Opinions wanted on DVD of Abbado M7

[barry guerrero]

Hi there,

I'd like input on the EuroArts DVD of Mahler 7 with Abbado conducting. I can get this at a pretty reasonable price. I very much like Abbado's two recordings of the 7th, except for his fast tempi for the first movement (I like Boulez's 23 minutes). But what about the rest of the DVD? Is there enough guitar and mandolin in the fourth movement? How 'bout cowbells and tiefe glocken (deep bells) in the finale? Thanks in advance.

[sperlsco]

I love this performance.  It is really one of the zippier ones.  At sub-20', his first movement is faster than would be my preference.  However, it doesn't sound as rushed as the Kubelick/Audite one.  It has all the requisite intensity for an M7-1.  The first nachtmusik is also fast, but has much better flow than the recent MTT/SFSO one, while also maintaining the movement's mysteriousness. 

I think that you will love the Nachtmusik II and the finale, especially for the very quick tempos.  The nachtmusik II has a particular lightness to it, but still retains the sense of romance.  The finale is just plain thrilling, from the strength of the opening percussion straight through to the coda, which has very ample deep bells (I can't recall whether the cowbells are audible though).  My only minor complaint is with the percussionist playing the cymbals -- he seems to want to demonstrate that he has the widest dynamic range possible with his instrument.  As such, there are times when he is barely audible, to the extent that I wonder what is the point (crash those things and let them ring, I say). 

PS:  I am sending you a private message. 

[Wunderhorn]

I've been wishing to get a DVD Mahler Symphony but I still have a analog TV, and I'm not willing to fork over money for an older style format. I'm excited that the Abbado preformaces are full-frame, and they've all had fine reviews. When I upgrade my TV, if I upgrade, (don't watch much of the boob-tube) I'll get Abbado.

[sperlsco]

I've been wishing to get a DVD Mahler Symphony but I still have a analog TV, and I'm not willing to fork over money for an older style format. I'm excited that the Abbado preformaces are full-frame, and they've all had fine reviews. When I upgrade my TV, if I upgrade, (don't watch much of the boob-tube) I'll get Abbado.

The Abbado ones are all in 16:9 aspect ratio (widescreen).  Of course, you can still play them on an analog TV -- you'll just have black bars on the top/bottom.  The Bernstein and Haitink DVD's are in 4:3 aspect ratio and will show up full frame on an analog TV. 

[john haueisen]

Just to remind us that folks sometimes look back into past topics and consider them anew, I wonder if anyone else has had further comments on the Mahler 7 DVD by Abbado.

When Barry first raised this question, almost a year and a half ago, Scott posted two excellent comments with which I agree:  that the first movement, although barely 20 minutes, does not seem rushed, and Scott also commented on the variability of the cymbals, which at times were "barely audible."  I side with Scott that I'd prefer to hear those cymbals crash.

Responding to a couple of Barry's questions:
Yes--in the 5th movement you can hear the cowbells and the tiefen glocken (deep bells).
Yes--there is plenty of guitar and mandolin in the 4th movement.  I think it's a nice advantage of the DVD format when the photographer goes to the proper musician to watch him pluck those strings--the visual element is a plus. 

I definitely approve of Abbado's DVD.  I can't imagine improvements on the sound and photography,  and I hope everyone has a chance to see and hear it.  It's a festive smorgasbord of Mahler's ability to let individual instruments pass a theme along, with each having his "moment in the sun."  M7 is also a tribute to Mahler's ability to follow a disciplined almost classical form. 

Personally, I was less familiar with M7 than any of the other symphonies, and Barry's questions led me to listen, with the result of appreciating M7 more than every before.

Has anyone else enjoyed the Abbado M7 DVD?  Please share your thoughts.

--John H     

[cilea]

Has anyone else enjoyed the Abbado M7 DVD?  Please share your thoughts.

Not much to say about the DVD (which I enjoy), but I was lucky to attend the first of the concerts this release originates from. It was---and I suspect it will remain---the most deeply affected musical experiences I have had. After nearly three years I can still vividly feel the atmosphere in the concert.

My local band has programmed a performance of M7 in the forthcoming September, but I seriously hesitate whether I will attend since it apparently won't match the discussed performance in my mind. (On the other hand, the September concert has in its first half Jouni Kaipainen's recent Violin Concerto---with Christian Tetzlaff as a soloist---, which will be interesting to hear.)

[je-b]

I second the above commenters' enthusiasm: I absolutely love this performance!
Being a trumpet player myself, it's especially thrilling to see Reinhold Friedrich (principal trumpet) nailing every single note of his (brutally difficult) part and most of it even on the large rotary Bb-trumpet.   
This performance has a deep sense of musicality, making every voice of the score as audible as possible. This DVD currently makes my M7 of choice - along with Abbado / BPO (DG), and Barenboim / Staatskapelle Berlin (Warner and "Mahler Zyklus 2007" live). Get it!

[john haueisen]

That Reinhold Friedrich is some trumpet player, isn't he, as we see and hear so clearly on the Abbado M7. 

je-b, so glad to hear you noticed what I like best about this performance:  as you put it:

"This performance has a deep sense of musicality, making every voice of the score as audible as possible."

Certainly this was Mahler's intention, as we see soliloquies by the mandolin, guitar, and so many other instruments.  Their voices are sometimes brief, yet they shine through so clearly in this performance.  Did you notice Raymond Curf, almost bouncing with delight as he played the timpani?

[je-b]

That Reinhold Friedrich is some trumpet player, isn't he, as we see and hear so clearly on the Abbado M7. 

Sorry for the OT, but yes: Reinhold is awesome. He was the principal trumpet of the Frankfurt Radio Symphony Orchestra under Eliahu Inbal - so you can hear him on most of Inbal's Denon Mahler recordings. By now his only performances as an orchestral player are with the Lucerne Festival Orchestra under Abbado, being one of the most sought after trumpet soloists (from the baroque repertoire to world premiere performances of works by contemporary composers), as well as a much-respected teacher the rest of the time. His trumpet class in Karlsruhe as brought up many players now holding positions in international top orchestras over the years.
You might want to check out this video of him doing the Brandenburg Concerto No. 2 with Abbado and the Orchestra Mozart: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlWKhbGqPhU -- Incredible blending with the other voices I'd say!

[john haueisen]

Wow!  Thanks, je-b.
That is some fantastic playing and thoroughly integrated ensemble work--blending so very well.
And before this, I thought I'd heard all there was to Bach's Brandenburg Concerto 2.
Hey, folks:  give it a listen:   http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PlWKhbGqPhU

[Polarius T]

Thanks first of all for posting that wonderful Bach shootage with Abbado & Orchestra Mozart. What amazing playing, all enveloped in such joyous spirit! It was so gratifying to see even Maestro Abbado himself looking so happy and radiating, after all he's gone through. And what absolutely stupendous musicians... Reinhold Friedrich has been an unknown to me, but now for sure I've taken a good notice! The guy is amazing. And the rest of the ensemble, with Giuliano Carmignola, and I think that must have been Ottavio Dantone back there in the shadows, plus the recorder player - she looks like Michala Petri, could it be her?? That piccolo recorder part she did in the encore was quite something...! They are all a testimony to this conductor's ability to inspire something exceptional and quite moving in the musicians he works with.

I've been looking forward to the impending new issues of Abbado's Mozart with these same players (OM + Carmignola) and this leaves me absolutely impatient. This is really music-making of the highest order. It's really a pity that Abbado's Bach is such an impossibility to find. There is at least the B minor Mass, the St. Matthew Passion, and some of these Brandenburgs (or all?) to what I know, but only in semi-private, special limited editions that were giveaways to concertgoers, and in Italy only for that matter. (He's performed even more of Bach than this.)

Barenboim at "Mahler Zyklus 2007": do you know if there is a recording of this out there somewhere, or in the works? I'd be very curious. For those intrigued as well, impressions of this joint Barenboim/Boulez venture can be found at http://boulezian.blogspot.com/2007/04/berlin-mahler-zyklus-april-2007.html

Thanks again. You made my day/weekend/even week. This is must-listening for all lovers of the aural arts.

PT

[Polarius T]

This is just great: On a Capriccio issue, Friedrich is the soloist in one of my favorite contemporary works, the late great B.A. Zimmermann's trumpet concerto "Nobody Knows...". I ordered it immediately (it also has the Berio Sequenza and -- more interestingly -- works by Rihm, Killmayer, and -- lo and behold -- Scelsi). Recorded with Kitaenko & the Frankfurt Radio players, I can't wait to get down to hearing it.

I also ordered him in a disc with Bach's "Jauchzet" cantata (and pieces by Zelenka and other contemporaries) on it, sung by -- and this is where this OT discussion returns to the right track -- Ruth Ziesak, a favorite of many Mahler nuts.

But what would really be a treat is to hear Friedrich together with Ludwig Guettler; now that will be a feast for trumpet lovers when I one day will get to do just that (they have recorded together).

PT

[barry guerrero]

Ludwig Guettler is the trumpet soloist ("posthorn" solo) on the Heinz Rogner M3 on Berlin Classics. He plays it with a mute put in.

Barry

[je-b]

This is just great: On a Capriccio issue, Friedrich is the soloist in one of my favorite contemporary works, the late great B.A. Zimmermann's trumpet concerto "Nobody Knows...". I ordered it immediately (it also has the Berio Sequenza and -- more interestingly -- works by Rihm, Killmayer, and -- lo and behold -- Scelsi). Recorded with Kitaenko & the Frankfurt Radio players, I can't wait to get down to hearing it.

Now there you're in for something special! I have that disc and Friedrich plays this most unplayable of trumpet concertos with a technical supremacy that allows him to shape every phrase musically idiomatically.
If you like it, you might also want to check out Friedrich's recording of Wolfgang Rihm's "Marsyas" - a rhapsody for trumpet, percussion, and orchestra. Loud, wild, and super virtuoso; great fun!

[Polarius T]

Rihm: Thanks for the tip. I think this might then be a good occasion for me to start catching up again with this hyperproductive composer whom I sort of forgot at some point when Lachenmann, Birtwistle, Ferneyhough, and Sciarrino stole all my attention. He's very good technically but somehow I can't get excited about his pieces semantically, so to speak. But, as said, may have to check that one out: I love things loud, wild, and super virtuoso...!

PT