Seeking Mahler 8 recommendations….

[SteelyTom]

Hi all-- 

I'm seeking a sonically up-to-date version of what is my least-favorite (for now) Mahler symphony.  I've got Tennstedt's old EMI recording, and perhaps I should stop there, especially since I'm ambivalent about the work itself.  But I'm partial to the DSD/SACD format in immense works like this.   

Perhaps someone can give me the 2015 state of play where M8 is concerned.

Barry has mentioned an affection for Zinman-- is this the route to go?-- it's cheap-- or Stenz, Jansons, or someone else?

[barry guerrero]

The vocalists aren't great on the Zinman, but the sound is. However, for sacd hybrids, I would go with either or both Jonathan Nott (Tudor) and Markus Stenz (Oehms). The Stenz is a bit fast, but it has THE best ending to Part II of any that I know. Nott has a strong ending as well, and slightly better sound. I like them both.

Also, all three DVDs are very good: Bernstein, Chailly and Dudamel.

[SteelyTom]

Thanks for the feedback, Barry!  I don't have any of Stenz's recordings, but I've got Nott's Ninth and like it a lot.

[Paul]

Tom, I have a similar view of the 8th as my least favourite Mahler, but found the Zinman very impressive. For me, it plays down many of the bombastic elements, and the recording helps being out many subtle details lost in other recordings.

[waderice]

For a historic Mahler 8th, the famous 1959 performance by Jascha Horenstein (and in excellent stereo sound), despite the few mistakes in playing due to insufficient rehearsal time and player unfamiliarity, is a red-hot spirited performance that shows total commitment by every performer involved.  If you're lucky, you may be able to come across a copy of that performance on the BBC Legends label, as this has unfortunately been out of print for some time.

Wade

[SteelyTom]

Wade, I'll try to track that down….  Paul, that was my surmise re Zinman-- the sound should be top-notch, and his no-nonsense approach and textual clarity should pay particular dividends in this piece.  Thanks for the feedback!

[barry guerrero]

Both Zinman and Nott have very good sounding organs. Less so on the Stenz, but Stenz still has the best ending to Part II of anyone. Because it was performed in Royal Albert Hall, the Horenstein has solid organ presence as well. I just wish some of the soloists were better on the Zinman, and that the tam-tam were a bit more audible at the very end (great cymbals). The balances are really very good on the Zinman, partly because they recorded it with the choral forces being in the front audience section, as opposed to being behind the orchestra. They used a lot of space, in other words, which gives it a very 'open' sound.

[David Boxwell]

Word is the Bluray Audio rendition of Solti's classic Vienna recording is totally awesome.  If you've got a state of the art audiophile's set-up.  Less than the price of a big city movie ticket, from your friendly monopolistic on-line discounter.

Bluray versions by the Dude (LA Phil) and Chailly (Leipzig) also on the market.

[barry guerrero]

Yes, loud, in-tune brass and big-name singers completely overpower a soft-edged chorus that comes from an entirely different aesthetic, as well as an organ that is obviously, OBVIOUSLY dubbed in from another county; so much so, that the organ gets out of sync. with everyone else at one spot in Part I. It's just not for me. There's tons of loud organ and brass at the end of Part II, but the the tempo - as with both Bernstein and Tennstedt, I'm afraid to say - is on the quick side, and the tam-tam is nearly inaudible. Hard, cold, loud, efficient - those are the thoughts that come to my mind when I hear the Solti, and I've tried it with tons of different remasterings. I'll give it this much: it's less horrible than most of Solti's Chicago Mahler. Just one person's opinion.

[AZContrabassoon]

This is my first post on this board. I have no idea why it took so long to find it, the Mahler nut that I am.

Re the 8th: maybe it's my age and having listened to so many versions of this symphony for the last 50 years, but for me the best overall performance/recording ever made was led by Wyn Morris. In the US it appeared on RCA LPs. The cd incarnation was on IMP. I've always liked Morris' way with Mahler. None of his recordings of course will have the latest, greatest SACD digital sound, but the analog sound captured for Morris over 40 years ago was quite fine - and the soloists are excellent. Too bad it didn't receive wider distribution.

[techniquest]

Oh yes, the Wyn Morris recording is superb. I have it on vinyl and also on CD (IMP Classics).
Of the more up-to-date recordings, I'd personally recommend the Naxos one, with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir under Antoni Wit.

[barry guerrero]

"I'd personally recommend the Naxos one, with the Warsaw National Philharmonic Orchestra & Choir under Antoni Wit."

The overall pacing is superb and it comes to an incredible culmination at the end of Part II. For my lack of money, this one and the Stenz have the best endings to Part II.

[Andrew-Kenneth]

Hi all-- 

I'm seeking a sonically up-to-date version of what is my least-favorite (for now) Mahler symphony.  I've got Tennstedt's old EMI recording, and perhaps I should stop there, especially since I'm ambivalent about the work itself.

I've never collected a lot of Mahler. Up till dec. 2014 I just owned the Bernstein-DG symphonies, Kindertotenlieder & DKW ; Giulini's-DG "Das Lied"; Abbado's Kindertotenlieder (on Sony) and Rattle's 10th symphony (Cooke) & Das Klagende Lied (on EMI).

This january I ordered the Dudamel 8th (on DG blu-ray)  and the Gergiev (LSO) SACD-boxset.

Watching the Dudamel 8th has deepened my understanding and appreciation of this symphony.

Listening to the Gergiev cycle has also given my interest and appreciation of Mahler's symphonies a considerable boost.
Due to Gergiev's overall faster tempi I found myself enjoying symphonies that seemed to last forever on Bernstein's DG-effort . (2nd, 5th, 6th, 9th)

I'm not interested in dissing the Bernstein discs here, at this point in my Mahler appreciation Gergiev's cycle just happens to be what the doctor ordered.

Maybe the biggest compliment I can pay Gergiev is that his energetic traversal has caused me to start collecting more Mahler.

So far => Boulez : 3rd & 4th symphonies and "Das Lied ; Justin Brown's 9th; The Concertgebouw 11-disc blu-ray box (10 symphonies + Das Lied)

The Concertgebouw blu-ray's contain the 8th by Mariss Jansons (very good, but Dudamel made a bigger impression on me)

I've got another 8th on order : Inbal's  latest (march 2014) recording with the Tokyo Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra. (on Exton)

[barry guerrero]

IMHO, the 8th is the best one in Gergiev's cycle. As you know, it was recorded live in St. Paul's Cathedral after they had refurbished the organ in there. I particularly like how the sound swishes around the dome for a few extra seconds at the end of both parts. In addition, Gergiev's cast of mostly young, no-name Slavic singers was surprisingly good. It was a challenging but good enterprise.

As for DVDs of the 8th go, both the Bernstein and Chailly ones are really hard to beat as well. That said, I think the upcoming Paavo Jarvi one - which will also, like Bernstein, have M7 as well - will be pretty darn spectacular too.

[mattermind]

I have no idea why Claudio Abbado doesn't get more mention in this cycle.  While Solti blows my hair back (he was, of course, the quintessential Wagnerian, so why not), it wasn't until hunkering down with Claudio that I actually came away (dare I say it) loving the 8th.  Otherwise, it's more or less my junior high Carmina Burana - a chance to crank it up to 11 for a little Veni, creator spiritus.  (I'm like that about the Dies Irae in Verdi's Requiem too.)

If it's modern sonics you're looking for, though, I can't recommend Berlin and DG highly enough.  Then again, my Abbado 2 with Vienna sounds a-MAZING.  The choral work stuns me every time I hear it, especially the sonorous basses.  They stand out in that recording like none other that I have.

Limiting this to the 8th, however, I've tried a ton.  I had high hopes for Chailly after hearing his heartfelt talk in the DVD "I Have Lost with the World" (Conductors speaking about Mahler).  I adore Tennstedt in just about everything Mahler, especially the 6th which he hits clean out of the park IMHO.  Whether or not his take is definitive, Tennstedt just gets it somehow. 

I'm a huge fan.