I'm more concerned about the continuation or logic of the symphony's narrative. It's an extremely long symphony as it is. I feel that the end-of-the-world type of dynamics are already built into the piece. I didn't think that Leaper's "southern storm" - the climax of the first movement's development section - sounded too lightweight at all; or that parts of Mahler's intricate percussion writing were inaudible there. Neither did I feel that the climax to the finale's long brass chorale passage was wanting in lung power either. In fact, I liked how Leaper made the bass drum roll sound as loud as the rolls coming from the two timpanists at the crest of the long brass chorale (located at the spot of the 6th movement's last cymbal crash). It gave that passage a sort of low rumble that's missing on most of them - something like a 727 on takeoff.
John, I know that you like the ultra-loud horn playing that you hear on Abbado's earlier VPO M3. It's truly exciting as all get-up, there's no denying that. Unfortunately, the VPO trombones don't come close to matching the horns on that particular recording. It's also a huge exaggeration, as even the VPO horn section would never sound THAT loud when seated farther back in ANY hall. The recording was made from a very, VERY up-front perspective. Given that fact, it's a pity that many of the symphony's really soft passages almost disappear, even when you jump-up to turn the volume way up. It's a very exaggerated perspective (and like many folks, I just don't care for the spunge-y sounding timpani at the end of the symphony, combined with the rather screechy quality from the trumpets on their high notes).
Topic: Leaper/Gran Canaria/Arte Nova M7th - revisit (Read 10501 times)