Jansons/BRSO Mahler 1 release problem

[erikwilson7]

BR Klassik recently released what they claim is the awaited stand-alone release of a 2007 recording of Mahler 1 conducted by Mariss Jansons and the BRSO. Before now this recording could only be heard as part of an educational program album titled Mahler: Welt und Traum released in 2011. This performance was a live recording with applause retained. It’s actually quite a good performance and I was excited to hear it as a stand-alone release.

However, and this is where things get funky, this new release isn’t Mariss Jansons conducting. The recording that is being sold and publicized with these credentials is actually Yannick Nézet-Séguin’s 2016 release. The timings all match up and they sound exactly identical. I even compared this “Jansons” recording to itself on the Mahler: Welt und Traum CD and they aren’t the same, yet they’re supposed to be.

Can anyone else confirm this, or has anyone noticed anything weird about this release? I admire the Y N-S recording and I don’t like that it’s being credited to Jansons now. I’m thinking it must be an error on BR Klassik’s part, but the error is everywhere from Spotify to web stores.

[ChrisH]

You could load up both tracks in a free program Audacity and check out the waveforms. If the Jansons is the same as the YNS recording, they should be identical. That's pretty odd. I have both recordings, but have yet to listen to the Jansons. The YNS is pretty nice, though.

[John Kim]

I did a careful comparison. It is indeed the Nezet-Seguin that they mistakenly put on this disc.

[ChrisH]

Wow. That's crazy. Hopefully this wasn't intentional.

[John Kim]

Dear Mr. Kim,

thanks a lot for your message - there seems to be a problem with our digital distributor. We are still waiting for a detailed feedback of him.

We will come back to you a.s.a.p.

Regards

Thomas Becker
BR-KLASSIK Label

[barryguerrero]

BR Klassik needs to get its act together. When they issued their Mahler box, why didn't they use the Haitink M9 instead of the Jansons? It's a huge drawback of that box (sorry John, but I don't share your enthusiasm for the Jansons M9). In addition, they have enough material to issue a separate Jansons/BRSO Mahler cycle as it stands.

[John Kim]

Barry,

I wasn't too enthusiastic about the Jansons M9th initially. But repeated (and careful) hearings revealed something really wonderful about the recording. After all, it is BRSO who shines here and that's what I treasure most in the Jansons/BRSO M9th. 

[barryguerrero]

Naturally, opinions can vary. But I would have preferred having the Haitink M9 in the box set. For starters, the sound is clearly better. More to the point, the BRSO have now made it difficult to get the Haitink M9 separately (and near impossible to get the Jansons/BRSO M3 separately).

[Roland Flessner]

Presto sells the Haitink/BRSO M9 in FLAC format for $12, but I'm not seeing the Jansons M3.