Forthcoming & New Releases 2017

[waderice]

Nezet-Seguin is making oustanding Mahler recordings with BRSO; is he not recording anything with the Philadelphia Orchestra, which I think it to be the best one among the orchestras with which he works?

What recordings Nezet-Seguin is making with the Philadelphia Orchestra are very few, and what has been done is under contract with DG.  Thus far under his directorship, some Rachmaninoff has been recorded in concert in a projected cycle of that composer's works for piano and orchestra.  Also, a Stravinsky Rite of Spring and some Stokowski Bach orchestral transcriptions have been recorded.  With the DG Mahler market thoroughly inundated with sales of Abbado, Bernstein, and Karajan Mahler recordings, I don't see anything ever coming out by Nezet-Seguin conducting Mahler with the Philadelphia Orchestra on DG, as much as I and many others would love to see.  There are a couple of in-concert Philadelphia Orchestra Mahler symphony recordings (M2 and M6) on the Austrian Ondine label conducted by the Philadelphia Orchestra's previous director, Christoph Eschenbach, though that M2 doesn't come up to the quality of the performance I heard under Nezet-Seguin.

Since living in the Philadelphia area for almost five years now, I've seen/heard Nezet-Seguin perform M2, M8, and M10 Cooke III.  The least successful performance of the three, I felt, was the M10, and the M8 was absolutely superb, in observance of the centennial of the first performance of M8 in the U.S.  Nezet-Seguin will conclude the 2016-17 season with performances of M3.

Probably the best venue to hear Nezet-Seguin perform Mahler with the Philadelphia Orchestra is to listen on line at Philadelphia's Public Radio affiliate, WHYY:  http://wrti.org/programs/philadelphia-orchestra-concert.  In the past, I've recorded Philadelphia Orchestra performances off the air on a delayed basis on Sunday afternoons at 1:00 Eastern Time (usually about a month after the live performances downtown at the Kimmel Center), and last year's M8 was broadcast live as it was performed.  I haven't recorded anything in a while now, but it now seems that past performances of the Philadelphia Orchestra are now available for purchase on a download basis from either ArkivMusic or iTunes.  I'll have to check this coming Sunday afternoon to see if the broadcast is live or is on a delayed basis.  If live, the performance will be at 2:00 Eastern Time, as that is the time that all live Sunday afternoon Philadelphia Orchestra performances take place.  The down side of these on-air, off-air broadcasts is like any other FM broadcast - the sound is compressed, and you lose the full impact of the orchestra's sound.

Wade

[ChrisH]

There used to be a YNS Mahler 5 with Philadelphia available on HDtracks. I don't think it's there anymore, though. It is an excellent recording.

[GL]

Nezet-Seguin is making oustanding Mahler recordings with BRSO; is he not recording anything with the Philadelphia Orchestra, which I think it to be the best one among the orchestras with which he works?

What recordings Nezet-Seguin is making with the Philadelphia Orchestra are very few, and what has been done is under contract with DG.  Thus far under his directorship, some Rachmaninoff has been recorded in concert in a projected cycle of that composer's works for piano and orchestra.  Also, a Stravinsky Rite of Spring and some Stokowski Bach orchestral transcriptions have been recorded.  With the DG Mahler market thoroughly inundated with sales of Abbado, Bernstein, and Karajan Mahler recordings, I don't see anything ever coming out by Nezet-Seguin conducting Mahler with the Philadelphia Orchestra on DG, as much as I and many others would love to see.  There are a couple of in-concert Philadelphia Orchestra Mahler symphony recordings (M2 and M6) on the Austrian Ondine label conducted by the Philadelphia Orchestra's previous director, Christoph Eschenbach, though that M2 doesn't come up to the quality of the performance I heard under Nezet-Seguin.

Since living in the Philadelphia area for almost five years now, I've seen/heard Nezet-Seguin perform M2, M8, and M10 Cooke III.  The least successful performance of the three, I felt, was the M10, and the M8 was absolutely superb, in observance of the centennial of the first performance of M8 in the U.S.  Nezet-Seguin will conclude the 2016-17 season with performances of M3.

Probably the best venue to hear Nezet-Seguin perform Mahler with the Philadelphia Orchestra is to listen on line at Philadelphia's Public Radio affiliate, WHYY:  http://wrti.org/programs/philadelphia-orchestra-concert.  In the past, I've recorded Philadelphia Orchestra performances off the air on a delayed basis on Sunday afternoons at 1:00 Eastern Time (usually about a month after the live performances downtown at the Kimmel Center), and last year's M8 was broadcast live as it was performed.  I haven't recorded anything in a while now, but it now seems that past performances of the Philadelphia Orchestra are now available for purchase on a download basis from either ArkivMusic or iTunes.  I'll have to check this coming Sunday afternoon to see if the broadcast is live or is on a delayed basis.  If live, the performance will be at 2:00 Eastern Time, as that is the time that all live Sunday afternoon Philadelphia Orchestra performances take place.  The down side of these on-air, off-air broadcasts is like any other FM broadcast - the sound is compressed, and you lose the full impact of the orchestra's sound.

Wade

Thank you for having taken the time to reply so exaustively.

I knew the M6 and M2 conducted by Eschenbach and released by Ondine (which is Finnish). M6 has one of the best Finales committed to disc. Moreover, years ago I bought a FLAC of M5 with Eschenbach, a live recording not ideally balanced but still good.

Last November I dowloaded an mp3 with the M8 conducted by Nezet-Seguin, but I have not yet had time to listen to it properly. An mp3 of his M5 is available on Amazon, but the price is too high for the average Amazon's mp3 quality I have so far experienced.

I suspected what you wrote about DG and I even find it understandable.

Since Nezet-Seguin recordings with the BRSO and the LPO were released by orchestras' labels, I was hoping that the Phildelphia Orchestra was going to do something like that (it had did it in the past, for example by releasing Schumann's Symphonies with Sawallisch). Considering the effort to pull together a performance of M8, I had thought it would have been even logical to produce a CD like they do at RCO Live, LSO Live, BR Klassik and so on. Nevertheless, in 2017, while we have officially released recordings of a M6 with none other than the Moravian Philharmonic Orchestra Olomouc and a M7 with the Czech Radio Orchestra, we can't have some well recorded Mahler from one of the best orchestras in the world.

[GL]

"A jewel among Mahler Sevenths" wrote Firebrand on Amazon. With all due respect to Firebrand, before buying this one I will wait to read at least one review written by somebody with an actual name and a proved competence.

Well, it seems that somebody with an actual name and a proved competence has written a review concerning this release:

"Just what we’ve been waiting for! Another Mahler cycle! Yay! Or rather, Oy! Hearing this perfectly decent reading of the Seventh prompts several thoughts. No, it’s not “necessary”, but I can’t help but acknowledge the high quality of even the lesser-known German orchestras, the idiomatic response of so many conductors–in short, the way this music, even the odd Seventh, has become so integral to our musical experience. Who’d have thunk it?

Adam Fischer leads a completely convincing interpretation of the symphony. The truculent first movement flows with unusual coherence; the two Nachtmusiks are perfectly paced, the creepy scherzo has a nicely slithery transparency of texture, and the finale rises to an aptly raucous final climax. It’s a difficult performance to criticize, other than to say that the playing, while very good, lacks a certain bravura that the best orchestras bring to the work, and the sonics are seriously deficient in bass.

In short, I can’t think of a compelling reason why you should own this, but you’d probably enjoy it if you did."

Artistic Quality: 8
Sound Quality: 7

D. Hurwitz

(http://www.classicstoday.com/review/mahler-cycle-guessed-dusseldorf/)

I. Langsam – Allegro risoluto, ma non troppo.......   20:42
II. Nachtmusik. Allegro moderato.......................15:41
III. Scherzo. Schattenhaft.................................10:06
IV. Nachtmusik. Andante amoroso......................12:35
V. Rondo-Finale. Allegro ordinario.......................17:45

I am always surprised when I read that, in 2017, there are still problems in recording a concert in excellent sound quality.

[GL]

As it has been noted elsewhere in this forum, two new recordings of Das Lied von der Erde conducted by J. Nott are going to be released in a few weeks:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mahler-Roberto-Stephen-Bamberger-Symphoniker/dp/B01MY5F6PQ/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1487249179&sr=1-1&keywords=B01MY5F6PQ

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mahler-Das-Lied-Von-Erde/dp/B01MZZXR1G/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1487249193&sr=1-1&keywords=B01MZZXR1G

There are some marvelous moments in this beautifully recorded performance: the solo violin and flute in “Der Trunkene…”; the white, dead tone that baritone Stephen Gadd uses to start the “Abschied“ as well as his downright spooky, almost-not-there Ewigs to close the song; the warm and pleasant reading of “Von der Jugend” with its quiet, jumpy energy and lovely Asian inflections matched by Roberto Sacca’s singing; and the weariness in Gadd’s voice in “Der Einsame…”.

But for each of these there’s a counter-issue: While Sacca sings the “Trinklied” well (without erasing memories of either Wunderlich or Vickers), the song’s start, under Jonathan Nott, is not as rambunctious as it should be, which undercuts the contrasting central lyricism–and the repeated “Dunkel ist das Leben” endings lack gravity. And though Gadd is sensitive, his voice lacks the depth for dark despair. In addition, one always hopes for sheer wildness in the central gallop of “Von der Schönheit”, and it is absent here.

I also wish that Gadd sounded less like a tenor and had more body to his voice. He’s probably a marvelous Mozart singer and would do wonders in Britten’s songs as well, but here he sounds like a very small Dietrich Fischer-Dieskau. Nott and his Bamberger players are superb–the brass is brilliant, the strings are gentle and warm when they need be. Tempos are invariably correct. This is an oddly unmoving performance."

Artistic Quality: 7
Sound Quality: 9

R. Levine

(http://www.classicstoday.com/review/good-das-lied-nott-not-good-enough/)

This review depicts well my mixed feelings towards Mahler's Nott. It is not bad, it is generally correct, it has beautiful moments, sometimes you even notice a certain, nice detail that escaped to you in other performances, but... how can I say in a language that is not mine? I feel he does not keep his grip on the big picture.

[AZContrabassoon]

I am always surprised when I read that, in 2017, there are still problems in recording a concert in excellent sound quality.

I'm not - not one bit. There are many reasons. First, most younger people today have no idea at all of what a great sound system can do. They listen to music through ear buds (which can be quite good) usually to music that is streamed, compressed, and other atrocities on their phones - where the sound quality is an afterthought. Many recordings are mastered with little thought to big sound stereos - as long as the mp3 sounds ok, why bother? Secondly, many recording engineers today have little experience in classical; pop/rock/hiphop they're experts. Long gone are the days of the great engineers of EMI, Decca, Columbia, RCA. Same with producers. I've played many concerts and recording sessions where some moron setting up microphones clearly has no idea what he is doing. Third: I swear a lot of people who listen to popular music have ruined their ears and have no idea if a recording sounds good or bad to a person with good ears.

Even some companies that maintain a higher standard (Chandos, BIS come to mind) have their share of misses. My preferred listening mode is headphones driven by a high quality vacuum tube amplifier, or a big, heavy, loud surround sound system. But they seem to be going the way of dinosaurs thanks to portable electronics.

[waderice]

I am always surprised when I read that, in 2017, there are still problems in recording a concert in excellent sound quality.

I'm not - not one bit. There are many reasons. First, most younger people today have no idea at all of what a great sound system can do. They listen to music through ear buds (which can be quite good) usually to music that is streamed, compressed, and other atrocities on their phones - where the sound quality is an afterthought. Many recordings are mastered with little thought to big sound stereos - as long as the mp3 sounds ok, why bother? Secondly, many recording engineers today have little experience in classical; pop/rock/hiphop they're experts. Long gone are the days of the great engineers of EMI, Decca, Columbia, RCA. Same with producers. I've played many concerts and recording sessions where some moron setting up microphones clearly has no idea what he is doing. Third: I swear a lot of people who listen to popular music have ruined their ears and have no idea if a recording sounds good or bad to a person with good ears.

Even some companies that maintain a higher standard (Chandos, BIS come to mind) have their share of misses. My preferred listening mode is headphones driven by a high quality vacuum tube amplifier, or a big, heavy, loud surround sound system. But they seem to be going the way of dinosaurs thanks to portable electronics.

I will NEVER forget the first time I was part of performances (chorus) of towering works like the Beethoven 9th and Mahler 2nd - those composers knew what they wanted, and how to make their point at specific places in their scores.  The overall sound, from very low pianissimos to extremely loud fortissimos can be quite overwhelming, almost to the point of extreme shock.  Those eddies of sound swirling all around you produce an effect that cannot be described, but must be experienced!  Hector Berlioz once said, "Vulgar prejudice states that when an orchestra plays fortissimo, it's loud.  Instead, it is powerful."

If I cannot afford to spend thousands on the best possible sound system to obtain the best quality sound, I will instead invest in high-quality system interconnects to hear what few remaining bits of high-quality sound my system and speakers are capable of.

I'm thankful that I spared my ears the damage that so many others have inflicted upon themselves.

Wade

[GL]

I concur with Waderice. And I add we have to take into account the concert hall acoustic too.

Let's be back to the main thread. Well, sort of "be back", because I am going not to write about a 2017 release. In fact, there is a 2015 release that seems to have not been noticed around here.

Praga Digital released a live recording of Das Klagende Lied (final, 2 movements version) conducted by none other than Rafael Kubelik:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/d/CDs-Vinyl/Tribute-Rafael-Kubel%C3%ADk-Chor-Bayerischen-Rundfunks/B015G9MHUU/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1488362633&sr=1-1&keywords=B015G9MHUU

https://www.amazon.com/Tribute-Rafael-Kubelik-Kubel%C3%ADk/dp/B015G9MHUU/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1488362641&sr=1-1&keywords=B015G9MHUU

(the selection of the Gurre-Lieder is taken from the same concert that was entirely released by DG)

It is an exciting, intense, dramatic, gripping interpretation. The music seems really to tell a story. You can understand why Kubelik was so good both on the concert platform and in the theater's pit. Alas, the sound quality is mediocre, almost poor, if one considers that the concert was recorded on 8 June 1979 (do not be fooled by all the babbling about the SACD format). It's just a speculation, but this, and the presence of the Gurre-Lieder (in mediocre sound too) familiar from the DG release, make me suspect that the release has been put together from pirate sources.

If original tapes of the 8 June 1979 existed and were of the same quality we know from the Audite's other BRSO/Kubelik releases, this Das Klagende Lied would be a very nice addition to Kubelik's discography in particular and Mahler's discography in general.

Let me add a few more things. I admire Kubelik for the great conductor he was; I admire him for the man he was, a man who was not afraid to take his stand and speak against dictatorships; I admire him because, when he felt he was no more able to his job properly, he simply retired, out of respect for the music, for his fellow musicians, for his audience and for himself.

[ChrisH]

I am always surprised when I read that, in 2017, there are still problems in recording a concert in excellent sound quality.

I have heaps of excellent sounding recordings. Literally piles of them! Where this break down in audio quality starts is simply your room, speakers, and the position of your speakers within the room. Hurwitz ways this recording has low bass. Maybe, maybe not. Bass is dependent on your room, it's size and where your speakers reside in this space. In my room, I have a null at 53hz, this is caused not because of my speakers or a recording, it's because of where I sit. If I could move my seat back 16 inches the null is pulled up into the 70hz range, which easily taken care of with some acoustical treatments.

I will say this again, if you want the best sound out of your system, spend money on a microphone so you can measure your listening environment. With out doing this, you have no idea what you are really hearing and, more importantly, what needs to be fixed.

[barryguerrero]

I think I mentioned this before. I knew a retired engineer close to Stanford who had THE most incredible stereo I've EVER heard. His living room had stacks and stacks of speakers - it looked terrible! But all of this equipment was used to fine tune his listening environment. You could literally walk around that space and hear the same exact excellent, realistic sound wherever you sat or stood. He spent decades working on this set-up. I'm sure one can get good results fine tuning their listening environment without stacks of speakers everywhere.

Think of all the times when somebody bought a new pair of speakers that sounded excellent at the shop, only to later feel disappointed by how they sounded in their home environment.

[ChrisH]

Think of all the times when somebody bought a new pair of speakers that sounded excellent at the shop, only to later feel disappointed by how they sounded in their home environment.

This is how Bowers and Wilkins makes a living. Sounds good in the Hi-Fi shop, but will fatigue your ears to death at home.

[GL]

Here we are: Mahler: Third Symphony, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer:

https://www.amazon.de/Symphony-No-3-Fischer-Ivan/dp/B06XBC7JL6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music-classical&ie=UTF8&qid=1488189980&sr=1-1&keywords=B06XBC7JL6

https://www.amazon.fr/Symphony-No-3-Fischer-Ivan/dp/B06XBC7JL6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1488189963&sr=1-1&keywords=B06XBC7JL6

This could be a relevant Mahler release among the many irrelevant ones. Finger crossed!

http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/artist_Mahler-1860-1911_000000000019272/item_Symphony-No-3-Ivan-Fischer-Budapest-Festival-Orchestra-Gerhild-Romberger-A-etc-2SACD-Hybrid_7720328

[barryguerrero]

Thanks GL. They obviously bumped the 7th so that Ivan's brother could have the spotlight for himself. Maybe they could join forces and have a Dudamel style M8 (which I like)   

[GL]

Here we are: Mahler: Third Symphony, Budapest Festival Orchestra, Ivan Fischer:

https://www.amazon.de/Symphony-No-3-Fischer-Ivan/dp/B06XBC7JL6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music-classical&ie=UTF8&qid=1488189980&sr=1-1&keywords=B06XBC7JL6

https://www.amazon.fr/Symphony-No-3-Fischer-Ivan/dp/B06XBC7JL6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1488189963&sr=1-1&keywords=B06XBC7JL6

This could be a relevant Mahler release among the many irrelevant ones. Finger crossed!

http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/artist_Mahler-1860-1911_000000000019272/item_Symphony-No-3-Ivan-Fischer-Budapest-Festival-Orchestra-Gerhild-Romberger-A-etc-2SACD-Hybrid_7720328

It is now possible to pre-order M3/Ivan Fischer in UK:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mahler-Symphony-Budapest-Festival-Orchestra-x/dp/B06XBC7JL6/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1488830700&sr=1-1&keywords=B06XBC7JL6

[GL]

https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/0199316104/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1488830446&sr=1-1&keywords=9780199316106

https://www.amazon.com/Rethinking-Mahler-Jeremy-Barham/dp/0199316104/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=1488830072&sr=1-1

"Barham JM. Rethinking Mahler. New York : Oxford University Press

Abstract

Rethinking Mahler comprises a collection of essays by leading and emerging scholars in the field. It commemorates the composer’s anniversary years (2010-11) by offering reassessment of his engagement both with the immediate creative and cultural present of the late nineteenth century, and with the weight of a creative and cultural past that was the inheritance of artists living and working at that time. Its authors explore Mahler’s relationship with music, media and ideas present and past in three themed sections, addressing between them issues in structural analysis, performance, genres of stage, screen and literature, cultural movements, aesthetics, history/historiography and temporal experience."