Fabio Luisi´s Mahler recordings.

[oscar]

Dear List,

There are several Mahler recodings conducted by Fabio Luisi and one of the Leipzig orchestras.  I am interested in the opinion of these, in particular, the Schoenberg arrangement of Das Lied von der Erde.

best regards,

Oscar.

[sperlsco]

I bought the SACD of his M2.  I've listened to it once, so I hate to write too much about it, especially since it didn't leave much of an impression.  The opening movement was very dirge-like, and I was not particularly satisfied with the rest of it.  Again, though, I have not given the recording much of a chance, and I would hesitate to scare you away from it (or Luisi in general) based on my one listening session. 

[barry guerrero]

I don't know much about Fabio Luisi, but his is a name that's going to pop up more in the future; especially in Europe. He is conducting the S.F. Symphony once next season. I know that he has conducted some Mahler at the Vienna Konzerthaus - primarily with the VSO (not VPO) - which is the concert building with the huge pipe organ (see Lenny's live M8 on DVD). I've been hoping that the ORF would issue Luisi's live performance of M8 from there, as it had a fairly decent cast. Anyway    .     .    . 

[Polarius T]

I'd be curious to sample some of Luisi's work as I've only gotten around to digest some snippets from the net. One reason is that he's been quite enthusiastically received by both the Dresden players and the audiences and critics at least in Germany. And the shoes given for him to fill are not that small, either: despite the problems Sinopoli had collaborating with the British musicians and administrators, the response he elicited in Dresden was one of mutual love, excitement, and accomplishment that's openly there for anyone to admire. He seems to have meant something special in Dresden and apparently for all the same reasons he managed to put off the Philharmonia players. Whatever that tells anyone.

In Luisi's M2 the soprano moreover is Christiane Oelze which is nice to see. She's a first-rate singer. Yet I think I'd be more tempted by his Strauss for one particular reason: Staatskapelle Dresden.

PT

[John Kim]

If you go to hmv.co.jp you can sample his Mahler recordings. I heard audio clips of his M6th and thought it sounded pretty decent (one a quick side). Besides, most of his Mahler recordings received 80 plus out of 100 from Japanese classical music fans.

John,

[barry guerrero]

If Luisi is working with the Staatskapelle Dresden, I sure that wish that he'd save some of his Mahler to record with them!

Barry

[Polarius T]

If you go to hmv.co.jp you can sample his Mahler recordings. I heard audio clips of his M6th and thought it sounded pretty decent (one a quick side). Besides, most of his Mahler recordings received 80 plus out of 100 from Japanese classical music fans.

John,

Good thinking. I forgot their scoring system, which can be instructive about some things, sometimes. (I tend to run machine translations of the listener comments, but it's sometimes hard to figure out what the opinion really states about the "capital resounding/affecting" doing "mara" on this particular "cardboard obtaining" under a "beruteini" or a "burning Stein," for example.)

Another place I frequent for sound clips is www.jpc.de - theirs are often longer and better quality than on many other sites. And they have them for almost every track of every disc they carry.

PT

[Polarius T]

If Luisi is working with the Staatskapelle Dresden, I sure that wish that he'd save some of his Mahler to record with them!

Barry

He is in fact their new ("new" as of last year) music director and principal conductor, meant to alleviate the deeply felt loss of Sinopoli (I think Haitink's Dresden appointment was always seen as just a temporary emergency measure). And as for Mahler, it's already happening -- with M1 just canned, it seems: http://ionarts.blogspot.com/2008/05/ionarts-at-large-fabio-luisi-in-mahler.html (on this evidence the response on your side of the Atlantic seems decidedly more lukewarm than on ours, however).

But even before that there might be more Strauss in the pipeline: Capriccio (yes!) will be recorded in M/C DSD in Lukaskirche this coming July!

Perhaps times are getting better for people like us. I would expect that anything Luisi & SKD do in their ongoing Strauss series at least makes one of the more worthwhile SACD purchases there are. Or music purchases in general, period. (Though am yet to explore myself more.)

PT