Hi. I sold off some things so that I can buy the Berlin Phil.'s Mahler box we've been discussing. Given that Simon Rattle's M8 boasts having John Botha as the tenor, and that it'll have nice tam-tam smashes played on a big Wuhan gong . . . well, that's the main selling point for me. Botha sings on the Boulez M8 on DG. Boulez has a great ending to Part 1, but a rather deflated ending to Part II: very little organ; weak percussion (simultaneous cymbals and tam-tam) and not terribly impressive brass. Still, I'm keeping my Boulez box anyway.
There are some good things in the Boulez box. The orchestras are great and there some really good vocal contributions. It's Boulez himself who's the only real shortcoming, at times. One of the things I jettisoned which may surprise you folks, is the L.P.O.'s own box of Tennstedt Mahler.
I got that Tennstedt box mainly because I had attended one of the live performances of the Mahler "Resurrection" in 1981. It was an awesome performance, but the live recording is disappointing to me. Either that performance wasn't as great as I remember it, or the almost indifferent sound quality just draws attention to the overly loud and sometimes sloppy playing. I frankly think EMI's studio recording is better. And speaking of better, the 1986 "Resurrection" Symphony that's also included is an improvement in terms of the sonics, but is also a slower and 'darker' approach to the symphony. I think the best item in the box is Tennstedt's 1983 Mahler 6. That's great and has the most genuinely frightening sounding Scherzo ever. But then there's that 1991 'live' Mahler 8 that many people make such a big deal over. I don't like it. By that point, I think Tennstedt was allowing himself to be overwrought at the podium. That performance is just loaded with hugely massive ritardandos, without much in the way of counteracting accelerandos. Yet, he still took the end of Part II at a pace that was a bit too fast for all the slowness that preceeded it. I also can't stand those garish, metallic 'whang' sounding Paiste tam-tams. To be honest, I just don't want that Mahler 8 in my collection. I think his earlier studio one was far better. Not a popular opinion, I know, but I can only go by what 'works' for me (and what doesn't work).
I also didn't like the hard-to-decipher graphics of the box, or its layout. The essays were annoying too, as they were all about Tennstedt, while mentioning almost nothing about Mahler. I also jettisoned the Haitink Kerstmatinees Mahler box. Here's why.
The Kerstmatinees box has Haitink's best M7, and arguably one of his best M9 recordings too. The real issue for me is that the Japanese simply over did it. The box is difficult to open; I never knew what to do with that stupid Obi strip (hate those!); the disc sleeves were too slippery and precious. The whole thing had a beautiful presentation, but it just felt too precious to actually use. Give me something much plainer. Also, I have the entire Kerstmatinee Mahler stuff on DVD. I like that better because there aren't those stupid side breaks (always in the wrong places). I just didn't like the way the CD's were laid out.
Well, I'll see if my gamble pays off. So far, I've liked everything I've heard from that Berlin Phil. cycle. Everything seems to be proportioned just right (or close to it). I even like Haitink's outrageously expansive M9. The 'dark horse' for me will be Rattle's M8. Frankly, I rather like this, 'from the orchestra's archives' business; using performances conducted by a number of different people. I think these works are simply too big for one conductor to get them all 'right' from start to finish. To me, Bertini, Gielen and Inbal have come closest to pulling it off.
Topic: I pulled the trigger - I ordered a B.P.O. Mahler symphonies box. (Read 8027 times)