ones (such a talented man, when he tries!).

I think that the best slower-than-normal Mahler cycle is probably Chailly/Concertgebouw/Decca.

[vvrinc]

James,

My comment was not intended to offend. If it did in any way, I apologize. (Smart-ass portion will be edited.)

By the way, my wife, a musicologist, is also unmoved by Mr. Segerstam's way with Mahler, although she does like his Sibelius.

[James Meckley]

vvrinc,

Thanks for your response—no offense taken. I too enjoy Segerstam's Sibelius (I prefer his Ondine set to the earlier one on Chandos), and his recording of the Rott E Major Symphony on BIS is a treasure.

James

[Leo K]

The Gilbert M3 is among the best structured I've experienced, meaning, as each movement is heard there appears to be a flow and progress without the feeling of getting stuck or bored.  The whole symphony glows with beautiful sound.  

My other current faves are Zinman, MTT (SFSO) and Abbado/BPO.

--Todd

[Russell]

I wholeheartedly agree, Todd.  (And thanks for putting this thread back on track!  )

Russell