Hi there,
I concure with Scott's enthusiasm for the Macal/Czech Phil. Mahler 4 from Exton. I think this is better than his recent M3, which wasn't bad by any means (Kobayashi's M3 is more exciting and intense). Kuhse gives us probably the best vocal performance in the fourth movement since Barbara Bonney on the Chailly M4. Renee Fleming all but ruins the recent Abbado/BPO M4. Abbado is excellent in the first and third movements, but his scherzo is surprisingly dull and soft edged. Norrigton and Macal are much better with the scherzo. Macal does an outstanding job with the last trio section; the one where the first violins slide between their high notes. That passage is absolutely gorgeous on the Macal. Also excellent is the climax to the slow movement. Without sounding harsh or ugly, Macal gets plenty of amplitude out of his (French) horns, as well an excellent one-two, crash/boom from his cymbal and bass drum players. If there's a small weakness in the Macal, I'd say it's the first movement. I think he could have picked up the tempo a bit more at the start of the development section (Norrigton does an excellent job of doing just that). He also could have made the climax to the first movement a bit more overwhelming and scarry (Chailly!) - it's just a tiny tad tame. Abbado is also better with the hair-trigger shifts of tempi in the first movement's exposition section. In other words, the first few minutes of the symphony. But Macal does the end of the first movement really well, and everything that follows is extremely good, as mentioned. Needless to say, the Czech Phil. is near ideal for M4. They get a clear sound, with incisive rhythms in faster passages. Yet, nothing sounds ugly or forced. Their woodwinds are outstanding, as they seem to always be. Their Mahler really should be taken more seriously. It's just too bad that there's an availability problem.
Given just how good Kuhse sounds on this, I'd now make this my number one recommendation for anyone willing to spend the bucks to get it from Japan. It's just a shame that Exton and Canyon Classics aren't readily available in the U.S. or Europe. Perhaps they are in the Czech Republic.
Barry
