Boulez/Berlin Staatskapelle M2 DVD on Euroarts is terrific!

[barry guerrero]

I like this DVD of Boulez's *live* M2 "Resurrection" much, MUCH more than his DG studio recording. In short, it has everything that's missing in the studio recording. Starting from the rear, Boulez conducts - and gets! - a real crescendo from the timpani on the very last chord of the symphony. On the DG recording, there's virtually no crescendo on the last chord (go figure!). There's almost zero organ on the DG recording, regardless of what stereo I play it on. While not huge sounding, there's sufficient organ on this live performance. At the end of the symphony, the low gong is great, but the high gong is almost inaudible - this much is truly better on the DG recording. However, you gain an organ here, and I'll gladly live with that trade-off. The deep bells are also really good on this live one.

While Petra Lang doesn't possess a paricularly beautiful sounding vocal instrumental, she certainly knows how to use what she's got. I find her more involved sounding than Michelle De Young. Also, the mezzo and soprano match each other perfectly here - they really work together. The chorus is excellent on this live performance. All of the offstage brass stuff is perfectly audible and well coordinated. The scherzo has an almost tangible sense of irony and humor (ironic humor, anyone?) that's simply missing on the Vienna recording. There's no underlying sense that everybody is just skating along. Last but not least, the main climaxes to the first and third movements are far more gripping and powerful on this live perfomance. From beginning to end, the committment and execution of the Staatskapelle is second to none. This was one hell of a great concert. Now for the part that I'm not going to transfer over to Amazon   .    .    . 

Not only is there a great sense of occassion coupled to really solid concentration (without sounding anal), but this video is much easier to watch than Claudio Abbado and his transplanted Berliners. I can't stand watching Abbado - I don't know how anyone can tell where his beat is. And, just as annoying, his Berliners in Lucerne constantly sweep their torsos around so that the whole orchestra is like watching a mix-master on acid. I swear, you can feel the wind whipping around the room. How can anybody watch that? It's worse than watching an episode of Andre Rieu on PBS, or a Lawrence Welk rerun. Also, why is that Abbado always forces his wind players to observe pianissimo markings, but his strings - particularly violins - are always playing forte or fortissimo? No wonder the Staatskapelle is completely superior sounding in Mahler. Just watch the cymbal player for starters. I traded in my Abbado M2 DVD towards this one, and have absolutely no regrets. Good riddance.

Barry

[Amphissa]

Well, since I've never been particularly impressed with Abbado's Mahler, and have often been bored by his recordings, whereas I've always found the recordings by Boulez at minimum "interesting" and often among my favorites, I will have to get this DVD. Thanks for the heads up.

[Jot N. Tittle]

I traded in my Abbado M2 DVD towards this one

There's a place where we can trade DVDs in?? 

     . & '

[Damfino]

On the DG recording, there's virtually no crescendo on the last chord (go figure!).

Well, since I've never been particularly impressed with Abbado's Mahler, and have often been bored by his recordings

Over all, I rather liked Abbado's Mahler 2 video.  But once the Lucerne ensemble completed the main portion of the "Auferstehn, ja auferstehn" climax, I have to say I have never experienced a more phoned in version of the rest of the symphony than the Abaddo version.  After the Auferstehn climax with full organ, orchestra and chorus, Abaddo seemed to just want to get it over with.  His recording on CD also featured a much weaker organ than on the 5.1 DVD.  I mentioned on another thread that the organ really comes to life in 5.1 reccordings, and seems almost impossible to replicate properly on CD.

I have stayed away from the Boulez 2nd because I had heard that the organ did not have much presence on the CD.  So, i will gladly check out the DVD version of his 2nd, as I have liked the other Boulez Mahler recordings I've heard. 

As to the "over-emoting" of the woodwinds on the Abbado DVD: I suspect that so much was made of the Sabine Meyer ensemble that the people who photographed it payed a bit too much attention to their every gesture.

The Mehta DVD audio of the 2nd features a frighteningly intense last chord, IMO.

[Vatz Relham]

I like the Abbado M2 DVD but I have to agree that the wind players are annoying to watch, especially the blond oboe player with long side burns, with his constant moving and straining facial expressions.

I will pick the Boulez M2 DVD also and still keep the Abbado DVD mainly because of Anna Larson's Urlicht

Vatz

[barry guerrero]

Don't get me wrong: I think the Abbado/Lucerne M2 is a very good performance. I just have a difficult time watching Abbado because what he's doing with the stick, seems to have so little to do with what's going on in the orchestra. I can't begin to follow him. And that thin, geeky neck combined with those strained facial expressions - what a turnoff. Also, it's not just the woodwinds who move all about; it's the entire string section. I just find it distracting, and Abbado's balances are slightly too string oriented for my tastes in Mahler. I like the balances better with the Berlin Staatskapelle. The percussion certainly bash and smash things more. Their cymbal player is a gas to watch.

Barry

[Leo K]

And that thin, geeky neck combined with those strained facial expressions - what a turnoff.

This is hilarious!!   

I haven't seen Abbado conduct on DVD, only a few clips here and there on the Conducting Mahler documentary.

Klemperer is my favorite conducter to watch...I love that little violin-bow-arm-sawing thing he does. 

[Damfino]

I have only seen the DVD of the 2nd to see Abbado conduct, aside from the clips I occasionally see on Classic Arts Showcase.  I thought Abbado looked particularly feeble in the recording.  I believe he had recently had a serious bout with cancer, so he looked rather weary, and some like to read extra meaning into that performance of the Resurrection symphony for that reason.

The program is shot in the 16:9 aspect ratio and looks great on a HDTV.  However, the camera work is a tad too busy for my tastes.  There must have been camera tracks over the orchestra, rather like those used at football games, because the camera is all over the place.  Because Mahler features a lot of woodwind work, the camera seems to feel compelled to show the woodwind players at every opportunity.  Also, the DVD features both Dolby Digital and DTS sound.  It's definitely worthwhile to see it IMO.  But I rather preferred the simpler Haitink presentation (with many of the same players) and the radiant Sylvia McNair.  The video resolution is far superior on the Abbado DVD, though.

[Vatz Relham]

But I rather preferred the simpler Haitink presentation (with many of the same players) and the radiant Sylvia McNair.  The video resolution is far superior on the Abbado DVD, though.

The M4/M7 DVD by Haitink also features Sylvia McNair, and she is wonderful in it, as she is on the studio recording with the same crew.
I also liked her on Haitink's BPO M2, but the rest of it was boring to me so I sold it.

I had the good fortune to see her live in M4 about six years ago in NJ with a local orchestra mixed pros and amatures, in a charity event, the performance was horrible, strings out of tune missed entrances by horns, but McNair was great, a true professional, even though all around her was a mess. She also sang some blues and Gershwin pieces with piano which were excellent.

Vatz

[Damfino]

I also liked her on Haitink's BPO M2, but the rest of it was boring to me so I sold it.

Yep, Haitink really stretches the finale of the Mahler 2nd, and for him, that is nothing new.  Even his original RCO version from the 60's was rather slow during the finale.  I think i have hung onto the BPO version just to hear McNair do the "O, glaube..." part.  I also quite like her in the 4th.

I doubt we will hear much from her these days.  I think she is around 50-ish now, and a high bright and light soprano like hers cannot hold up forever.

I heard an amateur orchestra here in Houston recently.  It would have been OK, but for a bad viola section.  They seemed to be out of tune the entire time. 

[barry guerrero]

Boulez stretches the fifth movement of M2 on the DVD version as well. But I really don't mind it, as the chorus sings really well. It's easier to watch a slow performance of that long, soft choral passage than it is to just listen to it. To me, it really looked like Boulez was truly "into" the piece. Maybe he's really a tonal softie at heart (?). But I'll let someone else ponder and sort out that dillema - all I care is that it's a good Mahler performance. I really like that Berliner Staatskapelle.

[Vatz Relham]

I like this DVD of Boulez's *live* M2 "Resurrection" much, MUCH more than his DG studio recording. In short, it has everything that's missing in the studio recording. Starting from the rear, Boulez conducts - and gets! - a real crescendo from the timpani on the very last chord of the symphony. On the DG recording, there's virtually no crescendo on the last chord (go figure!). There's almost zero organ on the DG recording, regardless of what stereo I play it on. While not huge sounding, there's sufficient organ on this live performance. At the end of the symphony, the low gong is great, but the high gong is almost inaudible - this much is truly better on the DG recording. However, you gain an organ here, and I'll gladly live with that trade-off. The deep bells are also really good on this live one.

While Petra Lang doesn't possess a paricularly beautiful sounding vocal instrumental, she certainly knows how to use what she's got. I find her more involved sounding than Michelle De Young. Also, the mezzo and soprano match each other perfectly here - they really work together. The chorus is excellent on this live performance. All of the offstage brass stuff is perfectly audible and well coordinated. The scherzo has an almost tangible sense of irony and humor (ironic humor, anyone?) that's simply missing on the Vienna recording. There's no underlying sense that everybody is just skating along. Last but not least, the main climaxes to the first and third movements are far more gripping and powerful on this live perfomance. From beginning to end, the committment and execution of the Staatskapelle is second to none. This was one hell of a great concert. Now for the part that I'm not going to transfer over to Amazon   .    .    . 

Not only is there a great sense of occassion coupled to really solid concentration (without sounding anal), but this video is much easier to watch than Claudio Abbado and his transplanted Berliners. I can't stand watching Abbado - I don't know how anyone can tell where his beat is. And, just as annoying, his Berliners in Lucerne constantly sweep their torsos around so that the whole orchestra is like watching a mix-master on acid. I swear, you can feel the wind whipping around the room. How can anybody watch that? It's worse than watching an episode of Andre Rieu on PBS, or a Lawrence Welk rerun. Also, why is that Abbado always forces his wind players to observe pianissimo markings, but his strings - particularly violins - are always playing forte or fortissimo? No wonder the Staatskapelle is completely superior sounding in Mahler. Just watch the cymbal player for starters. I traded in my Abbado M2 DVD towards this one, and have absolutely no regrets. Good riddance.

Barry

Barry,

Agree that this Boulez DVD is better than his studio CD recordng, and basically for the reasons you mention.
But I'm not sure if it surpasses Abbado's DVD? I agree that the Abbado is hard to watch due to the annoying wind and string players moving like a wheatfield in the wind and that Sabina Meyer who looks like a preying mantis on acid, but if you close your eyes the Abbado performance is really good to me anyway and not just for Anna Larsson.

Anyway I certainly reccomend the Boulez DVD, and it was also nice to see Barenboim in the audience enjoying the corncert.
Speaking of wind players there is an oboe player on the Boulez DVD that looks like a cartoon characturer of a perfect nerd, with glasses, mostache, and really geeky look, he cracked me up, but played very well. And yes the cymbal player front and center really steals the show, good percussion all round.

Vatz

[Leo K]

It sounds like I should really get this DVD.  I think it's at a nearby Borders.  Thanks for the reviews!!!

[Leo K]

I just ordered this DVD...can't wait to hear/see this as I'm a big fan of Petra Lang.

[barry guerrero]

Leo,

I like Petra Lang also. Clearly, she doesn't a naturally gifted vocal instrument. But what she does have, she does a lot with. I think that you won't be disappointed when you watch her.