Mitropoulos M3 1960

[Don]

I have heard good things about the new (February) release on Archipel of the Mitropoulos M3 with the Cologne Radio SO, Lucretia West solo, recorded in 1960. This was his last recording before his untimely death at La Scala just a few days later.

I have long admired Mitropoulos but have not really been impressed by his Mahler. However, supposedly this one is quite special. Anyone head this performance (I understand it has been released before) and is it worth acquiring?

Thanks!

[waderice]

This performance appeared previously on the Tahra label, but unfortunately, it is not part of my collection, but it might be nice to have.  I have the Music & Arts 6-CD set of Mitropoulos' Mahler performances with the NY Philharmonic, Vienna Philharmonic, and Cologne Radio Symphony, dating from the 'fifties and 1960:

http://www.arkivmusic.com/classical/album.jsp?album_id=54761

Obviously, people spoiled by the numerous Mahler recordings of today have their preferences, but I think to dismiss any Mitropoulos Mahler performance is not good reasoning when you consider that Mitropoulos was pretty much a pathfinder (with the possible exception of Walter) when it came to exploring the less-traveled roads of Mahler at the time of the 1950's.  We have to credit Mitropoulos with introducing audiences to the essentially-unknown Third, Sixth, Eighth, and Tenth Adagio (which Walter didn't perform, to my knowledge) as included in this M&A set.  Conductors like Mitropoulos, Walter, and a few other obscure names braved the critics and concert-going public who didn't want to hear Mahler on concert programs at that time.  And of course, at the time of Mitropoulos' death, the torch was handed over to Leonard Bernstein, and the rest is history......

Wade

[barry guerrero]

I feel less strong about Mitropolous as a Mahler conductor, but that's not really the point. The point is this: avoid his N.Y. Phil. M3 unless you want to hear some pretty severe cuts in Mahler 3. The Cologne one is definitely preferable!

[waderice]

No sooner than I had made my post above than I got an e-mail from Berkshire Record Outlet about the Archipel release of Mitropoulos' Cologne M3.  So I immediately put in an order for it, and just got it today.  The 2-CD set also includes the conductor's take on Brahms' 3rd, in a highly-charged, yet controlled performance, played by the Concertgebouw Orchestra on 10 Aug 1958 and an excellent performance of Debussy's La Mer, played by the Berlin Philharmonic on 21 Aug 1960, both at the Salzburg Festival.  Additionally, the set is attractively priced at $9.98:

http://www.berkshirerecordoutlet.com/search.php?row=0&brocode=&stocknum=&text=mahler+mitropoulos&filter=all&cd=1&submit=Search

I'm happy to report that this M3 is indeed, a excellent performance, considering that the work at this point in time (31 Oct 1960) was practically unknown to most concertgoers.  Here is my assessment of the performance:

Mvmt 1:  Played well, though seemingly stiff; it took the orchestra to get through the entire movement before they were able to settle down.  It did not quite have the boldness that I'm used to hearing this movement played.
Mvmt 2:  The orchestra finally opens up and plays with gusto; they seemed to greatly enjoy playing the "Flowers" movement.
Mvmt 3:  The spirit of this movement comes through very well; I greatly enjoyed it.  Definitely a dark sound.
Mvmt 4:  What a shame we have not heard more of Lucretia West singing Mahler!  I do not recall any contralto soloist singing this movement as well and with the conviction she does!  This rendition of "O Mensch, gibt acht!" goes to the top of my list!
Mvmt 5:  The women's and children's choirs sing this movement most admirably, and Lucretia West's contralto solo sounds as good here as in movement 4.  Unfortunately, Mitropoulos plows into the 5th movement from the 4th.  It sounds like he didn't give the low strings a decent cutoff to allow for sufficient contrast to the different moods of the two movements.
Mvmt 6:  Mitropoulos plows into the finale, with a tempo faster than I recall other performances.  It sounds like he cut the note values of extended notes at the end of string phrases.  I wondered why he was in such a hurry.  But he settled down to a more normal tempo about a third of the way through and brought the symphony to an excellent conclusion.

Overall, I felt that what essentially was an unknown work for most major orchestras, not to mention an orchestra in the provinces, the Cologne Radio Symphony did an excellent job responding to Mitropoulos.  This recording should be on the shelf of those here who enjoy this work.  I forgot to mention that the sound is very good for the date it was recorded, though it is evident that noise reduction was applied to the original tapes.

Wade

[James Meckley]

Mvmt 6:  Without any pause whatsoever, Mitropoulos plows into the finale, with a tempo faster than I recall other performances.  It sounds like he didn't give the choirs in the 5th movement a necessary cutoff at the end when he tore into the first note of the sixth movement.

Wade,

I have the Archipel 2CD set of the Mahler 3, Brahms 3, and Debussy La Mer that you mention. On my set the fifth movement of Mahler 3 is the last track on disc one, and the sixth movement of Mahler 3 is the first track on disc two. If yours is the same, how can you know how Mitropoulos handled the transition from V to VI? On my set, there's a clean fade-out from V on disc one, and a clean fade-in to VI on disc two.

James

[Don]

Thanks for all the comments, I was about to order from a European source when I saw the BRO post so I ordered from there.

Even though early Mahler performances may not be up to the technical perfection we see today, they have that freshness of discovery and excitement that is so often missing since Mahler is now required listening and performing in the 21st cent.

[waderice]

Wade,

I have the Archipel 2CD set of the Mahler 3, Brahms 3, and Debussy La Mer that you mention. On my set the fifth movement of Mahler 3 is the last track on disc one, and the sixth movement of Mahler 3 is the first track on disc two. If yours is the same, how can you know how Mitropoulos handled the transition from V to VI? On my set, there's a clean fade-out from V on disc one, and a clean fade-in to VI on disc two.

James

James,

Thanks for catching this; unfortunately, I got confused while doing my writeup (which was just before retiring for the evening), and misplaced the spot between movements where there's no pause, which is between the 4th and 5th movements.  You're correct on the disk break.  I modified my critique of the performance above.

Wade

[James Meckley]

I just listened again to his transition from IV to V. Mitropoulos simply took Mahler at his word: Folgt ohne Unterbrechung No. 5 ("No. 5 follows without interruption"). Since the same instruction is given at the end of V, he probably did something similar there, but his intentions were sabotaged by the break between CDs.

[waderice]

I just listened again to his transition from IV to V. Mitropoulos simply took Mahler at his word: Folgt ohne Unterbrechung No. 5 ("No. 5 follows without interruption"). Since the same instruction is given at the end of V, he probably did something similar there, but his intentions were sabotaged by the break between CDs.

James,

Interesting.  Thanks for bringing this item notated in the score to my attention.  Apparently Mitropoulos is the only one on record to my knowledge to follow this direction, unless someone knows of another recording where it is followed.

Wade

[Stürmisch Bewegt]

Wade,
As often as not this direction is followed.If the movements are recorded independently, you will hear a light sound cut but you can be sure the greatest attention is given to the linking timing. I attended a rehearsal
of M3 recently (Suisse Romande Orchestra/Janowski)  and precisely the transitions IV/V ant V/VI were repeated several times. As the strings begin pianissimo, their striking up is very slow and you can hear the sound only one or two seconds later.
Mathilde

[waderice]

Wade,
As often as not this direction is followed.If the movements are recorded independently, you will hear a light sound cut but you can be sure the greatest attention is given to the linking timing. I attended a rehearsal
of M3 recently (Suisse Romande Orchestra/Janowski)  and precisely the transitions IV/V ant V/VI were repeated several times. As the strings begin pianissimo, their striking up is very slow and you can hear the sound only one or two seconds later.
Mathilde

Mathilde,

In the rehearsal you attended, Janowski may have followed through on what you say, in his way of following Mahler's direction, but in the Mitropoulos recording, the transition is very abrupt (no cutoff audibly given to the low strings) at IV/V.  Something I'm not used to (but will need to learn to get used to), even if Mahler states to continue to Mvmt. V without a pause.

Wade

[Stürmisch Bewegt]

Sorry Wade , I omitted to say I was speaking of the V/VI transition. As regards to the IV/V one, after listening to the 5 versions I own: no cutoff with Gielen, and a very short one with the others (Abbado, Sinopoli, Kubelik,Rattle), just the time for the choir to breathe.
In the rehearsal I attended, the children choir was devided in two groups facing and standing at the higher gallery. They first were surprised by the suddenness of the transition and failed the beginning. the second time it was better, the third time it was perfect and they got congratulations from the conductor and applauses from the public ! This delightful moment made me remind of Mahler's kindness to children involved in the M8 performance of in Munich in 1910 and how enthusiastic the kids were after the two concerts.

Mathilde

[James Meckley]

For those who might be interested, Mitropoulos's Cologne Mahler 3 has recently been reissued by ICA Classics (ICAC 5021), who had exclusive access to the original master tapes from West German Radio (WDR). I just acquired a copy and the improvement in audio quality over the above-mentioned Archipel release is significant; it would be well worth the upgrade for anyone who values this performance. It's a two-CD set comprising Mahler 3 and Debussy's La Mer.

Mitropoulos died just two days later while rehearsing Mahler 3 in Milan, collapsing at measure 86 in the first movement.

James

[waderice]

For those who might be interested, Mitropoulos's Cologne Mahler 3 has recently been reissued by ICA Classics (ICAC 5021), who had exclusive access to the original master tapes from West German Radio (WDR). I just acquired a copy and the improvement in audio quality over the above-mentioned Archipel release is significant; it would be well worth the upgrade for anyone who values this performance. It's a two-CD set comprising Mahler 3 and Debussy's La Mer.

Mitropoulos died just two days later while rehearsing Mahler 3 in Milan, collapsing at measure 86 in the first movement.

James

James,

I got the Archipel release dirt cheap from Berkshire Record Outlet.  How much extra does the ICA Classics release cost?  Thanks!

Wade

[James Meckley]

I got the Archipel release dirt cheap from Berkshire Record Outlet.  How much extra does the ICA Classics release cost?  Thanks!

Wade,

It's $24.25 from Presto Classical.

http://www.prestoclassical.co.uk/r/ica%2Bclassics/ICAC5021

I've sent you a private message.

James