Nézet-Séguin Philadelphia Orchestra M8 to be Released (FINALLY!)

[waderice]

I found this out at the Facebook Mahler Group just this morning.  It will be released on January 17, 2020, only in Germany (so far).  So I went ahead and placed an order, but don't know yet if it will be available in the U.S.  Here is a link to Amazon.de where you can see and place an order, if you so desire:

https://www.amazon.de/Mahler-Sinfonie-8-Yannick-Nezet-Seguin/dp/B07ZW9PYMR/ref=sr_1_1?__mk_de_DE=%C3%85M%C3%85%C5%BD%C3%95%C3%91&keywords=mahler+sinfonie+8&qid=1575027128&s=music&sr=1-1&fbclid=IwAR3nGnlVH_9-5-LwdXKNL1xrr2ml9hstIvDWVqwOVPVgg-AnUS8O6Zz6pgg

I don't know how well this link will work in Microsoft's Internet Explorer, as it might appear in German, but to get the German translation, I had to copy the link from Apple's Safari to Google's Chrome browser to get an English translation.

Wade

[erikwilson7]

Wow, finally. This should be fantastic! If it’s anything like his wonderfully cosmic Rotterdam performance that I watched online then we’re in for a treat.

[barryguerrero]

Wade, how could this not possibly be made available in the U.S. - I can't imagine such a thing!!!  Usually, new things show up in Amazon.de last, not first. How very strange. It's not showing at DG's own website, of course. Perhaps it's an Asian import (?).

Pasting the given ASIN number into Google Search, I see that it's showing at Amazon Italy as well.

https://www.amazon.it/Sinfonia-Dei-Mille-Netzet-Seguin/dp/B07ZW9PYMR

[waderice]

Barry, I have no idea why.  Just reporting what I saw at the Facebook Mahler group.  It'll seemingly be a bit on the high side, as the Euro price will be around $22.00 equivalent, but I would think that if it were an Asian import, the price quite possibly would be even higher.

(Additional thoughts after posting the initial above reply):  Maybe contractual restrictions/obligations prohibit its marketing in the U.S., but not sure.  The two main choruses in the performances were the Westminster Symphonic Choir and the Choral Arts Society of Washington, DC.  The only other recording of M8 that I've seen sold in the U.S. where the Choral Arts Society was involved was that of Gergiev's on the LSO label (don't ask me why and how that one got through to U.S. markets and the DG one won't).  Don't know about any contractual restrictions on the children's chorus nor can I speculate on the contractual restrictions of the soloists.

It's taken over 3 years (almost 4) for this recording to finally get released (generally, it takes no more than one year), and I'll bet negotiations on the release of the recording during that time got bogged down because of the contractual obligations/restrictions of the participants.  So Europe seems the best place for the recording to be marketed for the time being unless it gets pulled because of another snafu.

Wade

[James Meckley]

I suspect this is all a misunderstanding by the Facebook folks. The US retail chain FYE is currently offering it for pre-release purchase on their website at $14.99, with a release date of 2020-01-17.

https://www.fye.com/mahler--nezet-seguin--the-philadelphia---symphony-no-8-aec.degrb003150602.2.html

I'll bet it will show up at Amazon.com sooner rather than later, but even if it doesn't and this is some attempt by DG to "blackout" the United States, it will ultimately fail; there will be many European vendors willing to ship it here, to say nothing of the many music-sharing blogs and torrent sites that will have it available for free download not too long after release.

EDIT: Regarding the contractual issues mentioned above, it would be hard to imagine an established company such as DG undertaking a major recording project like the Mahler Eighth without being absolutely sure that their attorneys had anticipated and resolved all possible impediments to the ultimate release of the product, particularly into the US since, after all, it's a US orchestra!

[barryguerrero]

That's good info. Regardless, I went ahead and ordered one from Germany as well. Their slow-boat shipping is less than 4 Euros.

[waderice]

How odd the circumstances surrounding this important and vital release, since this performance was the centennial observance of the first performance of M8 in the U.S. by Philadelphia/Stokowski.  It took nearly four years as I mentioned earlier, but late is better than never.

Wade

[barryguerrero]

It's now showing at Amazon U.S. of A.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZW9PYMR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

[waderice]

It's now showing at Amazon U.S. of A.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07ZW9PYMR/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_image_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Really odd that it took Amazon.com U.S. that long for its availability to appear on line.  Guess U.S. Amazon is quite backlogged for advertising new items compared to the rest of the world.

Wade

[barryguerrero]

The Amazon U.S.A. price is now down to $14.39!

It's disturbing to me that DG would print these up, distribute them but not advertise them. Does anyone else find that puzzling? If you go to DG's website, there's absolutely no mention of it. Yet, they've got those Rachmaninoff piano concertos with Tri-somebody-or-another plastered all over the website. Why do record companies seem almost resentful that the success and demand for Mahler symphonies continues on?

[waderice]

It's disturbing to me that DG would print these up, distribute them but not advertise them. Does anyone else find that puzzling? If you go to DG's website, there's absolutely no mention of it. Yet, they've got those Rachmaninoff piano concertos with Tri-somebody-or-another plastered all over the website. Why do record companies seem almost resentful that the success and demand for Mahler symphonies continues on?

Barry,

The pianist's name is Daniil Trifonov.  I'm not absolutely sure, but I believe that it's a marketing thing at work here.

Keep in mind that much of the legend that is Rachmaninoff was made in Philadelphia, where and when he concertized here, he considered the Philadelphia Orchestra the best orchestra in the world.  His recordings that he made here are historic, have been, and continue to remain in the catalog of RCA/Sony.  And I'm not saying that because I live here, nor are my origins from here; I'm originally from the Washington, DC area.  So DG seems to be trying to play to the legend of Rachmaninoff here in Philadelphia with those recordings by Trifonov.

There's still another factor at play here.  Having been to many concerts at the Verizon Hall in the Kimmel Center (the Philadelphia Orchestra's home), I've generally found that whenever a concerto, be it a piano or violin concerto is on the program, concert patrons older than I (I'm almost 70) come out in droves to enjoy that particular type of work, and at the conclusion of it being played, the applause is generally much greater than I would put forth myself.  Those particular kind of patrons seem to love or prefer that type of repertoire.  That's not to say that I don't appreciate the work, the performance, or the mastery of the soloist in the concerto; it's just that I generally don't appreciate a concerto performance as much as I would a regular orchestral work that would be played after the intermission.  And I do have a good many concerto recordings in my collection as well as Mahler symphony sets.

Hope this puts things a little more in perspective on this conundrum.

Wade

P.S. - I've seen Yuja Wang perform the Rachmaninoff Third Concerto here in Philly.  I think she's a much more exciting pianist than Trionfov (not to mention her flashy and sometimes provocative concert attire!).  And she's a graduate of the local Curtis Institute, that has graduated many legendary musicians over the years (Bernstein for one) and had many legendary instructors to train these famous graduates.  Interestingly, and oddly enough, her recordings also appear on the DG label.

[erikwilson7]

“Alles Vergängliche” is now available on Spotify as a preview. That organ. My god.

[barryguerrero]

Those trombones! For me, the important thing is that N.-S. DOESN'T cut short the very last syllable that the two choirs sing ("nan"). Many conductors do.  Also, he doesn't cut off the Eb chord shortly after the final tam-tam/cymbal smash. Many conductors cut the symphony off prematurely. Why?   .    .    .  this moment summarizes ALL of western music up to the year 1910, so why be in a hurry to dispense with it. To me, this is nearly perfect. It could, of course, use a bit more of the tam-tam itself. But this will do.

After 2nd listening: I like how tapers in the added layers of sound on the very final chord: a crescendo in the organ, crescendo in the bass drum, then the added brass. It really works. Unfortunately, the left-in applause may be a 'deal breaker' for many people. Personally, I don't mind it.

[waderice]

And the really neat and great thing was that I was there in person to experience it, live and in person!  Something I will never forget!

Wade

[erikwilson7]

How do you folks on here feel about when conductors ignore or brush over the luftpause at the final cadence of the symphony? One of the only recordings I’ve heard it done correctly is the Chailly M8 on Decca. I don’t mind whether or not it’s observed, but I’m just wondering what others think about that breath mark. N-S seems to brush over it, which works for me.