Chailly/Leipzig Gewandhaus M7 coming on dvd/Blu-Ray

[barry guerrero]

It'll be interesting to hear Chailly's re-think of M7. His earlier Concertgebouw one was very expansive (slow) in ALL movements except the third'

http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/artist_Mahler-1860-1911_000000000019272/item_Symphony-No-7-Chailly-Gewandhaus-Orchestra_6557430

[James Meckley]

It'll be interesting to hear Chailly's re-think of M7. His earlier Concertgebouw one was very expansive (slow) in ALL movements except the third.

Riccardo Chailly has undergone a major rethink of the proper tempos for Mahler 7. For several months I've had access to the raw video from which the new Accentus DVD/Blu-ray is sourced. It's taken from a set of concerts given in February and March, 2014. Here are the movement timings from his 1994 Decca recording followed by those from his 2014 Accentus video. I eliminated all applause and movement breaks for a valid comparison.

DECCA 1994
24:40
16:10
10:24
13:30
18:52
83:36 TOTAL

ACCENTUS 2014
21:40
14:28
08:51
11:07
16:56
73:02 TOTAL

10.5 minutes shorter overall.

James

[barry guerrero]

My ideal would have been to combine the two, making a gradual accelerando from start to finish. Something like: 22:30; 16:00; 10:00; 11:30 or 12; 17:10

Anyway, that's certainly swinging from one extreme to the other.

[John Kim]

I've heard this concert and can attest it is EXCELLENT. It is probably Chailly's best outing so far in his Mahler discography, albeit that his M9th concert has been nominated as the Best Orchestral recording of 2014 by the Gramophone Magazine.

You can raise your expectations!

[barry guerrero]

I don't know. The problem with suddenly 'faster' re-make versions is that they - conductors - tend to apply faster tempi to ALL the movements. Mahler clearly states not to take the middle movement scherzo too quickly. Chailly is now less than 9 minutes with it. I also don't think the second movement (first Nacthmusik) works very well if you take the first subject nearly as quick as the second subject. There needs to be that contrast in tempo. The second movement, IMHO, needs to be more nocturnal sounding than the second Nachtmusik (fourth movement). The effect is often times the other way around, and that just doesn't work.

If no one has watched it, I think the dvd of M7 with Paavo Jarvi/Frankfurt RSO is very good. The 8th that's coupled with it is just serviceable (but with good sound).

[barry guerrero]

Excerpts on Youtube. At least they have their visual priorities correct: lots of percussion and tuba.   

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nLnpAcZxCqY

[ChrisH]

Watched this last night. One big disappointment for me, no talk with Riccardo. I really enjoyed the little chats on the previous discs, and was surprised to find that this one didn't include one.  Especially given his change in interpretation. Oh well.

After looking at the timings James posted above, I'm honestly surprised that they aren't faster. They surely feel faster to me. He also seems to use almost the same tempo through out the entire performance. There is variation here and there, but overall its very much the same. It's also not really dark to light, more light to lighter. I've really enjoyed the everything else in this series, and this one really fell flat for me; I was really looking forward to this one, too.

 The orchestral execution is, maybe, the best I've heard for this symphony. The contra-bassoon player is a monster, and a real joy to watch play.  The tenor-horn was also excellent; he sounds very similar to the gent who played on the Zinmann recording.

The video quality is excellent, for those interested. I'd be interested in hearing from other who have heard this concert about the mix of the 1st violins. They sounded like they were lower in volume in the mix. The 2nd violins sound wonderful and have a great presence, the 1st's not so much. Even the solos in the scherzo from the concertmaster were very, very quiet. I'm wondering is this engineers at work, or what Chailly was going for.

[barry guerrero]

This is just a guess. I'm guessing that they might favored that side of the orchestra so that that "monster contrabassoon" you spoke of could really cut through. Also, I notice that the cellos were next to the first violins, so there may have been some fear that the first violins and cellos would dominate too much.

Just listening to the little snippet that's on Youtube, I didn't care for the fast tempo for the horn solo that begins the second movement (first Nachtumusik). However it does seem like the picture, sound quality and orchestral execution are all pretty amazing. I would get this if it weren't for the fact that I'm pretty happy with the Paavo Jarvi/Frankfurst R.S.O. M7, which also comes with a serviceable M8.

There is a talk with Paavo Jarvi, but he doesn't say anything that would be too surprising to anyone who already knows the work.

There's probably been a pretty big turnover of players since the time that Kurt Masur recorded M7 with the Gewandhaus, but he conducted a consistently fast performance as well. 

[ChrisH]

I'm not sure they favored one side over the other. Everything else seems to be in balance; at least to my ears. It looked as if it there were mics on almost every stand, too. It's also very noticeable in some very specific spots, only with the violins. The cellos, violas and 2nd violins sound wonderfull. I'll try to note them next time I go through this.

[James Meckley]

I've really enjoyed everything else in this series, and this one really fell flat for me; I was really looking forward to this one, too.

I agree. After watching the raw footage twice, I've decided to skip the Blu-ray release on this one (though I may ultimately relent, being a hopeless completist). I hear what you mean about the first violin balances. There are spots where the concertmaster is sawing away on an important violin line and I'm hearing primarily woodwinds. Many such examples, though I can't give meaningful time indices since I'm looking at unedited footage. As far as I'm concerned, this is an engineering miscalculation; I can't imagine why anyone who knows the score would favor such balances.

The 50-or-so nextel-gray Schoeps mic capsules mounted on extension tubes and deployed thoughout the orchestra are typically there to augment the main microphone array. They allow for additional presence on certain instruments and instrumental groups, but they can also be used to significantly alter the natural balances, to good or bad effect.

James