Levine M8

[waderice]

I'm not looking to launch a discussion of the merits or downfalls of Levine performing the M8, but a friend going through and inventorying a huge cache of classical recordings for a recently-deceased aficionado found a live M8 performance conducted by James Levine with the NYPO, along with the Westminster Choir, and featuring Carol Neblett, Kathleen Battle, Lili Chookasian, Kenneth Riegel and Donald McIntyre, to name some of the soloists.  He asked me if I have any idea as to the date this performance took place.  I say sometime in the mid-1970's.  Can anyone provide the exact date?  Thanks!

Wade

[sbugala]

I'm a librarian at a public library, so I used a database we have called ProQuest that lets me look at old newspaper articles from the New York Times. I found an review from Oct 11, 1976 with Levine leading the New York Philharmonic in the M8. I can't cut and paste it, since it's in a PDF. Overall, the critic, Peter G Davis praises it. But he does mention that the first movement was "taken at such a furious pace that many passages simply sounded garbled. Then, too, several of the soloists were occasionally defeated by the demands of the vocal lines and the conductor's tempos." Curiously, there's nothing mentioned at all about the performance/interpretation of the  second movement. Who knows, maybe space was limited. You'd think that back then, it would have warranted more space.

If you have some other things, let me know, and I'll use the database to give you an idea when the concert happened.

[GL]

The Eight you are speaking about was part of a Mahler Festival held during the 1976/77 Season of the New York Philharmonic.

It was broadcast on October, 9, 1976 and, according to my source, a copy should exist.

Place: Carnegie Hall
Carol Neblett, soprano
Teresa Zylis-Gara, soprano
Kathleen Battle, soprano
Lili Chookasian, contralto
Gwendolyn Killebrew, mezzo-soprano
Kenneth Riegel tenor
Michael Devlin, baritone
Donald McIntyre, baritone
Westminster Choir
Boys' Choir from the Little Chrch around the Corner
Trinity School Boys' ChoirùThe Brooklyn Boys' Chorus
New York Philharmonic
James Levine

(source: Booklet "Mahler in New York", p. 190. This booklet is part of the amazing 12 CDs New Philharmonic set "The Mahler boradcast 1948-1982)

Regards,
Luca

[Leo K]

The people on this board are amazingly generous and so full of great and helpful information!  Thanks!


--Todd

[barry guerrero]

Kenneth Riegel is the tenor on the Ozawa/B.S.O. recording of Mahler 8. Just judging from the Bertini M3 recording, it sounds as though Gwendolyn Killebrew could hit a baseball farther than Harmon Killebrew. Maybe she took more steroids   

[waderice]

Thanks to all who helped filling out date and performer details on this performance.

Wade

[pseudolongino]

hi there, i was wondering what happened to metrognome blogspot
this is because i've been searching for a levine m8 for years
i have the two he made after 2000, one live at tanglewood with mediocre sonics, but it seems he performed the piece numerous times
peter fulop lists 3 of them, only one of which is on cd, and just the first movement (again open air at ravinia), and i know i've read great things about a performance in london with the philharmonia in the eighties (possibly on this very board!)
can someone pls point me to any of these versions? i can't believe in the vast internet sea there is not one of them to download/buy!

[Last_Evolution]

I can send you this one:
M8 - Levine, CSO, 29.06.1984

[James Meckley]

Somewhere along the line I acquired a copy of the NYPO recording mentioned in the original post:

Mahler 8, James Levine, NYPO, Carnegie Hall, 1976-10-09

It was apparently captured on open-reel tape from a radio broadcast and subsequently converted to mp3 (256 VBR) for distribution on the Internet. I would characterize the audio quality as listenable without risk of winning any prizes. And because it was recorded in Carnegie Hall, it necessarily features an artificial organ.

[pseudolongino]

so that's 2 out of 3 from fulop discography, i've since found at least other 2 performances with CSO (references, not the sound!) and there's always the famous philharmonia one abroad
it seems levine directed this work quite a lot, why the hell did he never leave a recorded version???

[Last_Evolution]

Mahler-Sym8-Levine-CSO-June29-1984
2 tracks/2 movements

Ravinia Festival Gala Opening Concert
June 29, 1984
Mahler: Symphony no. 8, E-flat major
Chicago Symphony Orchestra
Chicago Symphony Chorus
Glen Ellyn Children's Chorus
Wisconsin Conservatory Symphony Chorus
Levine, James; conductor
Blegen, Judith; soprano
Meier, Johanna; soprano
Martin, Marvis; soprano
Quivar, Florence; mezzo-soprano
Jones, Isola; Mezzo-Soprano
Ciannella, Giuliano; tenor
Edwards, Ryan; baritone
Cheek, John; bass-baritone

WFMT-FM broadcast, Norman Pellegrini, announcer.
Note: Ocassional bursts of static present during broadcast.
Note: Brief cut in 2nd movement due to tape flip.
Recorded/played back on Nakamichi (analog) cassette decks.
MP3, 320 kbps.

temporarily for download here:
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1NJfogCgdTqMotbE2DyjQPX9XH-2h6h-g

[pseudolongino]

thanks a million last_evolution!
this is by far better than the two BSO versions i have: im not a fan of opera, and the many solo singing and duets of this symphony are sometimes difficult to get through
not here, the musicality is exceptional and the sound, if not on par, is not troublesome at all
The singing is excellent in dudamel too, his bolivar orchestra version which i have on dvd, but the direction and the ensemble is obviously better here
i'd be most curious to hear the NYP now, NOT being open air, and the '79 version included in the 100 years 12 cd CSO boxset, which should be the easiest to locate online (but i've been unsuccesful)

PS levine rushes the first movement and lags in the second, in EVERY version he ever directed, but here somehow that works!

[James Meckley]

i'd be most curious to hear the NYP now...

Please check your personal messages on this board.

[pseudolongino]

a million thanks to both of you!
the only curiosity i have now is... where do you find these gems? it seems like symphonyshare isn't searchable and most of the files were uploaded on rapidshare anyway
metrognome is gone, i don't know of similar blogs out there
these past few days i've stumbled upon some nice resources but they are either not free or not very ample
a nice database of all past concert around the world would be very nice indeed, for example there is almost no discography of the new director of the berliner philharmoniker available, even on their own site!!!
his haffner is the stuff of legends, he performed it in turin a couple years back...

[Last_Evolution]

M8 - Levine, CSO, CSO, 1979 (Part 1):
https://drive.google.com/open?id=1G2WPGlCl9L3MGc96iazdc7xcYhew4BmR

It was easier to exchange music in the past. Now governments, big corporations and google do not want to allow us to do that. Besides that you can buy million recordings online today.