I need your help deciding.

[Phoenix]

I have all of the original CDs of Levine's RCA recordings of his Mahler, except the 10th.  Unfortunately, the sound on the CDs is not very good.  As you know, Levine's recordings are now available in a box set, and cheap, too!    Does anyone know if the sound on the recordings in the box have been improved?  Has anyone here bought the set who also has some of the original CDs and compared the recordings?  Basically, is the box set worth the price or should I just keep what I have?

Thanks, Lloyd

[James Meckley]

I have the new (2010) box set and a few of the older individual releases. I've just listened to portions of M6 on both new and old, and can offer the following observations regarding differences in that particular recording:

1) The new release has been mastered at a higher level (about 6 dB) which slightly complicates direct comparison.

2) After adjusting to compensate for the level difference, the new release sounds a bit cleaner and tighter, with better focus in the bass. It's less "fuzzy" and indistinct, qualities that always bothered me about the older releases.

Here's a brief quote from David Hurwitz's review at ClassicsToday:

"The sonics were always wildly variable. Remastering has helped, but the percussion in the Sixth is still too far forward, and the Seventh was an early digital nightmare. It’s listenable now, but still no engineering prize."

At 16 bucks for the whole set, you can hardly go wrong—you'd probably pay that much for a copy of Levine's M10 to complete your present set.

James

[Phoenix]

Thanks, James.  You're right, for the price, it's really hard to pass up.  Can't help but hope that RCA/Sony (or whomever) did some remastering and cleaning up of the masters before reissuing the recordings.  Frankly, Levine's M3, M7 & M9 still rank at the top, or near the top, of my favorite recordings of the symphonies. 

Thanks, again for your info, Lloyd

[barry guerrero]

" Levine's M3, M7 & M9 still rank at the top"

Yeah, I pretty much agree with that. M4 and M5 are pretty good too. I wish I liked Horne (M3) and Blegen (M4) more than I do, but those are good performances none the less.

I guess that I should state that the only 'tendency' that keeps me from liking Levine's Mahler more than I already do, is his love for really loud timpani. I think that might come from being an opera house conductor, where many of the compositions don't have a whole lot of other percussion going on at the same time. To me, it's a bit of a 'red flag' when the timpani are so much louder than bass drum rolls and forte strokes on the bass drum, etc.