Bychkov/Czech Phil. M3 - I think this is a home run!

[barryguerrero]

Hi. I know I tend to get enthused over new recordings, but this Bychkov/Czech Phil. M3 is much, much better than I had anticipated. I think this may truly be a home run. I till need to do more listening to get the overall effect, from start to finish.

[John Kim]

Agreed. I think it is terrific, especially in I., III., V., and VI. Although I. runs over 35 min. it never feels dragging thanks to Bychkov's perfect pacing and CPO's wholly idiomatic playing. The Scherzo III. is, as Barry put it, just perfect with the post horn solo placed at a very good location and flowing so nicely. The Adagio is the culmination of this performance. At over 25 min. it may feel occasionally a bit 'static' but what a conclusion to the great symphony! My impression is based on headphones listening on streaming. Incidentally, my CD arrived just now so I will play it soon to get a better estimate. But I know I already like it very much.

PS The female and boys choirs sing brilliantly in V. It may be the best sung account ever recorded.

John

[barryguerrero]

Exactly, John. Even though the first movement reaches to 35 minutes, it just doesn't sound like it. I listened to the first movement twice yesterday, and I was 'riveted' both times. It's just great. I also love how he ramps up the tempo and tension going to the climax of the Scherzo's faster middle section. In addition, I noticed how the glockenspiel and triangle were very audible and 'bright' sounding near the conclusion of the "bim-bam' choral movement. I actually sort of like the unusual hesitation Bychkov does before the very final D-major chord of the finale (between the penultimate and final chords).

[John Kim]

Overall, Bychkov's M3rd can be taken in terms of the same strengths as those that were apparent in his M6th concert with CPO from the last year. Indeed, he conducted both symphonies around the same time^

John

[waderice]

In addition to the enthusiasm shown here and elsewhere for this Bychkov/Czech Phil. M3, it's also been indicated that Bychkov also did very well with M1 and M2.  If as indicated that he intends to continue with his Mahler cycle, for me, it may be worthwhile waiting to see how the rest of the symphonies turn out.

[barryguerrero]

My understanding, Wade - and John Kim can concur (say that fast five times!) - is that Pentatone wants to release the rest of the cycle as a box set. I'm not sure what that means. Symphonies 6 through 9 are what's left. My guess is that they are going to release two of the remaining four as a three disc set, and the other two of the remaining four as a three disc set. Bychkov's timings may be such that the remaining four can't fit on single discs, so they may want to save the number of discs needed by doing overlaps. Perhaps like the old Bernstein cycle on vinyl, they may release 6 & 9 together, then 7 & 8 together. John might have a better guess about all this.

[John Kim]

Hopefully, for the integrated box set Pentatone may remaster all of them in SACD format, like BIS did for their Wigglesworth Shosy cycle.

John

[John Kim]

Next in the Bychkov/CPO/Pentatone Mahler cycle will be a Sixth and it will be equally great as or even greater than the Third which was just released!

John

[Roland Flessner]

This is an impressive M3 and I'll return to it because one hearing doesn't do it justice. I am wondering, though if this is a live recording. While it is polished as we would expect from these artists, I note a few places in the finale where, for example, strokes on the tympani or bass drum are slightly late, something that would probably have been corrected in a studio recording. Also, the bass drum is lacking in weight, often typical of a live recording. The leaflet, available as a PDF of Idagio, does not specify whether it is live.

[barryguerrero]

Good observations, Roland. Few if any recordings are actually 'perfect' from start to finish.

[Roland Flessner]

So many recent releases being live recordings, few match either the precision of execution or the quality of engineering that we expect from studio recordings. I just listened to the finale of Kubelik/BRSO M3 on DG and both execution and SQ are superb. That's the finale; in the first movement, the 1969 vintage is probably more apparent.

Some orchestras, after capturing a live recording, do a patch session if something went seriously awry, such as a squawking woodwind or a cracked note from the brass. The minor problems I mentioned in Bychkov/CPO probably don't rise to that level.

[Michael2]

I haven't listened to it yet, hopefully soon, but regarding the question "studio or live":
The booklet says: "recorded between 30 January and 3 February 2024 in the Dvorak Hall", Prague.
And the Dvorak Hall had the symphony played by these artists on Jan 31, Feb 1, Feb 2.
There we can also see that the originally-announced Christa Mayer was replaced by Catriona Morison.

[John Kim]

I knew pretty well what to expect from DH (especially when I put out a review before he does). He strikes again!

https://youtu.be/w0Na5iGXddU?si=9pd94sg4KJr-4amY

PS I am relieved he didn't call it CD from hell. ^^

[John Kim]

To Barry

Plz check the messages I sent to you.

John

[Roland Flessner]

So rarely do I find DH's reviews sensible that I am tempted to suspect that he is an AI-generated persona engineered to annoy normal people.

In this instance, I will quote an old friend. Let's call it J's Maxim: "The vehemence with which a view is expressed is inversely proportional to the chances of it being useful or helpful."