Forthcoming & New Releases 2017

[GL]

After the Second, here it is Symphony No. 4 with Valery Gergiev, the Munich Philharmonic & Genia Kuehmeier:

http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/artist_Mahler-1860-1911_000000000019272/item_Symphony-No-4-Valery-Gergiev-Munich-Philharmonic-Kuhmeier-S_8109472

Is this the beginning of a very much needed second Gergiev cycle? It could be, since the Munich Philharmonic lacks one.

The Munich Philharmonic gave the world premieres of Symphonies nos. 4 (in the guise of Kaim Orchester) and 8.

PS

Of course discerning Mahlerites know that the "very much needed" is ironic.

[Settembrini]

Is this the beginning of a very much needed second Gergiev cycle? It could be, since the Munich Philharmonic lacks one.

Absolutely, the world needs another Gergiev cycle, since the first one was such a succes.

[barryguerrero]

Really, the first cycle from Gergiev isn't too terrible at all. It's executed in that typically Russian, no-nonsense and generally quick manner. But some of the playing of the LSO is really quite good. I've kept (so far) the M7 - because I like the LSO brass in the finale - and the M8, which was recorded in St. Paul's Cathedral after they restored the organ. The mostly Slavic cast of singers is really quite good, and I like how the sound just washes around in the dome at the end of each part. It's not fabulous but there are far worse. Then again, I like Mahler 8 more than most people. I have a bunch of them.

But need?   .    .    .  really, do we need ANY of this?   .    .    .    let's just say "it's there" if somebody actually wants to buy it. CD's have become souvenirs from live concerts, mostly.

[GL]

Daniele Gatti in Amsterdam. His Mahler's Second will be available soon:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Mahler-Symphony-minor-Resurrection-SACD/dp/B074L8YVW7/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1502991551&sr=1-1&keywords=B074L8YVW7

This is first recording as Chief Conductor of the RCO. It will be released in DVD/Blu-ray format too.

His other Mahler in Amsterdam:

a Fifth is available on Blu-ray/DVD;

Third, Sixth and Ninth I think can be founded on the web (I found the broadcast of the Sixth that I attended through torrents).

He is about to conduct the Fourth in Amsterdam and then in Luzern. He will do it again in November in Amsterdam. In January 2018 he will conduct the First.I will attend both.

......................

Another Totenfeier by Jurowski (coupled with Strauss's Zarathustra, like Boulez did for DG), this time with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Richard-Strauss-Sprach-Zarathustra-Totenfeier/dp/B074KW43YZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1502991890&sr=1-1&keywords=B074KW43YZ

His first (live) recording of the Totenfeier was with the London Philharmonic and can be considered a sort of a hybrid because he used the actual score of the original Totenfeier but he played it following the indications one finds in its final (speaking in Zarathustrian terms) reincarnation as the first movement of the Second. Odd.

......................

Abbado first encounters with Mahler:

http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/artist_Mahler-1860-1911_000000000019272/item_Symphonies-Nos-2-6-Claudio-Abbado-Vienna-Philharmonic-Vienna-Symphony-Orchestra-Woytowicz-L-West-1965-1967-2CD_8046140

Both recordings were available (with the Rueckert Lieder) some twenty years ago in Italian newsstands...

The Second is his debut with the Vienna Philharmonic in Salzburg (invited by Karajan, I think). The Sixth is part of the 1967 Vienna complete cycle during which Abbado shared the podium of the Wiener Symphoniker with Maderna and others. In that 1967 cycle the Fourth was the only time Sawallisch conducted a Mahler Symphony-and he was deputizing for someone, perhaps for Krips; Carlos Kleiber deputized for Krips, and conducted Das Lied von der Erde (which is officially available, in rather mediocre sound: https://www.amazon.co.uk/Christa-Ludwig-Carlos-Kleiber-Symphoniker/dp/B00N83UA5Q/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1502992637&sr=1-1&keywords=B00N83UA5Q).

[Freddy van Maurik]

Another Totenfeier by Jurowski (coupled with Strauss's Zarathustra, like Boulez did for DG), this time with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Richard-Strauss-Sprach-Zarathustra-Totenfeier/dp/B074KW43YZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1502991890&sr=1-1&keywords=B074KW43YZ

His first (live) recording of the Totenfeier was with the London Philharmonic and can be considered a sort of a hybrid because he used the actual score of the original Totenfeier but he played it following the indications one finds in its final (speaking in Zarathustrian terms) reincarnation as the first movement of the Second. Odd.

Hmmm... this release also includes a recording of the Sinfonisches Präludium, presented here (still) as a composition by Mahler. In 2011, I posted this:

There are a few articles about this, available on the net:

http://stgellert.com/downloads/BG_Cohrs_Bruckner_Symphonic_Prelude.pdf

http://www.chandos.net/pdf/CHAN%209207.pdf (a booklet from a recording of the piece by Neeme Järvi, with notes by Peter Franklin)

Other availble texts:

An Early Symphonic Prelude by Mahler?
Paul Banks
19th-Century Music
Vol. 3, No. 2 (Nov., 1979), pp. 141-149

Das "symphonische Präludium": kein Werk Mahlers
Rudolf Stephan
Nachtrichten zur Mahler-Forschung 17 (April 1987)

I think we can safely say that's it's very, very likely NOT a work by Mahler, as these authors convincingly point out.


Anyhow, nice to be able to hear a new recording of this piece.

Cheers,
Freddy

[GL]

Another Totenfeier by Jurowski (coupled with Strauss's Zarathustra, like Boulez did for DG), this time with the Rundfunk-Sinfonieorchester Berlin:

https://www.amazon.co.uk/Richard-Strauss-Sprach-Zarathustra-Totenfeier/dp/B074KW43YZ/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1502991890&sr=1-1&keywords=B074KW43YZ

His first (live) recording of the Totenfeier was with the London Philharmonic and can be considered a sort of a hybrid because he used the actual score of the original Totenfeier but he played it following the indications one finds in its final (speaking in Zarathustrian terms) reincarnation as the first movement of the Second. Odd.

Hmmm... this release also includes a recording of the Sinfonisches Präludium, presented here (still) as a composition by Mahler. In 2011, I posted this:

There are a few articles about this, available on the net:

http://stgellert.com/downloads/BG_Cohrs_Bruckner_Symphonic_Prelude.pdf

http://www.chandos.net/pdf/CHAN%209207.pdf (a booklet from a recording of the piece by Neeme Järvi, with notes by Peter Franklin)

Other availble texts:

An Early Symphonic Prelude by Mahler?
Paul Banks
19th-Century Music
Vol. 3, No. 2 (Nov., 1979), pp. 141-149

Das "symphonische Präludium": kein Werk Mahlers
Rudolf Stephan
Nachtrichten zur Mahler-Forschung 17 (April 1987)

I think we can safely say that's it's very, very likely NOT a work by Mahler, as these authors convincingly point out.


Anyhow, nice to be able to hear a new recording of this piece.

Cheers,
Freddy

I know it through the N. Jarvi's recording, but I did not even mention the symphonische Präludium because I concur with them who deny its authenticity.

[GL]

A Third with Zubin Metha and the Israel Philharmonic:

http://www.hmv.co.jp/en/artist_Mahler-1860-1911_000000000019272/item_Symphony-No-3-Zubin-Mehta-Israel-Philharmonic-Mihoko-Fujimura-Ms-2CD_8216029

I think (I am not sure) this will be his third recording of the Third. I am excited like when a new Mahler release by Haitink is announced.

[barryguerrero]

It didn't last long in the catalog, but there was a Mehta/Israel Phil. M3 issued on Sony Classical sometime in the mid 1980's (I believe).

[GL]

It didn't last long in the catalog, but there was a Mehta/Israel Phil. M3 issued on Sony Classical sometime in the mid 1980's (I believe).

His first official recording was with the Los Angeles Philharmonic (1978, Decca). Then he recorded it officially for the second time with the Israel Philharmonic in 1992 (Sony). He recorded it for the third time with the Bayerische Staatsorchester in 2004 (Farao). So, this one, taped in 2016, is his fourth official recording of the Third. But it circulated a fifth one, a pirate one, with the Wiener Philharmoniker (recorded in 1987).

[GL]

Celibidache counducts Kindertotenlieder (coupled with Strauss's Tod und Verklaerung):

https://www.amazon.fr/Kindertotenlieder-Tod-belge-Mahler/dp/B075DR227H/ref=sr_1_1?s=music&ie=UTF8&qid=1505471667&sr=1-1&keywords=B075DR227H

(Münchner Philharmoniker Label)

[waderice]

This thread is starting to get extremely long.  It's now on its ninth page.  Can I suggest that a new one be started?  Lots of good information is starting to get buried within its length.  Also, I would think that any new thread ought not to be as generalized as this one is, which likely led to its getting as long as it is now.  Thanks.

Wade

[barryguerrero]

Agreed, but back to Mehta and M3. There's also a Berlin Phil. video of M3 on their "Digital Concert Hall" site. I'm sure it's quite good.

https://www.digitalconcerthall.com/en/concert/28

[AZContrabassoon]

It's back: Ozawa & Boston & Mahler. At nearly $60. I bought a few of these back in the LP era when they first came out. Totally unimpressed. Great orchestra but a conductor with seemingly no affinity for Mahler. Maybe over the years I might be more accepting, but I doubt it. But with the impending Gielen for about the same price, who would buy Ozawa except maybe BSO fanatics? Ozawa used to be great at some things, but Mahler was not his forte.

[John Kim]

I like the Ozawa set very much overall. The 3rd, 4th, 7th, and 9th all rank with the best. Ditto the 10th Adagio. The 2nd may be too refined, smooth to be effective, while the 5th and 6th are undercharacterized. The 8th is very good but suffers from the inadequate sonics. Still, none are bad entries in the set.

NOTE: Ozawa rerecorded the 2nd and 9th with Saito Kinen Orchestra. The Second improves much over the Philips recording.

[Roland Flessner]

AZ, I respectfully disagree. I find the Ozawa a fine set that deserves to be back in the catalog.

Though generally an Ozawa fan, I would have expected him to have little if any affinity for Mahler. Thus I was delighted to be proved wrong when I bought the earlier box.

While I like the BSO M2 performance, the recording suffers from weak  bass. The Saito Kinen remake is outstanding on all counts. I am just coming to the end of an M2 survey, and have kept this recording for last; I’ll be listening to it again over the next few days.

John, I concur that Ozawa's M9 is among the best.