Jansons/LSO/LSO M6th and BRSO M6th (forthcoming)

[John Kim]

Today, I gave a spin to Jansons/LSO/LSO M6th in a long time. Geez, I don't recall it being this good! An energetic, propulsive, and powerful reading, a touch reminiscent of James Levine's old RCA recording but in better playing and sonics. Alas, Jansons opts for Andante-Scherzo order.

Jansons' recent concert with BRSO (which will be released commercially by BR Klassik) is similar in concept but even finer in execution. In particular, he brings out inner details vividly that have seldom been audible before, e.g., coda of I., beginning of IV. Good news is that he put the two middle movts in S-A order this time.

John

[erikwilson7]

John, funny you mention the somewhat-forgotten Jansons LSO M6. This is actually my top choice reference recording, and I just manually switch the inner movements so they are scherzo/andante (my preference). Besides that, this is one of those very rare recordings that, to me, just gets everything right. And I’m not even much of a fan of Jansons!

I didn’t care so much for the RCO recording he made, but I’m looking forward to the BRSO one.

[barryguerrero]

I don't see it. That recording never did anything for me. I like his Concertgebouw one better. If he did one with the BRSO, I'd like to hear that.

[erikwilson7]

Speaking of the BRSO, Rattle was just appointed chief conductor of it after his contract with the LSO ends in 2023

To be honest I don’t know what to expect

[barryguerrero]

I think it's a much ado about nothing. I think it'll be a redux of Rattle/Berlin, at least to some degree. Maybe he wants dip into the Bruckner well a bit more, although I kind of doubt it.

[John Kim]

I am afraid the Rattle/BRSO is a bad decision.

John

[John Kim]

I you liked the Levine/LSO/RCA M6th you will like the Jansons/LSO too. I quite like both versions. I find the London brass more incisive and powerful than RCO although the Amsterdam brass may be kore cultivated and refined. I also like it that Jansons drives the 1st movt with more momentum and power.  The recording sound may be somewhat coarse but I think it fits the symphony rather well. His BRSO M6th is closer to the LSO than the RCO recording so you know what to expect.

John

[barryguerrero]

Too bright; not enough bass (weak double basses) and nothing really distinctive, in my book. That's just me. The L.S.O.'s laser bright brass are better suited for M7, to my ears. The one M6 with the L.S.O. that I do like is the Gergiev. While it's the same orchestra, there's a greater sense of urgency.

To my mind, by far the best M6 coming from London is the 'live' Tennstedt/LPO one from 1983. If nothing else, it has by far the most frightening scherzo every recorded.

[John Kim]

Yes, it is bright and I think that's a problem with the sound which I can tame using treble & bass knobs.

I like the Gergiev's recording too, but find the London woodwinds are more prominent in the Jansons than in the Gergiev.

John

[erikwilson7]

I also really like that Gergiev. And I rarely like Gergiev’s Mahler.

I appreciate balance in the mix, but the most important thing for me is clarity and details. I think Jansons nails that in the LSO M6.

[barryguerrero]

I don't know - I just have so many other M6 recordings I really like, including some great pirates. Have you tried J. van Zweden/Dallas S.O. (low level recording - you have to turn it way up!)? Harding/BRSO (I have it in the BRSO box of Mahler symphonies)? Mehta/Israel Phil.? Maazel/V.P.O. (one of the best out that cycle)? Chailly/Concertgebouw? Neumann's Exton M6 with the Czech Phil.? Eschenbach/Phlly? Simone Young/Hamburg Phil.?  .    .    .   all of these just strike me as being so much better than anything Jansons has done. I just don't see him as being a 'great' conductor of Mahler, nor - quite frankly - for much of anything else, either. He was 'good' at a very wide range of repertoire. I think the best thing he did was Shostakovich. To me, even the MacKerras one that came on the outside of a BBC Magazine issue, blows the Jansons right out of the water.

I'm very much looking forward to an eventual Adam Fischer/Dusseldorf M6. I think it'll be down and dirty. Like Ivan Fischer, only grittier and darker sounding.

[erikwilson7]

I like almost all the ones you mentioned: Zweden, Harding, Chailly (except the scherzo), Eschenbach, and Young. I think almost all of those are more white-knuckled than Jansons, but like I said I use Jansons' recording as a reference, meaning the one that, to my ears, most accurately represents the score. My second choice reference would be either Järvi/NHK or Boulez. If I were going for impact, I'd probably choose Young or Harding. Love those ones.

I haven't heard the Neumann Exton recording, but I bet it's good. I just listened to his Supraphon M6 and I was totally underwhelmed. Some really good playing on there but, like his M1 from the same cycle, it just comes off to me as a bit aimless and non-committal. Plus, the hammers are metallic like an anvil, and it sounds annoying (to me), and wrong.

[erikwilson7]

Oh, and I'm also very excited for the eventual Adam Fischer M6. That cycle, to me, is like the modern Kubelik cycle. Raw, lyrical, a bit swiftly paced, and very detailed.

[John Kim]

The most dramatic, exciting, and devastating Mahler 6th I've heard is a live concert by Honeck/PSO which sadly didn't turn into a CD release.

John