M6 under Pappano and Salonen compared on BBC CD Review

[stillivor]

Thought it more appropriate to have this as a seperate topic as Salonen reviewed as well.

On BBC radio 3's weekly CD Review, William Myvell compared the new M6s by Salonen and the Philharmonia on Signum [one disc] and Pappano's Italian performance.

Of the P., he thought the volume slightly low and you hear a bit of P. singing along. His basic point was it sounded a performance 'barely under control', later describing it as a 'slash and burn approach'. [I missed what he said about the first 2 movements otherwise - it'll be on BBC iPlayer shortly for a week.] Of the andante, that it was rather too slow and rather treacly and heavy, tho' it IS compelling. Of the finale, that it was mannered, the tempo all over the place and the intensity was not quite sustained. Both the strings and especially were too closely-miked, the cow-bells rather overdone, but the hammerschlags were wonderful, and the whole thing certainly dramatic.

The he looked at the new Salonen. A very diferent soundworld. Where the Pappano goes for drama, S. is more thoughtful and goes for the psychological truth. The balance is more focused, it is more disciplined and poised. The Andante interlude is lighter than P. and the whole performance is a little quicker, tho the finales are of similar length. It is as if the score has been scrubbed the better to gleam.



    Ivor

[mahlerei]

I think Mival was much too charitable towards the Pappano M6, which I think is a train wreck of a performance. I honestly can't remember a reading as wayward as this, all presented in bloated sound with audible 'patches'. Horrible.

[barry guerrero]

The Salonen has a decent finale - nothing special - but the first three movements are really perfunctory. I really like the Pappano for reasons I've already stated Anyway, here's what I said at Amazon about the Salonen (I gave it 4 out of 5 stars):

a fine Finale but a tad lightweight in the first 3 movements, November 17, 2011

by B. Guerrero "Mahler nutcase"

While I was pleasantly surprised - shocked, really - with the results with Antonio Pappano's new Mahler 6 recording for EMI, I'm afraid I'm a tad disappointed with this new Salonen one. Part of the problem, I feel, has to do with the Philharmonia itself. They simply play Mahler too politely these days, and aren't willing to dirty their finger nails with Mahler's many deliberate sound effects. To cite just one example, the brief passage for 'stopped' horns near the end of the first movement is nearly inaudible (the horn's tone is 'stopped' by sticking the right hand farther into the bell, producing a metallic, 'buzzing' sound).

To my ears, the Philharmonia was a far greater Mahler orchestra in the days of Klemperer and Barbirolli. Others might think differently, but I feel that this is no real match for either of Barbirolli's recordings with the same orchestra (EMI studio vs. Testament 'live'). Yet, there's no denying that things perk up greatly in the finale. The problem is that the first three movements are quite perfunctory, relatively speaking. If one is looking for a generally quicker, 'giant Haydn symphony on steroids' approach to Mahler 6, I would suggest that one stick to Boulez/Vienna Phil. (DG), Abbado/Berlin Phil. (DG) or, even better, the recent Saraste/Oslo Phil. Mahler 6 on Simax. If Andante/Scherzo is your preferred movement order, stick to Abbado/BPO or David Zinman on RCA (I prefer the Zinman). While also a 'live' performance, the sound quality is a bit better on the Simax issue (Saraste).

[barry guerrero]

I'd also like to say this: There's no denying that the Pappano is a 'circus act' type performance of the work. But as circus acts go, I think it's far more listenable and thus, preferable, to Tennstedt, Rattle/CBSO (which has a scherzo, but little else), Sergerstam, or even Bernstein/VPO (where the opening march is too fast, and the finale is stretched out to 33 minutes). Works for me anyway.

[John Kim]

I'd also like to say this: There's no denying that the Pappano is a 'circus act' type performance of the work. But as circus acts go, I think it's far more listenable and thus, preferable, to Tennstedt, Rattle/CBSO (which has a scherzo, but little else), Sergerstam, or even Bernstein/VPO (where the opening march is too fast, and the finale is stretched out to 33 minutes). Works for me anyway.

Barry,

You really nailed it down!

1. I wish Rattle's Finale were as dramatic and interesting as the Scherzo. But I find the first two movts just fine.

2. I couldn't agree more about the Bernstein/VPO - his 1st movt. is TOO fast COMPARED to the rest of the symphony, while the Finale is stretched to the extreme. The whole symphony gets out of shape this way. It has always bothered me and it still does.

John,